***SPOILERS***
This film is one of John Carpenter's strongest horrors. True to form he follows his pacing and suspenseful "foreplay". Takes 37 mins in to get to anything weird or scary happening. I just love the way he builds the characters up. I feel modern audiences of the youtube generation are too impatient to wait this long, but this 2nd act pivot point is very traditional film making.
This film is brilliant and horrifying in so many ways. It's an allegory for parenting and the treatment of children. It explores the concept of empathy and individuality. Can you teach children empathy?
I am less interested in the host/ alien concepts in the film. More interested in the collective consciousness and exploration of "adaptation" and evolution. Science and development are major themes in the film. But also about parenting in general. The women in the film are mere hosts for these "children"/ "beings". It explores the horror of whether you can control or teach your child right and wrong. And what if you can't?
I also believe that the babies actually learned to retaliate when their mother's hurt them. For example the hot soup is thrown on the floor and the mother is punished by being forced to put arm in boiling soup. The scientist/ doctor Kirstie Alley (a surprisingly good performance) is forced to basic perform her own autopsy like she did to the still born "baby". This scene can be interpreted as an abortion type scene or about the shame of stillbirths and miscarriages.
In this way the children are childlike they have basic needs and communicate through pain and punishment. This is very primal. Another example is the eye exam where she "accidentally" puts some sort of acid in their eye, and then is punished through the same means for this seeming random human error. Another thread that could be teased out is the "children's" notion of supremacy over humanity. Something the film explicitly states near the end.
The film also explores the notion of governmental scientific study through funding. They pay all the medical expenses to keep the "babies" as long as they commit to having them studied regularly.
The film is based on John Wyndham's book "The Midwich Cuckoo's". Obviously a lot has been translated into the 90s mobile phone era as opposed to the time in which it was written. I love the concept of the cuckoo used in this, because cuckoo's steal other birds eggs and its throughout the film well established at the start that many of the women are trying to get pregnant (unsuccessfully). But also the women are acting as hosts for the true "parents" who we never see.
Also it's so weird to see Luke Skywalker as a priest that wants to kill "children".
Lots of themes and references to cults.
There's so much in this film, but it doesn't feel "heavy".
In this way the children are childlike they have basic needs and communicate through pain and punishment. This is very primal. Another example is the eye exam where she "accidentally" puts some sort of acid in their eye, and then is punished through the same means for this seeming random human error. Another thread that could be teased out is the "children's" notion of supremacy over humanity. Something the film explicitly states near the end.
The film also explores the notion of governmental scientific study through funding. They pay all the medical expenses to keep the "babies" as long as they commit to having them studied regularly.
The film is based on John Wyndham's book "The Midwich Cuckoo's". Obviously a lot has been translated into the 90s mobile phone era as opposed to the time in which it was written. I love the concept of the cuckoo used in this, because cuckoo's steal other birds eggs and its throughout the film well established at the start that many of the women are trying to get pregnant (unsuccessfully). But also the women are acting as hosts for the true "parents" who we never see.
Also it's so weird to see Luke Skywalker as a priest that wants to kill "children".
Lots of themes and references to cults.
There's so much in this film, but it doesn't feel "heavy".
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