Village of the Damned 1960

It has been a while since I have seen a horror film that I absolutely fell in love with.  Honestly, I have seen so many I was worried that there was nothing new under the sun (for me.)  Lo and behold, this British gem finds its way onto my DVR.  Village of the Damned.  I had never seen it, although I was very familiar with it.  I remember the Carpenter remake coming out a few (well, now many) years ago (I haven't seen that either).  I knew of the blond creepy kids, and I knew one of my favorite actors, George Sanders, starred (I love Sanders in All About Eve.  What a bitch!).  Yet, I had not taken the time to watch it. Until now.  It was a Christmas miracle!  A gift to me from the baby Jesus and the horror Gods!

I love this movie.  It is dark, creepy, scary as hell and it has such a great ending!  In the small British village of Midwich lives one Professor Gordon Zellaby (George Sanders).  Zellaby, along with all the inhabitants of Midwich, experience what becomes known as a "time out".  They all lose consciousness for a few hours, and despite the arrival of the Military, no one can figure out why or how.  After the time out, all the women in the village who are able find themselves pregnant, including Zellaby's wife Anthea. 

These children grow into strange, blood haired creatures who communicate telepathically and possess extreme intelligence.  Zellaby's child, David, seems to be the leader.  David is played by Martin Stephens, who also starred as Miles in The Innocents.  He is offically the creepiest child actor of all time.

Zellaby decides he must destroy the children.  I know, it sounds harsh, but the children are quite evil, and they don't hesitate to kill anyone that stands in their way.  Zellaby, aware that David can read his mind, hatches a plan and tries to fool the children by thinking of a brick wall, a brick wall, a brick wall.....

Village of the Damned is now my favorite creepy child film.  It would make a wonderful pairing with The Innocents and perhaps The Bad Seed.  I really wish Martin Stephens had continued acting.  Who knows what kind of creepy adult roles he could have played....