Theatrical Poster
This is a remake of the 1960's black and white classic (IMDB), which itself was based on the John Wyndham (Day Of The Triffids) novel The Midwich Cuckoos. A small English rural town (moved to the East cost of America in Carpenters update) is the setting for the action. One normal day all of the towns inhabitants fall asleep at the same time. People entering the town all drop asleep after crossing the town line. The opening is eerily effective and the gorgeous photgraphy of the Marin County countryside really draws us into the movie.
Eventually the government are called in but they cannot explain the phenomenon. The people of the town wake up normally, except for a few crashed cars and one great shot of a man and a barbecue. The government (represented by scientist Kirstie Alley) are intrigued and decide to keep an eye on future events.
The towns doctor (Christopher Reeve) is inundated with pregnant patients
soon after, even his own wife and the town's virginal youngster fall pregnant.
This leads to a lot of bad feeling in the town and considerable fear. The
date of conception can be traced back to the day of the sleep. 9 months
later the children are born, the government are on hand to help with the
deliveries, but not with entirely altruistic motives. The children all
have a remarkable head of silvery hair. Pretty soon it becomes clear that
they have some sort of link with each other. As events unfold the doctor
learns that the children represent an alien invasion, and have huge powers
at their command. Deciding that they are a threat to the human race, they
must be stopped.
Village is an abive average film when compared with Carpenters best efforts. Some scenes, especially the climactic duel, are infused with the excitment and tension we expect from this great director. But as a whole the film fails to truly scare. The children are superb, very evil performances are given by the whole brood. Mark Hamil (Luke Skywalker) makes a welcome cameo as the village priest, but he's not really given anything to do. Kirstie Alley is a dissapointment, after the comedy of Cheers she does not seem to be able to carry a major dramatic role at all well. Compared to the original black and white version there does not seem to have been any advantage to a remake. Still, a good film. Treading water by Carpenters standards but still a lot better than most of the 'horror' trash Hollywood puts out.