Village of the Damned

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Village of the Damned

R

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

Apr 12, 2002

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

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Kevin Thomas

Los Angeles Times

Feb 13, 2001

3.5/5

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

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Marc Savlov

Austin Chronicle

Jan 1, 2000

1/5

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

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David Elliott

Copley News Service

Dec 13, 2025

1/4

Like the original, this movie doesn't have quite enough story.

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Adrian Martin

Film Critic: Adrian Martin

Jul 30, 2025

1.5/5

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.

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Rob Lowing

The Sun-Herald (Australia)

Dec 17, 2024

1/4

Village of the Stale and Regurgitated is more like it.

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B P

@Bradster69 Sep 4, 2026

Not Bad, but Not My Favorite

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Jason H

@RT50328122 Mar 31, 2026

It's decent, but it doesn't feel like a John Carpenter movie.

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Debby R

@RT49780268 May 9, 2025

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

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Farah R

@Farah Apr 17, 2025

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.

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Roman F

@RT19833276 Mar 26, 2025

Fuuuuuuccccckkkk yeah this movie is awesome boii8iiiiiiiii

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Ads T

@RT11627483 Jan 18, 2025

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.

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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

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Village of the Damned: Official Clip - Explosive Secrets

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

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

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Village of the Damned: Official Clip - Friendly Fire

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Village of the Damned: Official Clip - Life is Cruelty

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Village of the Damned: Official Clip - Self-Dissection

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Village of the Damned: Official Clip - The Eye Doctor

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

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Village of the Damned: Official Clip - Boiling Barbara

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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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