Village of the Damned (1995)
John Carpenter's take on the John Wyndham story The Midwich Cuckoos and also a remake of the 1960 British film of the same name.
Sadly Carpenter's film lacks the subtlety of the original movie. There's not really the same sense of rapid growth and maturity in the children in fact Carpenter gives us no real clue of passage of time and although there are a couple of nicely crafted set pieces the chilling atmosphere and general sense of unease is also missing.
As with 1992's Memoirs of an Invisible Man this feels like Carpenter is merely a hired gun director rather than the movies chief creator,with the score, usually a Carpenter strong point, the same. Although Carpenter wrote it it's not a typically memorable electro rock piece that graces classic Carpenter films in fact it's utterly forgettable.
As for the cast? Most including stars Christopher Reeve and Kirstie Alley seem ill suited to their roles with only Crocodile Dundee co-star Linda Kozlowski coming out with any credit, and the less said about Mark Hamill's priest the better.
Despite all these issues Village of the Damned isn't a poor film. It's efficient and slick and moves at a rapid pace. It entertains even if it doesn't particularly thrill. However the end result when alls said and done the next time i decide to watch a take on The Midwich Cuckoos it won't be this one.
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