Le village des damnés

John Carpenter, a respected director among the horror genre enthusiasts, gives us a remake of the classic 60's sci-fi /horror movie. Many people consider it the weakest Carpenter movie, but now, almost 10 years later, it's easy to notice why this movie was considered a failure in it's time, and certainly it's easier to appreciate it for what it is: an old school horror movie.

A year before Scream gave new life to the genre, this movie told the story of a small village lost in the rural areas of the U.S. where something strange happened one afternoon when the entire town fell unconscious. By strange circumstances 10 women got pregnant that day, but only 9 children survived. The remaining children look all the same and behave in strange ways, creating horror in town. All this while a government team studies them.

Christopher Reeve stars as the father of the leader of the children, Mara. Co-star Kirstie Alley as the government scientific in charge of the study. To be fair, the acting of the children was superb, while the acting of the adult characters was somewhat weak. Reeve steals the show, and Alley just seems out of place.

As I wrote before, the whole movie has that early 80's feeling, and I would dare to say that it feels as something made for TV. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it's probably the main reason this movie is not very popular. This old school style maybe was not very attractive for 95's audience, Carpenter would go in a better direction once reunited with Kurt Russell in 96's Escape From L.A.

I have not seen the original movie yet, so I came to it without any expectation, I can't say I ended pleased, but I found it entertaining, although quite slow at times.

It's worth to notice that it has beautiful cinematography, and even when it may be a flawed effort, it's worth a rent. It's one of those movies that takes it's time to grow on you.

7/10

Although this remake of the 1960 British horror classic doesn't quite look and feel its $22 million budget and also is somewhat bumpily edited, John Carpenter catches the essence of the story and transfers the eerie premise effectively to the screen thanks to fine casting and some well executed decisive segments. Christopher Reeve and Kirstie Alley play respectively the town doctor and the government researcher who realize a little too well what really happened to the small coastal town of Midwich, California when a strange "blackout" left the entire population temporarily unconscious and then ten random women pregnant with what turns out to be overly polite, bright and self-sufficient children. For a 1990s horror film, Village of the Damned is not particularly graphic; instead Carpenter creates real, timeless chills by putting the fascinating thematic concept from John Wyndham's novel to good use. The film's sociological and psychological aspects transcend the largely formulaic horror universe they are born out of. And the delightful performances by the children, particularly little Thomas Dekker as David, coupled with Carpenter's evocative music make this an effective chiller. It was Reeve's last performance before his accident.

Sure, it's not the best horror film ever made, but it was fun. I'm sure that people who grew up with the original would like it better, that's to be expected. But I thought the movie was a good B-level movie with some creepy scenes and a few shocks, and let's not forget the cheese. Most of John Carpenter's movies fall into this category. Halloween was a bit different, but come on, even In The Mouth Of Madness had some cheesy parts, and it was plenty creepy. Most of his movies are just fun to watch, and when they're over, you forget them. A horror movie that truly disturbs people only comes once every few years. Most of them shouldn't be taken so seriously. Pop some popcorn, grab a beverage, put your feet up and have some fun with this one.

John Carpenter's ambitious remake of the 1960s horror thriller/chiller about demonic children with extra-sensory perception powers who raise Hell in their home town. As with "The Thing", this remake of a horror classic is very creepy and atmospheric. Nothing less is to be expected of John Carpenter.

The late Christopher Reeve (1952-2004) gives a solid performance as the local doctor and all around nice guy protagonist Dr. Alan Chaffee, who unfortunately is the father of the ringleader of the evil hell-spawn children. Sadly, this was his last theatrical film before he was paralyzed below the neck in the notorious horse riding accident. Not to be overly sentimental with my praise, but he really was an underrated actor.

Interestingly, in addition to featuring Superman/Reeve, Mark Hamill, AKA: Voice of the Joker and also everyone's favorite Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, also appears as an ill-fated priest along with former Vulcan vixen Kirstie Alley as an FBI agent keeping an eye on the evil little bastards.

One day, in the village of Midwhich, the whole population and animals faint at the same time, causing many accidents and attracting authorities to the mysterious behavior including Dr. Susan Verner (Kirstie Alley). Out of the blue, people and animals awake, and soon the local Dr. Alan Chaffee (Christopher Reeve) realizes that all the women are pregnant, including a teenage virgin and Mrs. X, whose husband has been traveling for one year. The towners have a meeting to decide what to do with the babies, but Dr. K seduces them with the promise of a large allowance from the government to keep the babies for further research. When the babies grow-up, their parents realize that they have dark powers and soon they realize that Midwhich is in danger with the insidious children. What can be done to stop them?

John Carpentsr's "The Village of the Damned" is an interesting remake of the 1960 masterpiece. The storyline is basically the same but with state-of-art special effects. The creepy and dark conclusion fits well to the plot. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Cidade dos Amaldiçoados" ("The Village of the Damned")

Note: On 03 March 2025, I saw this film again.