Children of the Damned (1963)

75% of critics liked it
(12 reviews)
50% of users liked it
(1,636 ratings)

This sequel to the 1960 Village of The Damned falls short of the original well-made Sci-Fi shocker. The pretentious attempt to give the film a moral message severely weakens the plot and serves to confuse the fans of the previous film. Beautiful, strange children with genius IQ's, destructive… More This sequel to the 1960 Village of The Damned falls short of the original well-made Sci-Fi shocker. The pretentious attempt to give the film a moral message severely weakens the plot and serves to confuse the fans of the previous film. Beautiful, strange children with genius IQ's, destructive dispositions, and ray-gun eyes, who were invaders bent on overtaking the earth in the former tale, are now a sample of mankind's future sent to the earth for the purpose of being destroyed in order to teach the present-day warlike man a lesson of some sort. Plagued with a tedious and unimaginative plot. ~ Lucinda Ramsey, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Anton Leader
Genres: Horror, Mystery & Suspense, Science Fiction & Fantasy

In Theaters: Jan 29, 1963 Wide
On DVD: Sep 30, 1992

Critic Reviews

James O'Ehley, Sci-Fi Movie Page
The only scary thing in the entire movie is actor Ian Hendry's resemblance to George W. Bush . . .
Douglas Pratt, DVDLaser
attempts to repeat the success of the first film
Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan
Scary sequel has its moments.
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central
Dimwitted, obvious, subpar in every way.
Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)
Another sequel that falls short of the original mark.
Staci Layne Wilson, Fantastica Daily
A classic.

Read all 6 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Jeff "

This sequel to the superb Village of the Damned is pretty average considering the original Sci Fi horror film is such a chilling, effective and memorable horror film. Using Cold War propaganda, as this was made at height of the Cold War, Children of the Damned fails to establish… More
This sequel to the superb Village of the Damned is pretty average considering the original Sci Fi horror film is such a chilling, effective and memorable horror film. Using Cold War propaganda, as this was made at height of the Cold War, Children of the Damned fails to establish anything effective in the chill factor. The film is good, not excellent, and considering that this is a sequel to Village of the Damned, it fails in that respect. Instead of an eerie atmosphere, the filmmakers relies more on a poorly constructed moral message in the films plot, and that just doesn't do. The film kind of reminded me of the original Sci Fi film The Day the Earth Stood Still, only this time around the message the film tries to pass along to the viewers is pretty silly, ineffective and it ruins a potentially good sequel. Unfortunately the films "horrifying" moments don't work, not like the first, and as a sequel, it's yet again a film that fails to capture the essence of the original film. A pretty ordinary sequel with nothing that really terrifies the audience. I thought the film had its decent moment, and no it's not a bad film, but considering that the first was so chilling, and cleverly built up to its horrifying conclusion, this film is a let down. The cast on the other hand delivered good performances, which redeemed the film significantly, but it wasn't enough to save this film from being an average sequel. Good idea, but average execution. This is a film that the filmmakers could have taken more time to develop a better plot to.
Luke B

Children of the Damned is a sequel to Village of the Damned. Though it contains the same super genius, psychic children, the actual plot is very different. Rather than being an eerie, disturbing horror, it is a political thriller focusing on cold war paranoia. The reason for the… More
Children of the Damned is a sequel to Village of the Damned. Though it contains the same super genius, psychic children, the actual plot is very different. Rather than being an eerie, disturbing horror, it is a political thriller focusing on cold war paranoia. The reason for the children being here is unclear, unlike the first film, they may be here to help. The fact that they are so advanced and so powerful automatically has them labeled as threats. It's a punchy, well paced film, but also one that prefers it's message over it's story. A more even balance would have been welcome. It's a thinker of a film but one that could learn a lot from it's superior predecessor.
Barry L

Creepy bugger of a film....loved it.