Village of the Damned – 1995 – Sci-Fi, Horror, Mystery
Directed by: John Carpenter
Written by: David Himmelstein
Main Players: Christopher Reeve; Kirstie Alley; Mark Hamill; Michael Paré; Linda Kozlowski; Karen Kahn; Meredith Salenger
An eerie red morning sky shines over the calm farmland of the small Californian town Midwich. A dark and otherworldly shadow crawls over the landscape. Dr. Alan Chaffee (Reeve) wakes with a stir, as the black cloud seems to make an odd and off-putting whisper noise. His wife Barbara (Kahn) does not notice.
The shadow continues to creep in from the coastline over the tiny Midwich population. The strange whispers do not wake Frank McGowan (Paré), but his wife Jill (Kozlowski) is awake and ready to make sure he hits the road that morning as planned.
The town is putting on an amusement fair, and the McGowans join the gathering folk to help setup, as does Reverend George (Hamill), who knows the NEED fingerpaints. Dr. Chaffee however has to go out of the county, so he gasses up and takes off out of city limits.
Then… an “event” hits. At 10AM, everyone seemingly collapses, including all animals. This causes chaos of all kinds and some injuries, and possible deaths, as vehicles fail to stop and people tumble off of their bikes. As police notice, people start talking about chemical weapons, and the town is cut off and surrounded by police.
In walks Dr. Susan Vernon (Alley), who wants to take a looksie. Dr. Chaffee returns to town to find the police blocking the highway and Dr. Vernon poking around. What is this event? The people appear to be breathing, but will they ever wake? As animals start to rouse, that question is at least answered, but what happens next continues to amplify the mystery. The younger women in town all find something has happened to them, and their bodies are now different. Uh oh.
Village of the Damned uses many of the same ideas and plot beats as the original film, but does shift the action to America and makes up new characters. The setup remains quite interesting, as do the following events. This take is definitely similar, but also explores some different paths. There are plenty of good actors, and the runtime remains pretty short so pacing is not too much of an issue. This is not a bad version even if the original feels slightly stronger.
Sometimes… mysteries don’t get solved.
See This If You Liked:
Village of the Damned (1960); The Thing from Another World; Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956; 1978); Quartermass and the Pit; Phase IV; The Omen (1976); Rosemary’s Baby; The Mist (2007); Children of the Damned; Dreamcatcher; Phantoms (1998); The Mothman Prophecies; Weapons (2025)
Score:
7.0