1. Village of the Damned (1960) Uncanny Child to (Evil) Other

2. Crew Director – Wolf Rilla Music – Ron Goodwin Visual Effects – Tom Howard Budget – $200,000 Reception – “A Certificate”

3. “Fairly Faithful” Adaptation Based on John Wyndham’s popular novel The Midwich Cuckoos (1957)

4. Influences? Frankenstein (1931)

5. Influences? Italo Calvino’s “Sleeping Beauty” as retold in Italian Folktales (1956)

6. Influences? 1954

7. Influences? The Bad Seed Novel and Play – 1954; Film – 1956

8. Evil Children Subgenre Subgenre of Horror genre Started with The Bad Seed (1956) Spread by Village of the Damned (1960) Films “It’s a Good Life” Twilight Zone episode (1961) Who Can Kill a Child? (1976, U. S. title, “Island of the Damned”) The Omen (1976) Children of the Corn (1984) The Good Son (1993) Let Me In (2010)

9. Concept of the Child Innocent

10. Concept of the Child Tabula Rasa –Blank Slate

11. Concept of the Child Rebel

12. Utopia

13. Utopia?

14. Utopia

15. Dystopia

18. Dystopia?

19. Appearance ≠ Reality

21. Uncanny

28. Other

32. Uncanny -> Marvelous Text? Us? Other!

33. What SF motifs are missing? Spacecraft The word “alien” Don’t “watch the skies” The media response Big military action Change in view of universe

34. What else is missing? “Good” children

35. Links & Connections The Omen (1976) Let Me In (2010) (1993) Who Can Kill a Child ? (1976)

36. Forget the skies—watch the children!

37. Evil Children Subgenre Subgenre of Horror genre Started with The Bad Seed (1956) Spread by Village of the Damned (1960) Films “It’s a Good Life” Twilight Zone episode (1961) Who Can Kill a Child? (1976, U. S. title, “Island of the Damned”) The Omen (1976) Children of the Corn (1984) The Good Son (1993) Let Me In (2010)

38. Sequel: Children of the Damned (1963)

39. Remake: John Carpenter directs in 1995