For Reel

Director: Wolf Rilla

This low budget classic begins when all of the residents of a small English town inexplicably fall into a deep trance. A few hours later, they wake up with seemingly no ill-effects… until it is discovered that a dozen of the town’s women are pregnant. Village of the Damned arguably works best before the iconic white-haired children are introduced. This is because director Wolf Rilla is more interested in (and successful at) exploring how the characters react to the inexplicable rather than explaining exactly what happened. The motivations of the invaders are left intentionally vague and instead the human anxieties are mined with an almost scientific curiosity–what happens to relationships when they are confronted by something unexplainable? George Sanders is charming as always in the lead, but perhaps a bit too detached and cool for this particular setting. The most memorable performance is by Martin Stephens as the lead child, whose blank, vacant stare continues to terrify.