Director: Wolf Rilla
Cast: George Sanders, Barbara Shelley, Michael Gwynn, Martin Stephens
Have I Seen It Before: Never.
Did I Like It: I mean, it had to be better than the mangled, abortive mis-cast John Carpenter* remake, right? And yet… I mean, I guess it has that certain stripped down ruthlessness that would make one think of Carpenter for a remake, but is that mainly because the whole movie barely clocks in at an hour and a quarter?
That gives the whole thing a bit of an overlong Twilight Zone episode feel, which can be charming, but if that 1:15 feels, indeed, “overlong”? That has to be deathly.
It’s thoroughly British, which is usually more than enough to recommend a movie. Unfortunately, it’s not British in that eccentric way that keeps we Americans from having to come up with our own sitcom ideas. It deals more with a stoic set of British characters who don’t seem so surprised that alien children are going to bring the world to its end in fire. They lived through the Blitz. Glowy eyes ain’t nothing.
The bigger problem I think comes from where the film really wants to harness. I can imagine a person finding the prospect of parenthood more than a little frightening even in the most banal of circumstances. The loss of control of one’s life, the endless arguments, the staring. I would imagine that can be very unnerving.
The problem is, I can only imagine it. Don’t have kids, and the whole thing loses its bite. Now, if you can find me a movie dealing with anxiety about vasectomies from another planet, then you’d really have something.
*I feel okay saying these sorts of thing about a man I deeply respect. He would say the same things, and probably already has on Letterboxd.