Written by / 5/21/2019 / No comments / , , , , , , , , , ,

INFAMOUS JOHN CARPENTER 'VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED' REMAKE

Front and back left Lindsay Haun with Jessye Quarry  YEAR: 1996
What happened to John Carpenter's filmmaking skills in the 1990's is a mystery. Even more mysterious is why it took four years after THEY LIVE to enter that decade, and then direct an unnecessary remake,  MEMOIRS OF THE INVISIBLE MAN, which is THE THING compared to what's possibly his worst film, also a remake, titled VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED — although it's still pretty fun to watch i.e. make fun of...

Starring a handful of actors and actresses who all starred in franchise films, there's main man Christopher Reeve in his last role before the tragic horse-jumping accident. But, alas, the four-time SUPERMAN is pretty wooden here as the politically-correct husband of one of several townswomen who — after the entire town of Midwich falls unconscious at the same time — wind up impregnated by what the characters later learn are alien children: Who are the best thing going, especially the leader played by an icy-cold  Lindsey Haun, with a penetrating expression of experience and cunning, and she's more worthy to fear than the one good kid (Thomas Dekker) is to sympathize with...

Jessye Quarry eyes the Village of the Damned
And it takes a VILLAGE to feature cult icon Mark Hamill of STAR WARS fame as a preacher who seems more possessed by bad acting than the children are by the unseen/whispering wraiths...

As for the once "Master of Horror" Carpenter — where there should be urgency there's malaise, and the 1990's computer effects, meant to enhance the children's powers, are so distracting you'd think there never was a JURASSIC PARK or TERMINATOR 2 to pave the way...

The most unintentional fun (resembling the kind of self-aware camp value this ultra-serious nosedive could have used more of) is how the kids march around the woodsy, seaside small-town like possessed ducklings. Carpenter tosses in a few humorous adult-reactions to these walking, stalking, talking encyclopedias. Meanwhile, his soundtrack has the usual ominous backbone but is constantly hindered  by an acoustic guitar that never quite finds its rhyme or reason.

Regular Movie Score: **1/2 Camp Value Score: ***1/2
On the plus side, there's the usual horror-genre body count (Carpenter regular George "Buck" Flower's boozing school janitor is a standout) and a few cheap-shock moments, seeming more intended to wake up the audience than providing suspense for the characters/cast within...

Rounded out by CROCODILE DUNDEE ingenue Linda Kozlowski married to EDDIE AND THE CRUISERS Michael Pare, and of course the stranger in town, Kirstie Alley (LOOK WHO'S TALKING), is a government agent keeping a secret from the wickedly inquisitive children. But it's her chemistry with Reeve, the town's good doctor/reluctant hero, that belongs in a better movie than this science-horror remake that Carpenter didn't have his heart in since his soul (i.e. style) is nowhere to be found.
Lindsey Haun in John Carpenter's Village of the Damned
 Mark Hamill in John Carpenter's Village of the Damned
John Carpenter phoned-in director's cameo in Village of the Damned
A short-lived Michael Pare in John Carpenter's Village of the Damned
George Buck Flower faces off the kids in John Carpenter's Village of the Damned
Lindsey Haun in John Carpenter's Village of the Damned
Bad 90's special effects in John Carpenter's Village of the Damned
Kirsty Alley in John Carpenter's Village of the Damned
Linda Kozlowski in John Carpenter's Village of the Damned
John Carpenter's Village of the Damned
The albino aliens barnstorm in VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED
Thomas Dekker cabooses in VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED
Thomas Dekker in VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED
Meredith Selenger in VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED
Share This Post :
Tags : , , , , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

All Time Popular

Featured Post

RALPH BAKSHI ANIMATED MEAN STREETS 'HEY GOOD LOOKIN'

Richard Romanus in HEY GOOD LOOKIN' Year: 1983 Rating: *** Despite being compared to GREASE, being that the main character... a suave/st...

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM
Movie Reviews, Interviews, Articles and Pop Culture from White Heat to Blue City

RIP ACTOR KEN HUTCHISON

TOTAL HITS

Popular Trending

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE
RANDOM QUOTE: "When I'm paid, I always see the job through." Lee Van Cleef in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

FILM NOIR & NEO NOIR CRIME

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)JUNGLE STREET 9)THE CROWDED SKY 10)THE ROARING TWENTIES 11) ANATOMY OF A MURDER 12)WHITE LIGHTNING 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)THE BREAK 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)HIDDEN FEAR 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)SHARKS' TREASURE 22)THE ASPHALT JUNGLE 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE SYSTEM 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE STONE KILLER 27)SANDS OF THE KALAHARI 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)IMPASSE 30)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE FAVORITE ACTORS 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)JACK NICHOLSON 6) CHARLES BRONSON 7)BURT REYNOLDS 8)WILLIAM LUCAS 9)TOM COURTENAY 10)GENE HACKMAN DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)VAL GUEST 4)STANLEY KUBRICK 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)ORSON WELLES 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)JOHN CARPENTER 10)MICHAEL WINNER

BRITISH NEW WAVE CINEMA

RARITIES AND EXPLOITATION

HAMMER HORROR & THRILLER

Popular This Month

CHARLES BRONSON CINEMA

CINEMA OF DANA ANDREWS

WESTERN GENRE REVIEWS

PEAKING INTO THE SIXTIES

KICKING IN THE EIGHTIES

TALES AND REFLECTIONS

REVVING THE SEVENTIES

Most Popular Last Year