You know, sometimes a movie gets a bad rep before it truly gets a chance to shine. I feel as if John Carpenter’s remake of “Village of the Damned” is one of those films.
The year was 1995 and the horror genre was in full swing. Wes Craven had released “Wes Craven’s: New Nightmare” the year before and Carpenter had even released “In The Mouth Of Madness.” Tobe Hooper had released “The Mangler”… you get the point. Now, I have seen the original “Village of the Damned” and I am also what some people like to call a purist. However, I really enjoyed the Carpenter version of this story. I feel like he really loved and cared for the original film so he didn’t want to take anything away from the story or anger the fans.
Christopher Reeve, Kirstie Alley, Mark Hamill, and the always wonderful character actor, George “Buck” Flower, bring this story to life. If you have seen the original, then the storyline will not alter too much. Originally written by John Wyndham, “The Midwich Cuckoos” became known as the film we all know and love. Carpenter’s direction brings a sense of impending doom, and the setting near the ocean really gives you a claustrophobic vibe. Once the film reaches the midway point, the protagonists and antagonists make complete switch and it becomes obvious who’s in charge.
The most powerful scene for me is when the angry adult mob attempts to regain control. The end result is a statement all in it’s own. The whole world was watching the Menendez brothers trial and I feel like this film sort of parallels how the world was feeling. You are never really in control of your own children and that can be a very frightening thing.
I could go on forever about how this film is mistreated and just plain over looked, but I won’t. Do yourself a favor and give this the time of day.
It gets the Rottin’ Roger Demarco seal of approval with 3.5 bleach blonde bad asses out of 5.
I liked this movie a lot. Also nice to see Mark Hamill as a priest or reverend or whatever its called. One moment wich has always somehow disturbed me a little, was that one scene after these village-people woke up and then one man is laying on a barbeque and was roasted to death.
Hahaha yes! this film has some great practical effects.Some truly disturbing imagery.John Carpenter kind of kicked some ass in the mid 90’s… not to say he doesn’t all the time…but he really knocked this one out of the park.
I liked this one, I am a John Carpenter fan though. I dont think it took away from the original film like so many remakes do.