Village of the Damned (1995 film)
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| John Carpenter's Village of the Damned |
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 Village of the Damned movie poster |
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| Directed by | John Carpenter |
| Produced by | Michael Preger Sandy King |
| Written by | Novel: John Wyndham Screenplay: David Himmelstein |
| Starring | Christopher Reeve Kirstie Alley Thomas Dekker Mark Hamill Linda Kozlowski Michael Paré |
| Music by | John Carpenter Dave Davies |
| Cinematography | Gary B. Kibbe |
| Editing by | Edward A. Warschilka |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures (1995) (USA) (theatrical) |
| Release date(s) | April 28, 1995 |
| Running time | 99 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $22,000,000 (estimated) |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
John Carpenter's Village of the Damned is an English language 1995 science fiction–horror film directed by John Carpenter. It is marketed with the tagline "Beware the children."
A remake of the 1960 film of the same name, both films are based on the novel The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham. The 1995 remake is set in the United States, while the book and original film were both set in Great Britain.
It stars Christopher Reeve (in his last starring role before he was paralyzed in a horse riding accident), Kirstie Alley, Linda Kozlowski, Michael Pare, and Mark Hamill. The remake stands out from the original due to its incorporation of graphic violence, with depictions of such things as a man falling asleep on a barbecue grill and a woman eviscerating herself with a scalpel while under the children's psychic control.
The children are much more explicitly alien than in the original film. The children become more alien-looking as they use their powers at greater intensity. Also, a degree of conspiracy theory permeates the storyline. It is implied that the American government is willing to allow the children to grow to adulthood regardless of how many murders the children commit, according to Susan's words.
[edit] Plot
The American village of Midwich is visited by some unknown life form which leaves ten women of the village pregnant. Nine months later, the babies are born simultaneous (but one is stillborn). At first, they all appear normal, but it doesn't take the "parents" long to realize that the kids are anything but normal.
There are some story differences from the earlier adaptation. In this version, one of the children, David, child of local school principal Jill McGowan, loses his "partner" after she dies at birth. As a consequence, he shows human compassion while still resembling the other children and retaining some degree of psychic powers. This leads to his not fitting in well with the children, especially the leader Mara ("daughter" of a local doctor, Dr. Alan Chaffee; her mother, Barbara, commits suicide by walking off an ocean cliff), who considers him less important due to his expression of emotions. Because of his childhood loss, he understands what the other children do not: pain. He and his mother share a brief conversation of this, with David understanding that if he feels pain, he can understand other's pain also.
Soon the other colonies of psychotic children in foreign countries are eliminated because of their danger, the scientific team there quickly escapes from the town to escape the chaos. However, the lead scientist, Dr. Susan Verner, is killed by the children after being forced to show them David's "partner". The State Police and National Guard are then sent out to kill the children but they are hypnotized by the children into shooting each other.
In order to rid the town of the children, Alan devises a plan: he'll detonate a briefcase of explosives inside the children's classroom. By thinking of a brick wall, he is able to create a mental barrier and keep the presence of the bomb a secret from the children's powers. Jill begs him to save David, though, which he wholeheartedly attempts to do by asking him to help get his books. Finally, Jill shows up, but the children stop her. David, angered by this, rushes to her defense and knocks over Mara. The children turn on David, but not before Jill grabs him and rushes from the building. At last, the children break through Alan's defenses, but it is too late: the explosives detonate, destroying the barn and killing all of the children, including Alan.
Jill and David survive the massacre; she says that they will both move to a place where nobody knows them. The last scene is of David, riding in his mother's car, looking off into the distance.
[edit] Main cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Christopher Reeve | Dr. Alan Chaffee |
| Kirstie Alley | Dr. Susan Verner |
| Linda Kozlowski | Jill McGowan |
| Michael Paré | Frank McGowan |
| Meredith Salenger | Melanie Roberts |
| Mark Hamill | Reverend George |
| Thomas Dekker | David McGowan |
| Lindsey Haun | Mara Chaffee |
[edit] External links
- Village of the Damned (1995) at the Internet Movie Database
- Village of the Damned (1995) at Allmovie
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