VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1960)

By: Steve Biodrowski
Date: Sunday, June 10, 2001

This black-and-white gem explores what happens when an isolated English village suddenly yield a brood of children of unknown (though probably alien) origin. Seldom has the fear of the strange Other been so effectively conveyed as in this film, where the otherwise normal looking children are all marked by their almost uniform appearance. George Sanders stars as the doctor trying to teach and study them, but even he comes to realize the threat they pose. A nicely done ending cleverly visualizes his attempt to block their psychic powers, his mental image of a wall slowly crumbling beneath the onslaught of their combined powers.