Hallowatch 2026 No. 31: Village of the Damned (1995) + Wrap Up
Well at least we end on a high note. Or, as high a note as 90's John Carpenter goes.
This was pretty fun! It felt like a Twilight Zone episode from the 80s revival.
Performances:
- I was only really familiar with Christopher Reeve from his stint as Big Blue and then his Smallville episodes so it was cool to see him outside the DC universe(s); turns out he can act. Who knew.
- It was also neat to see Kirstie Alley in a non-comedy role; I think the only thing I was really familiar with her in was the Look Who's Talking movies and then the tabloid stuff in the 2000s and the right-wing turn a bit later. What a mess.
- Mark Hammill might've been the lone mis-cast in this movie; Skywalker aside, I think his best work was his voice work. This movie wasn't really a refutation of that idea.
- The child acting in this was Pretty Bad! I'm not taking a stance as drastic as, say, Ranged Touch where every movie with kids in it should be a Clifford situation, but this is evidence in favor of that position.
Every time the kids used their powers, the CGI eyes took me out of it. Like, it's fine to let it be a little corny but this was so bad, so often. Frustrating decision on Carpenter's part.
It feels weird to end the Hallowatch on "It was fine!" but this movie? It was fine, maybe even pretty good; You miss little by skipping it though. I don't think it needs a remake.
Let's take a minute to recap how we felt about the Hallowatch in its entirety.
F-Tier: Absolute Hogwash
Antlers. The Nun. 11-11-11. Spiral. The Card Player. Bordello of Blood. These were all Kinda Garbo and painful to watch, for various reasons.
D-Tier: You could make something good with the pieces here
The filmmakers didn't. But there could be something interesting here.
Rings, Proxy, Evil Bong, Gothika, House on Haunted Hill, Wax Mask, House of Wax, Long Time Dead, Bone Lake.
C-Tier: It Was Fine
Village of the Damned, Train to Busan, Tomie, Uzumaki, The Rental, Insidious. No One Will Save You: "It was fine".
B-Tier: Quality Midrange
Unfriended, Pontypool, Swallowed, Exit 8, Vamps, Triangle. These were interesting and inventive; there's ideas here, I feel like my life was enriched for having watched them.
A-Tier: Best of the bunch
Frailty, Midsommar, and The VVitch. I know we all like when horror movies aren't about something beyond "Jason hitting one person in a sleeping bag using another person in a sleeping bag" but these were all legitimately great and rewatchable.
Thank you for having watched along. I may do a tournament of some kind for next year's Hallowatch, maybe via instagram polls if those still exist in a year.
