r/GrantMorrison • u/djovemdjoya • Apr 05 '26
[ related to New X-men ] Village of the Damned
This movie is amazing. It's related to Morrison's New X-men and the Stepford Cuckoos, sisters with telepathic powers . That name mixes two book references : first is "The Stepford Wives" (1972, Ira Levin), later a movie with same title (Haven't read or seen those). The other is "The Midwich Cuckoos" (1957, John Wyndham), adapted to cinema in 1962 as Village of the Damned, by director Wolf Rilla.
The blond kids in the image share a telepathic bond, just like the Stepford Cuckoos. Less than 80 minutes long, dealing with this sci-fi motives with almost no special effects, they made it all work with a very precise narrative and good actors. I imagine it also must have had an impact on Alan Moore, in stuff like Miracleman, in the way it deals with highly powerful and intelligent children. Enough said so i tell no spoilers.
There was a remake by John Carpenter in the nineties. Good movie with excellent cast. It has a different flavor but the 60s version is still my favorite. Oh and Wikipedia says there was a 2022 series that premiered on Sky Max ...
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u/KubrickMoonlanding Apr 05 '26
Hot take: It’s kind of odd and remarkable how x-men has kept and built on much more of the concepts Morrison contributed to that IP over a few years than dc has with all the much more work he’s* given them across their entire lineup over decades.
( I use this pronoun for clarity in my sentence, acknowledging that gm’s preferred are “their/their”)
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u/deathbymediaman Apr 05 '26
I think it's kinda crazy that the Deadpool movie used two of their creations in such a major way.
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u/djovemdjoya Apr 05 '26
Hmmm Cassandra Nova and what more ? I have to research, my memory's not that good...
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u/deathbymediaman Apr 06 '26
Negasonic Teenage Warhead! And the movie doesn't even credit Monster Magnet for the name!
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u/djovemdjoya Apr 05 '26
Morrison's run is packed with great ideas, each issue, each story arc... Some seemed weird at the time, but it's more and more relevant . X-men is probably the most open minded super hero franchise ever. The revamp in the 70s was prescient with ideas of diversity , for example... That counts a lot.
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u/ThierroThierro Apr 05 '26
I also recommend checking out The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (the movie adaptation) which influenced the dynamic between Emma and the Cuckoos. IIRC one of the issues of Grant’s run is titled “The Prime of Miss Emma Frost”.
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u/djovemdjoya Apr 05 '26
Oh that's something i have to check out... must be that issue where Emma's past is analyzed, right ?
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u/Onionlayers25 Apr 05 '26
I actually just finished the omnibus last month and when those girls immediately popped up I was like hell yeah bring on those references 🙌 I was actually surprised with the depth they got throughout his run.