Village of the Damned

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Village of the Damned

R

Released Apr 28, 1995

1h 38m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

28%

Tomatometer

40 Reviews

28%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Ten months after the small California town of Midwich was struck by a mysterious event during which everyone in the village fell unconscious at once, 10 local women give birth on the same day. As the unsettlingly calm and unemotional children grow at an abnormally fast rate, it becomes clear that they can read adults' minds and force people to harm themselves. Local doctor Alan Chaffee (Christopher Reeve) and federal agent Susan Verner (Kirstie Alley) must team up to battle the alien children.

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Critics Consensus

With John Carpenter at the helm and an eclectic onscreen ensemble, this Village of the Damned should be distinguished by more than its improved special effects.

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Rick Groen

Globe and Mail

There's nothing more static than a stalled fright vehicle.

Apr 12, 2002

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Kevin Thomas

Los Angeles Times

A good-looking, well-wrought film with some knockout special effects, some dark humor and crisp portrayals.

Rated: 3.5/5

Feb 13, 2001

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Marc Savlov

Austin Chronicle

Carpenter's updating of the classic 1960 chiller is mediocre at best, and at times plummets into unintentional humor.

Rated: 1/5

Jan 1, 2000

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Adrian Martin

Film Critic: Adrian Martin

Carpenter tries to recreate the old B-movie feel in several respects – in the very subdued use of special effects, and the casting of actors such as Reeve, Alley and Mark Hamill in patently one-dimensional roles. His gamble fails badly.

Rated: 1.5/5

Jul 30, 2025

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Rob Lowing

The Sun-Herald (Australia)

Village of the Stale and Regurgitated is more like it.

Rated: 1/4

Dec 17, 2024

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Whereas the 1960 version was eerie and intriguing, this take is awkward and ugly.

Rated: 1.5/4

Sep 28, 2024

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Debby R

Excelente película, los efectos bien realizados, un elenco de primera y muy buenas actuaciones, en especial de los niños

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/09/25

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Farah R

I'm not sure if it's because I had little to no expectations going in, or the fact that it was past midnight on a lonely weekend, but I enjoyed Village of the Damned. The premise, acting, design, and special effects were impeccable. I was impressed with the children's acting, as the story hinged on how well they could pull off being creepy. All that doesn't change the fact that it's pretty cheesy.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

04/17/25

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Roman F

Fuuuuuuccccckkkk yeah this movie is awesome boii8iiiiiiiii

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/26/25

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Ads T

Weirdly static remake with equally bizarre casting choices (Particularly Mark Hamill as the local Midwich vicar!). The only poignant thing about this is that it is the last Christopher Reeve film before his tragic horse-riding accident. Reeve does build some very solid character work despite the script offering him nothing at all to work with. Kirstie Alley who is usually sassy and confident is also let down by the script and has to suffer an undignified demise at the hands of the albino-haired children. The special effects are marginally better which only means that the CGI renders their hypnotic eyes more convincingly than in the original movie.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/18/25

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Tyler B

Storyline that will keep you interested. So magnificent the way the kill scenes can make you cringe.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/19/24

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Shaman Athletic T

I enjoyed the wild weirdness, the tension building and the cast.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/02/24

Full Review

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John Carpenter

Director

Christopher Reeve

Dr. Alan Chaffee

Kirstie Alley

Dr. Susan Verner

Linda Kozlowski

Jill McGowan

Michael Paré

Frank McGowan

Meredith Salenger

Melanie Roberts

Village of the Damned: Official Clip - Reverends Shouldn't Play With Guns

1:12

Village of the Damned: Official Clip - Explosive Secrets

2:54

Village of the Damned: Official Clip - The Children From Hell

2:18

Village of the Damned: Official Clip - Don't Argue With the Children

1:45

Village of the Damned: Official Clip - Friendly Fire

2:39

Village of the Damned: Official Clip - Life is Cruelty

3:06

Village of the Damned: Official Clip - Self-Dissection

1:37

Village of the Damned: Official Clip - The Eye Doctor

1:51

Village of the Damned: Official Clip - A Town Falls Asleep

2:04

Village of the Damned: Official Clip - Boiling Barbara

1:46

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Synopsis

Ten months after the small California town of Midwich was struck by a mysterious event during which everyone in the village fell unconscious at once, 10 local women give birth on the same day. As the unsettlingly calm and unemotional children grow at an abnormally fast rate, it becomes clear that they can read adults' minds and force people to harm themselves. Local doctor Alan Chaffee (Christopher Reeve) and federal agent Susan Verner (Kirstie Alley) must team up to battle the alien children.

Director: John Carpenter
Producer: Michael Preger, Sandy King
Screenwriter: John Wyndham, Stirling Silliphant, Wolf Rilla, Ronald Kinnoch, David Himmelstein, Steven Siebert, Larry Sulkis
Distributor: MCA/Universal Pictures [us]
Production Co: Alphaville Films, Universal Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 28, 1995, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 19, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $8.6M
Runtime: 1h 38m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

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