Die Kinder der Verdammten

The inexplicable appearance of a group of children, advanced 1 million years beyond Mankind's genetic development, causes fear among the governments of the world. When the authorities try to contain them, the children respond with deadly telepathic force.

This is a rare instance of a sequel being better than the original. The 1960 adaptation of John Wyndham's Midwich Cuckoos, filmed as Village Of The Damned, was a highly memorable and influential movie in its own right. However, it was also a product of post-war British film making complete with cozy, somewhat gentrified attitudes to class, sex and an illusory rural idyll. This was exemplified by George Sanders' typically suave performance as the smoking-jacket clad, martini sipping hero. Children Of The Damned is a much tougher affair. This time the action takes place in the dark, grim, urban backstreets of early sixties London - not so much swinging as downright gothic.

Rather than the aliens invaders of the first film, the children here are a human super-species, socially and intellectually incompatible with the rest of humanity. They don't seem to mean any harm, but their eerily cold and quiet presence provokes the authorities into a fearful contemplation of what they might do. John Briley's adult and intelligent script takes an insightful look at how our inherently insecure systems of authority might hunt and destroy that which merely suggests a challenge to their control.

The cast is excellent. Ian Hendry and Alan Badel as the two conscientious scientists trying to fathom the children's secret, are terrific. They bounce Briley's sometimes caustically witty lines between them with a delightful, naturalistic touch. The rest of the cast play it for keeps too, imparting a sense of urgency and, as with Alfred Burke's government man, icy menace.

The children themselves are surprisingly well played. No brattish over-acting here. Instead, the group of young, multi-racial actors exude a perfect sense of other-worldly calm, and, when necessary, chilling ruthlessness.

The film's technical credits are excellent. Cinematographer Davis Boulton's vivid black and white images ensure that Children of the Damned is one of the best photographed British films of the era. The special effects are simple (glowing eyes) but startlingly effective. The late, great Ron Goodwin was a composer best known for comedies and war films, but here he provided a subtler kind of score which suggests both the child-like and the ethereal. It was one of his best.

The main plaudits must go to director Anton M. Leader. His handling of actors, the imaginative staging and his pictorial compositions, particularly towards the climax, are outstanding. For example, the scene depicting a group of gunmen trying, somewhat disastrously, to capture (or kill) the children in a derelict church is a tour de force of tension and horror. Yes, horror. This movie may have children in it, but it isn't a children's film.

In all, this is much more than a quick cash-in sequel. It deserves credit for making an early stab at confronting the ethics of genetics, and for being, along with the Quatermass movies, that rare thing; a thought provoking, grown-up science fiction film.

Although it is often referred to as a sequel to "Village of the Damned", the plot differs in enough ways to make the claim seriously questionable. No mention is made of the events in the first film. The only real similarity is that the story concerns six children who are perceived as a threat to mankind because they possess strange telepathic and mind-control powers.

Unlike the first film, however, the children are of different nationalities (not identical blonds, as the children in the first film) and they do not mature at an accelerated rate.

It's as if the basic premise (six superintelligent kids who are a threat to mankind) was reworked into a new story. The children are explained as being "quantum leaps in evolution" (not alien offspring, as in the first film). And yet the story never clarifies why they were all born at approximately the same time in different parts of the world (coincidence?). When one sympathetic government agent asks the children, "Why are you here?", the children reply "We don't know."

A line of dialogue by a major character, stating that the children are here to help mankind, was later edited from the film. Too bad.

Mankind, rather than the kids, are portrayed as the bad guys. Despite some confusion over these basic plot elements, director Anton M. Leader does deliver a clear message concerning the hate, fear, and intolerance which society feels towards anyone who doesn't "fit in", as well as the greed for power which nations feel in their efforts to gain dominance over each other.

Not really a sequel to the original classic, but rather its own story with its own things to say. This is, in fact, a powerful allegory about our violent world, the suspicious nations that make it up, what those nations teach their children by way of example, the state of religion in the modern world, etc. Very smart, and beautifully shot in glorious black and white. If you're looking for a horror movie, you might be disappointed, but as an allegorical fantasy it's top of the line.

When a film is a success, it is almost inevitable there will be a sequel to it. The classic 1960 sci-fi film Village Of The Damned is no exception to that rule and 1964's Children Of the Damned would be that sequel. While any sequel to Village Of The Damned would have big shoes to feel, this film doesn't quite live to the standards set by the original film. In fact, it is easy to say that Children Of The Damned is very much a sequel in name only that, contradictorily, requires knowledge of the original film for it to make sense as well as being a terribly dated Cold War parable.

The film certainly has a respectable cast. Ian Hendry and Alan Badel play Tom Llewellyn and David Neville, who both give believable performances as the two scientists who uncover the children and their powers. Barbara Ferris plays the aunt of one of the children who ends up becoming a spokesperson for the children while under their control. Alfred Burke gives perhaps the film's best performance as British government agent Colin Webster whose involvement only makes the situation worse as the film goes on. Together they are a cast that is more then a match for that in the original film.

One of the film's problems though is in its title characters: the children. Due to whatever reason, gone are the seemingly normal yet otherworldly and menacing children of the original. These children are the exact opposite. They are utterly normal children from five places around the world who lack any of the otherworldly feeling or menace of the original children. Even the special effect used on the eyes when the children are using their powers isn't really used and, when it is, it just doesn't look stand up to the effect used in the original film. The result is that perhaps one, single essential element of the film that needed to work just doesn't work.

The production values of the film are excellent. In particular the stark black and white cinematography of Davis Boulton gives the film a strong sense of atmosphere and menace throughout which helps the film immensely. The production design of Elliot Scott give the film the same feeling as the cinematography, especially in the form of the destitute church the children come to occupy for much of the film. One element that improves in this film is the score by composer Ron Goodwin that, after a rather mixed result in the original film, is never out of place and put to good use throughout. The success of the production values helps the film out immensely.

Along with the children, the script is another essential element that ends up having a rather mixed result. If anything, the script presents this film as a rather confused sequel to say the least. The script seems to require that the viewer have seen the original film to understand all the events taking place. Yet the film seems to spend most of its time wanting to distance itself as far as possible from the original film. The result is a confusing mix: the plot and events make little sense without having seen the original film but the story might as well be anything but a sequel. It also doesn't help that the film, by the admission of screenwriter John Briley, was more or less meant to be more of a Cold War parable. The children can be viewed as scientists around the world who the major Cold War powers (represented by the government officials in the film) want to put to use building ever more powerful weapons of mass destruction. While this would be a good idea to have explored somewhere else, this film doesn't really seem to be either the place to do it or even do it well. If anything the script seems to be drowning in good ideas (such as the revelations that come out in the films last few minutes) that are never put to good use. Also the Cold War parable gives this film something the original doesn't have: a terribly dated feel to it. The result is that the script is a rather mixed affair.

Children Of The Damned, even when viewed on its own and not as a sequel, is a rather mixed affair. Despite a fine main cast and excellent production values, the film's supporting cast (the children) and its script both are rather mixed in their results. When viewed as a sequel however, the film comes across as a rather confused sequel that requires knowledge of the original film for it to make sense as well as being a terribly dated Cold War parable to the point of becoming a sequel in name only. All this means that, while a decent film, it never quite works either as a sequel or as an original film either and is a bit of a letdown overall.

When You consider starting Your Review with... "Well... It COULD have been worse!" You know You are in trouble!

Obviously, the owners of the TITLE rights, wanted to cash in... And made a "SEQUEL" that really bares extremely little resemblance to the original film!

Sadly, as was more often than not the case with movies from the 60s and 70s, when a sequel was made, the results were almost always woefully inferior to the original! Sorry to say that CHILDREN is no exception! Absolutely every PLOT development is utterly and excruciatingly predictable! Production values range from barely passable to simply awful. Acting is either very flat or way over the top!

To be honest... I really wanted to like CHILDREN... But despite really making an effort to do so... I debated giving it 3***... But ultimately decided to be a tad generous ...and ended up bestowing it with 4****. IMDb says that LESS than 9% of viewers rated it 9 or 10 Stars... So, apparently, most people tended to agree with me pretty much!