Product ReviewsVillage of the Damned (DVD, 1995)

Not a Bad Way to Spend a Sunday Afternoon

Master of horror John Carpenter made this remake. I am not a big fan of remakes but since I have yet to see the original I cannot say if it is better or worse.

Usual Carpenter town - beautiful Northwestern coastal town with amazing views -with the feel that everyone knows everybody elses business. At a town festival something happens that makes everyone pass out. Whatever it is has set a perimeter around the town, so when authorities show up to investigate they pass out if they step over this invisible barrier. Great begining right?

Suddenly everyone wakes up at the same time. People have died since some were driving or taking a bath etc. and days later they realize that 10 women are pregnant - coincidence? Well, one of the pregnant women is a virgin and another says it is impossible since her husband has been in Japan for a year - let's just take her word on that. So far (into the movie) so good.

So, the kids are born (except the virgin's one was stillborn) and they are freaky looking with white hair and weird eyes that go from brown to green to red - kinda like a mood ring, depending on the amount of evil they are feeling. Strange things happen around the toddlers, one gets her tongue burnt by hot soup, so of course she makes her mom submerge her entire arm in a pot of boiling water and then makes her jump of a cliff. Cute toddlery things like that.

The kids were born as pairs and the little boy whose mate died is the runt. He is so cute you know he cannot be ALL evil. Anyway, more people die because adults keep blabbing their mouths or making honest mistakes or just plain breathing near the kids. Then it comes out that across the US other small, isolated towns had the same blackout but they have been eradicated by the gov because the kids went psycho on them - unlike in this town right? No time to save the innocent people because the kids read minds and would go all kung fu fighting on them. Big finale with heroic sacrifice by Christopher Reeve, Kirstie Alley hacks herself to death, cops shoot each other and all kind of mischievous kid things like that.

Good movie for a Sunday afternoon with nothing to do. The begining and middle are great but for some reason the end was just blah. The acting was great, the kids were creepy and John Carpenter did the music - always creepy crawley music!Read full review...

Eerie

This is a science fiction/horror film. It has great suspense, and a horrifying ending. It will be totally unexpected, and I will not give it away. Some of the ramifications of such a thing are truly scary and sad. I would recommend it for anyone who enjoys mystery wed to horror.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: krrf2006

A Vulcan, Jedi Knight, and a Man of Steel together?

Question:

What movie has been able to bring together a Vulcan, Jedi Knight, and Man of Steel?

Answer:

John Carpenter’s remake of the Village of the Damned.

Director John Carpenter’s remake as well as the similarly titled 1960 film was based on John Wyndham’s novel “The Midwich Cuckoos.” Carpenter’s science fiction/horror flick also brought together the talents of Mark Hamill (Star Wars: A New Hope; Empire Strikes Back; Return of the Jedi); Kirstie Alley (Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan; Cheers); and Christopher Reeve (Superman, Superman II, Superman III, and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace) among others. Village of the Damned (1995) focuses on the mysterious birth of ten children (with one being stillborn) in the isolated town of Midwich. Dr. Alan Chaffee (Reeve) and Reverend George (Hamill) are among the parents of these seeming genetically linked children while Dr. Susan Verner (Alley) is a government sanctioned doctor whom observers the nine children from conception till their present age.

The children display potent intelligence, telepathic, and mind control abilities—which they use to sadistically eliminate those that they consider to be a threat to them—though the course of the film. In the end, after the children have killed most of the principal characters, Chaffer loads a time bomb into a briefcase and sacrifices himself in order to put an end to the children’s evil campaign against humanity.

For Reeve, Carpenter’s film as well as the 1995 suspense thriller “Above Suspicion” would be his last before a devastating horseback riding accident left him paralyzed.Read full review...

"Good Underrated Remake!"

Christopher Reeve, Kirstie Alley and Linda Koslowski
star in John Carpenter's 1995 sci-fi remake of the 1960
film and based on the book, "The Midwich Cuckoos."
After a mysterious force invades a small town, 8
children are born the same time with alien powers.
This is a good remake that's very underrated and
Chris was great as usual. This dvd has good picture
and sound, but only the trailer. I recommend this.Read full review...

Item as described. Highly recommended.

Item as described. Highly recommended.

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: licor3580

Wonderful movie in wonderful shape.

in great shape, and it is a wonderful film. Very suspenseful and featured the very handsome Christopher Reeves.

Kids will be kids!

This is one of the best horror classics of all time. Of course I love it. It also has some of my favorite actors and actresses in it.

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: goodwill-wi-books

A great purchase

It's of good value. It's entertaining. The characters are sooo engaging. Yep, it sure was a good purchase.

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: goodreadings

A Dark Movie for a Dark genre

Despite criticisms surrounding remakes of old classics I found the acting was very good. The story line was faithfully followed with respect to the original movie with the exception of the escape of one of the children, who as it turned out, was more "human" than the rest. Some of the violent scenes were more so, but anyone who has viewed movies with violence these days will not find it over done. The children selected for the parts carried out the roles very well.Read full review...

just like new crisp picture can't complain

just like new crisp picture can't complain

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: schalke04_1957