Children Of The Damned
Children Of The Damned
Children of the Damned, released in 1964 is a thematic sequel to the 1960 classic Village of the Damned. The stories are not connected in anyway, other than the premise being similar with children being born without fathers that have mysterious mental powers, and act and think with a hivemind. Many critics slagged off the film for being a dull and pretentious film that lacks the excitement of the original film, Village of the Damned. That reflected as well in the box office, only grossing $1 million compared to the over $2 million that the previous film grossed.
Children of the Damned was directed by Anton Leader, written by John Briley, and distributed through MGM. The film was made in England, filmed at the MGM studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, as well as being filmed on location in London England. The film stars Ian Hendry as Dr. Tom Llewellyn, Alan Badel as Dr. David Neville, Barbara Ferris as Susan Elliot, and Alfred Burke as Colin Webster. The film also stars six child actors as the Children of the Damned: Clive Powell as Paul, Yoke-Moon Lee as Mi Ling, Roberta Rex as Nina, Gerald Delsol as Aga Nagolo, Mahdu Mathen as Rashid, and Frank Summerscale as Mark.
The trailer for the film makes the children seem like some evil force out to destroy mankind, though the way the film plays out, I found myself having empathy and sympathy for the children. The children only harmed anyone when they were threatened, and overall seemed more peaceful intentioned than the children in the Village of the Damned. Even when the children developed the "machine", they only used it for self defence. Though like they children in the children in the Village of the Damned, they did act and think with a hivemind, and they also seeked to be left alone, and not controlled. The idea set up in this film is that the children are what humans would be evolved millions of years into the future. To me the children seemed to have good intentions, and I found the film to be sad. I think the horror in this film lies not so much in the children themselves being terrifying, but the greed of man being terrifying. The danger isn't the kids, or the danger that they impose, the danger is what could happen if governments were able to harness their power, and manipulate them for their uses, and I think that is both the biggest fear, as well as the biggest emotional part of the film, because I could feel the hopelessness, if you let them live, then the greed of man could lead to disaster and potentially world ending wars, but they are innocent of anything other than self-defense, so to to kill them is a horrible tragedy. I think that is why this film works so well for me, and in a way I believe makes it a superior film to its predecessor, because this film has that emotional level if the viewer has empathy for the children, and sees them for what they are, rather than seeing them as monsters. I also wonder then, if different people will watch this film and some empathize with the children, and want to save them, whereas others might watch it and empathize with the governments who see the destruction of the children as the only course to save the future of mankind.
Though this film didn't fair was well with the critics or in the box office, I honestly love this film, and think that though it might not be a must-see film, I do think it is up there as a great film. I think that the film works, and is more than just a science-fiction horror film, but works on a very strong emotional level, and I think that makes it a great film. I do feel that this is a film that should be a part of every horror film collectors library. If you have not yet seen it I highly recommend checking it out, and if you find a copy of the film don't pass it up. You can find a dvd release with Village of the Damned and Children of the Damned together on one disc, and it also features commentary and trailers for the films, making it a good purchase. I found mine at Bull Moose in South Portland, they have an online store that you can order a copy from.
Children of the Damned was directed by Anton Leader, written by John Briley, and distributed through MGM. The film was made in England, filmed at the MGM studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, as well as being filmed on location in London England. The film stars Ian Hendry as Dr. Tom Llewellyn, Alan Badel as Dr. David Neville, Barbara Ferris as Susan Elliot, and Alfred Burke as Colin Webster. The film also stars six child actors as the Children of the Damned: Clive Powell as Paul, Yoke-Moon Lee as Mi Ling, Roberta Rex as Nina, Gerald Delsol as Aga Nagolo, Mahdu Mathen as Rashid, and Frank Summerscale as Mark.
The trailer for the film makes the children seem like some evil force out to destroy mankind, though the way the film plays out, I found myself having empathy and sympathy for the children. The children only harmed anyone when they were threatened, and overall seemed more peaceful intentioned than the children in the Village of the Damned. Even when the children developed the "machine", they only used it for self defence. Though like they children in the children in the Village of the Damned, they did act and think with a hivemind, and they also seeked to be left alone, and not controlled. The idea set up in this film is that the children are what humans would be evolved millions of years into the future. To me the children seemed to have good intentions, and I found the film to be sad. I think the horror in this film lies not so much in the children themselves being terrifying, but the greed of man being terrifying. The danger isn't the kids, or the danger that they impose, the danger is what could happen if governments were able to harness their power, and manipulate them for their uses, and I think that is both the biggest fear, as well as the biggest emotional part of the film, because I could feel the hopelessness, if you let them live, then the greed of man could lead to disaster and potentially world ending wars, but they are innocent of anything other than self-defense, so to to kill them is a horrible tragedy. I think that is why this film works so well for me, and in a way I believe makes it a superior film to its predecessor, because this film has that emotional level if the viewer has empathy for the children, and sees them for what they are, rather than seeing them as monsters. I also wonder then, if different people will watch this film and some empathize with the children, and want to save them, whereas others might watch it and empathize with the governments who see the destruction of the children as the only course to save the future of mankind.
Though this film didn't fair was well with the critics or in the box office, I honestly love this film, and think that though it might not be a must-see film, I do think it is up there as a great film. I think that the film works, and is more than just a science-fiction horror film, but works on a very strong emotional level, and I think that makes it a great film. I do feel that this is a film that should be a part of every horror film collectors library. If you have not yet seen it I highly recommend checking it out, and if you find a copy of the film don't pass it up. You can find a dvd release with Village of the Damned and Children of the Damned together on one disc, and it also features commentary and trailers for the films, making it a good purchase. I found mine at Bull Moose in South Portland, they have an online store that you can order a copy from.
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