(1960)
Dir - Wolf Rilla
Overall: GREAT
German director Wolf Rilla's most famous cinematic accomplishment Village of the Damned stands up all these decades later as one of the best British horror films probably ever made. Similar in some respects to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, (another obviously landmark work), for its tale of an emotionless, malicious force hell-bent on survival after presumably arriving on Earth from the cosmos, Village forgoes Cold War paranoia symbolism for straight out creepiness. The premise is exceptionally unnerving and the very mysterious set up wastes zero time getting to the point with Rilla wisely choosing to play it out with no dramatic score for quite some time. Watching the film now, it is unlikely that anyone will be surprised or even perplexed the way that is intended since it has long been a mainstay in pop culture. White haired, white-eyed children sinisterly staring at the camera and speaking exclusively in logical, proper British grammar has been parodied more than enough times for everyone to be familiar with what is happening even with going into the film for the first time. This is hardly a problem though as the film does not rely on any shock value, instead working marvelously as an unsettling and eerie work that pushes every bottom for an audience to witness innocence masked as malevolence.
(1962)
Dir - Steve Sekely
Overall: GOOD
One of the best large scale, big scary monsters/science fiction films from the 1950s-1960s era when they were certainly aplenty, the John Wyndham novel adaptation The Day of the Triffids delves deep into the horror pool, much to its effectiveness. The first act is particularly strong, with a swell introduction, nerve-wracking premise, a slow boiled and gruesome greenhouse killing, and very impressive shots of an isolated hospital and London cityscape. If that last part sounds familiar, you would be correct in recalling a little zombie film called 28 Days Later that either intentionally or coincidentally borrows more than a bit from Triffids' post-apocalyptic aesthetic. The ensemble cast is rather solid and supply just enough audience relatability to never bog the overall pace down. Script wise, it is pretty tight up until a point where the final solution to the would-be unstoppable triffid plague is bum-rushed over almost as an afterthought. It also recalls The War of the Worlds' ending a little too intentionally, (presumably to maximize commercialism potential), which is made more noticeable by the fact that the novel wrapped things up rather differently and in more detail. Yet only if the majority of Triffids was not so expertly done before that and the film itself had emerged at a time when such genre pictures were more experimental with more of their details would such shortcomings be too detrimental.
(1964)
Dir - Don Sharp
Overall: MEH
Lon Chaney Jr. had a rather lackluster track record near the end of his career, though a small number of appearances in decent movies, (Spider Baby, The Haunted Palace), kept it above complete embarrassment. Don Sharp, (who directed some typically solid Hammer films such as The Kiss of the Vampire and Rasputin the Mad Monk), helmed the 1964 Witchcraft with Chaney acting as a wicked, foul-tempered decedent of ancient magic with his deep, gargly voice lathered in alcohol. It is not one of the best of the veteran, Universal monster actor's portrayals as he is not only very one-note, but he even says the wrong characters name in one scene. The film itself has a few other missteps as well as some becoming qualities. The script is as simple as they come which is in no way a detriment, but the pacing during some would-be climactic scenes is not kept up to appropriate levels. During the final third of the film, a great deal of time is spent watching characters very slowly walk down stairs and through endless corridors and it is tempting to nod off while viewing. There are also a couple apparent technical mistakes such as when a room full of witches walk into a chamber completely oblivious to their victim having been removed. Plus, there are two scenes that take place with reoccurring cuts to a car driving on clearly two different terrains from the inside and outside view of the camera. Still, the occult atmosphere is effective and even rather creepy at times, particularly when it is not accompanied by obvious "horror movie music".
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