One of my all time favorites.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The premise is an excellent one. Mysterious children are about from different areas of the globe all with super-unknown power potential that just want to be left alone. While one would expect this to be a sequel to the Village of the Dammed it is not but in a way another point of view on the story-line. One reviewer commented that they didn't take the premise into enough detail or potential and I would agree. But they did give us some crumbs to digest. A scientist who is introduced to these kids is flabbergasted after seeing some type of proof of their extra-ordinariness and is dumbfounded only to come back later and state that these kids who are under-developed and still developing might be what man is like in the future. So, what do we do? Do we reason with them? Support them? Use them? Destroy them? The movie gives you much to munch on and that is why I gave it a ten. It fed and then triggered our imaginations to soar. Nicely acted out all parts with a steady tension and pace which helps to make it enjoyable while you are held captive from scene to scene. Good movie to snack with and have a tasty drink. Watch with someone else so you can chew some of the storyline and be fully satisfied with discussion potential. This idea had legs and should have been more developed

Another group of children, this time scattered all over the world and not having the tell tale blue eyes and blond hair, have been reported. The British government has had them brought to London, five of them that is, the sixth being British. We're not necessarily blaming aliens this time. Could it be aliens or has man taken a quantum leap in development? That's what Alan Badel and Ian Hendry who are scientists want to know. But Alfred Burke representing the government sees only two alternatives, make use of their telekinetic and mind reading powers or destroy them.Not quite a sequel to Village Of The Damned, Children Of The Damned adds a few new wrinkles to the situation humankind finds itself in dealing with these super kids. Barbara Shelley who is the aunt of the British kid gets taken over and essentially becomes den mother and spokesperson for the children. The might of British defense has definitely met its match.In the end a rather sensible solution is arrived at and not by the grownups.Nice suspenseful science fiction story.

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.

CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED (1963)Follow-up to VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1960) is not quite up to the original, but this sequel takes things a step further as more potentially dangerous, advanced alien children cause concerns to mankind. What's interesting this time is the switch to seeing children of different countries now possessed (India, Russia, America...). There's more of a serious political undertone to this story, which works in its favor. **1/2 out of ****