The Damned (1961)

Directed by

Joseph Losey

Genre

drama film, horror film, science fiction film

Country

United Kingdom

Runtime

1h 31m

Rated

NR

Rating

6.3 of 10 from 129 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A vacationing American in Dorset meets a group of strange children who live in a hidden underground compound. The children are constantly watched by military scientists.

bleakslow-burncerebralunsettlingtensemelancholiccreepymoody

What happens

The Damned (released in the United States as These Are the Damned) is a 1962 British science-fiction horror film directed by Joseph Losey and produced by Anthony Hinds for Hammer Film Productions. It stars Macdonald Carey, Shirley Anne Field, Viveca Lindfors, Oliver Reed, and Alexander Knox. The screenplay by Evan Jones is based on H. L. Lawrence's 1960 novel The Children of Light. The plot is about a vacationing American (Carey) who stumbles across a mysterious group of children who reside in an underground compound in Dorset, that are monitored constantly by military scientists. Director Losey and producer Hinds clashed during production over the film’s bleak, cerebral tone, and the runtime was reduced from its initial 95 minutes to 87 minutes. It was not released in Britain until May 1963, where it received positive reviews from critics. Losey’s original 95-minute cut was later released on home video. The British Film Institute described it as "among Hammer's finest and most haunting productions." (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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