Village of the Damned (1995)

Director:

John Carpenter

Writers:

John Wyndham (novel)
Stirling Silliphant (1960 screenplay) ...

Release Date:

28 April 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Beware the Children

Plot:

A small town's women give birth to unfriendly alien children posing as humans.

Plot Keywords:

Baby | Small Town | Birth | Alien | Children

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

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
Pippa Pearthree	...	Sarah, George's Wife
Peter Jason	...	Ben Blum
Constance Forslund	...	Callie Blum
Karen Kahn	...	Barbara Chaffee
Thomas Dekker	...	David McGowan
Lindsey Haun	...	Mara Chaffee
Cody Dorkin	...	Robert
Trishalee Hardy	...	Julie
Jessye Quarry	...	Dorothy

Also Known As:

John Carpenter's Village of the Damned (USA) (complete title)
Le village des damnés (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
A Cidade dos Amaldiçoados (Brazil) [pt]
A Cidade dos Malditos (Portugal) [pt]
Das Dorf der Verdammten (Germany) [de]
Den fortabte by (Denmark) (video title) [da]
John Carpenters Das Dorf der Verdammten (Germany) (complete title) [de]
Kirottu kaupunki (Finland) (video title) [fi]
Kirottujen kaupunki (Finland) (TV title) [fi]
Selo ukletih (Serbia) [sr]
Village of the damned: el pueblo de los malditos (Spain) [es]
Villaggio dei dannati (Italy) [it]

MPAA:

Rated R for some sci-fi terror and violence.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-Stereo | DTS

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Italy:VM18 | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1995) (VHS) | Finland:K-16 (uncut) (2000) (DVD) | Philippines:R-18 | Australia:M | Germany:16 | Norway:18 (video premiere) | Portugal:M/16 | Spain:13 | UK:15 (video premiere) | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Inverness, California, USA

Company:

Alphaville Films

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [John Carpenter]man at pay phone

Goofs:

Continuity: Mara's white tights become blue anklets during her first visit to the Midwich Clinic.

Quotes:

Dr. Alan Chaffee: [walks into the barn where the children are] Another man is dead. Why do you hate us so much, Mara?
Mara Chaffee: It isn't a matter of hate. It is a biological obligation.
[short pause]
Mara Chaffee: You are thinking of what happened to the others. Then our actions shouldn't surprise you. We have to survive no matter what the cost; we are the only ones left now.
Dr. Alan Chaffee: I don't see why we can't reach an understanding. Why can't we just live together?
Mara Chaffee: If we coexist, we shall dominate you. That is inevitable. Eventually you will try to eliminate us. We are all creatures of the life force. Now it was set us at one another to see who will survive.
Dr. Alan Chaffee: That's a cruel sport.
Mara Chaffee: Life is cruelty. We all feed on each other, exploit each other in some way to survive.
Dr. Alan Chaffee: [shakes his head] I don't agree with you.
[walks over to where Mara is sitting]
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Horror Business (2005) (V)

Indifference to violence

John Carpenter's remake of the 1960 original has little to add but it's more violent and explicit. The plot is the same; 10 women get pregnant simultaneously during a group pass out. Several years go by and the children all look similar and stick together. They appear to be anything but normal and once they start killing the residents of the small village it's clear they have to be stopped.

Carpenter is really a master of suspense and some scenes work remarkably well, however this is not one of his best films. Not much happens here and the film drags a bit, plus the inclusion of a government intervention and a possible world wide epidemic of these children does little to further the film. Still, Carpenter manages to create a decent amount of suspense and uneasiness by playing on the film's simple premise; that little children are the evildoers here. The soulless stares and glowing eyes are enough to creep you out. The social statement about people (and children) becoming indifferent to violence is a valid input, since the film couldn't really go for the same underlying meaning as the original, which was made during the cold war; the children personifying the threat from the east penetrating the west.

An average John Carpenter film is still a lot more interesting than most other horror films out there. Village of the Damned is not one of his best but it's a good film nonetheless.