Many of you out there can relate. When I was a kid, like any other kid, I adored Christmas. However, like most kids, there were times when I got presents that looked wonderful--until I opened them. Getting underwear or socks were such "presents". Well, CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED is like a pack of underwear at Christmas. It looks great, you really anticipate it and when it arrives you are thinking "is this all that there is?!?". That's because the first film, VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED, was an amazingly good movie--one of the best of the 1960s. Yet, this eagerly anticipated sequel is a horrible, horrible film--rotten in just about every possible way. The only other original film and sequel that may THAT much different might be WILLARD (a fine film) and BEN (a sequel so saccharine that I feel nauseous just thinking about it).
So why is CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED so darn bad? Well, in the original, these "children" were alien creations with super-advanced brains and telepathic powers they used for evil. They viewed outsiders the same way we might view ants! Yet in the sequel, these children are creepy looking and gifted BUT they just want to be left alone and be given respect!!!!! What happened to all the terror?! In VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED, the kids talked in a creepy monotone manner as one voice AND they used their powers to force people to drive into walls or kill themselves. Here, they just whine about wanting understanding!!! So, a sequel to a horror movie has become, instead, like a live action version of the comic strip "Wee Pals"!!! Ugghh!! Now that is scary!! The production values are okay--so I am giving it two stars. This is generous, as the plot is just horrid--an abomination and a complete waste of time.
So why is CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED so darn bad? Well, in the original, these "children" were alien creations with super-advanced brains and telepathic powers they used for evil. They viewed outsiders the same way we might view ants! Yet in the sequel, these children are creepy looking and gifted BUT they just want to be left alone and be given respect!!!!! What happened to all the terror?! In VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED, the kids talked in a creepy monotone manner as one voice AND they used their powers to force people to drive into walls or kill themselves. Here, they just whine about wanting understanding!!! So, a sequel to a horror movie has become, instead, like a live action version of the comic strip "Wee Pals"!!! Ugghh!! Now that is scary!! The production values are okay--so I am giving it two stars. This is generous, as the plot is just horrid--an abomination and a complete waste of time.