VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED REVIEWED
“Village of the Damned” represents that high point in British Sci-Fi and Horror. Whether it be Triffids or Dead-Eyed Blonde Children, British terror films shared a common ground. They were scared to death of invasion by some outside force. Coming out of World War II, it was easy to see why this was a shared fare for the United Kingdom. After all, a generation before was spent fighting off the Nazis’ attempts to invade.
So, when their literature and films add a fantastical element to it…it’s not hard to draw a direct line. That being said, I wish that director Wolf Rilla got to helm bigger projects. The choice to visually depict the mental attacks of the Damned are still second-to-none. Hell, I even enjoy the weird camera cuts between the women that became pregnant.
The film plays rather short at 77 minutes, yet not a scene is wasted. I miss an era where economy of terror was on full display. If you’re a fan of this one, I’m not sure what to tell you. The direct sequel is a bore and the Carpenter remake is one of his lesser movies. At least, the Carpenter version had pretty strong performances from Christopher Reeve and Mark Hamill. That counts for something…right?
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Commentary
A/V STATS
- 1.78:1 1080p transfer
- DTS-HD 2.0 MONO
RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW!
