The Midwich Cuckoos (2022) User Reviews

John Wyndhams classic novel for the 21st century

[peterrichboy · 7/10 · 9 June 2022]

There seems to be a lot of negativity towards this program mainly because it has not remained faithful to the original book or The 1960s film.

The world has changed a lot since 1957 when the book was written. The internet, television, computers ect. Even abortion which would not have been easily available in the 50s. It's by no means perfect and seven episodes is at least one to many.

The cast are all excellent from the ever reliable Keely Hawes and Max Beasley but it's the children who really shine and make this series an enjoyable watch. Don't be put off by the doubters and judge for yourself.

7/10.

A Decent Retelling For the 21st Century.

[STEVE24BUS · 7/10 · 9 June 2022]

The original film was 77 mins. This has been stretched out to five and a half hours. Keeps you interested even though you'll probably know the story. Kids are creepy and great, and who cares about the casting being reflected to show diversity, doesn't make it any less watchable. Far better than the Christopher Reeve version, stay with it and remember it's 2022 not 1957 when the book was written.

Why the hate

[davekimbates-03693 · 8/10 · 3 June 2022]

I really don't understand why this is being slated as woke rubbish. Why because it has a multiracial cast. Have these people never walked down their own high street.

It's okay, but not great.

[jtb44 · 7/10 · 4 June 2022]

The acting is patchy in places and the pacing's a bit off. I find the sound effects deeply irritating, but otherwise not too bad as remakes go.

Yes, Midwich appears to be quite astonishingly racially diverse, but I don't see how that makes a difference to anyone's enjoyment of the story.

Finally, it's not based on the American film Village of the Damned. Both that and this are based on the Midwich Cuckoos novel by John Wyndham. Read a book.

Why so negative?

[Millie-59622 · 3 June 2022]

IF i was only to go on SOME of the reviews here i MIGHT have skipped this one, but the whole hating on the diversity even made me WANNA LOOK MORE so thanks for that, to all the raysist haters.. It is NOT as bad as i read on here, i guess some people just can't help themselves being negatives and all...

Watched it all, and the child actors in it are very good, and the diversity stands for how the world is now, so the makers did a very good job with that!!

Happy i tried it out,... it was a very nice series to watch them creepy kids are very good, not sure if there could be a second season, but the low scores are not telling for how this serie turned out to be!!

Not Wyndham's Cuckoos, but watchable enough

[john-70-690278 · 6/10 · 2 August 2022]

The first thing to say is that this has almost nothing to do with John Wyndham's novel of the same name. It does take the basic premise of children being conceived and born after some sort of inexplicable event knocks out the population of a town, but there any real similarity ends. The rest of the story, with plenty of attention paid to ensuring all politically correct boxes are ticked, is a new one.

That said, it's not too bad. The story, as rewritten, is a decent one, although some parts are a little incoherent, and the acting and script are fairly good for the most part. There is, of course, an abundance of ethnic minorities who are simply out of place in a small, rural English town and there are nods to various politically correct attitudes, but that's par for the course these days. One or 2 completely unnecessary and unwarranted scenes of sexual activity add nothing whatsoever and could easily have been omitted.

There is plenty of angst, family issues and the like, but the children look suitably malevolent as and when required, particularly the seeming ringleader, Hannah. The dramatic musical accompaniment is often unnecessary and far too intrusive; will directors never learn that silence is usually far more frightening than loud noise ? Some of the dialogue is quite indistinct with the usual mumbling and rapid-fire delivery making it hard to understand it at times, particularly with the background noise.

As the end approaches, the story does seem increasingly contrived, illogical and confused. There's no doubt that it's much too drawn out and could have been far better if restricted to 3 or 4 episodes rather than 7. That said, it's not terrible and I watched to the end, which wasn't much of a surprise. A mark of 6 is probably fair and many will no doubt enjoy it greatly.

what's with the low score

[felixnkubi · 10/10 · 3 June 2022]

I honestly don't get it, I thoroughly enjoyed the show especially how good the kid actors were, they acted so well, I've never read the book so I can't judge both, all I know is I enjoyed this.

Feels like copied homework

[Summersung · 6/10 · 27 June 2022]

This series gives off a disjointed feeling as if someone heard a really great story and then tried to retell it from memory but messed up on the delivery.

The premise and world building is amazing. One can see that the original version of whatever this was based on must have been very thought out. However, the execution and dialogue is bad at times, and people don't act in logical ways.

They even get UK laws wrong and the police and military procedures seem to be using '80s Hollywood-movie police standards, which really takes you out of the story.

Scary as ......

[cqtiger-51415 · 9/10 · 2 June 2022]

Up to episode 5 and can't wait to watch the last episodes to see how it pans out. Children are scary as, especially Hannah with her big teeth and hair.

Acting good. Give it a go.

Midwich Meh

[sarah-508-649421 · 6/10 · 3 June 2022]

The atmosphere, script, story and dialogue were all great. Genuinely creepy. The Midwich Child actors were all amazing at what they did indeed.

The series has moved away from the Novel somewhat. We don't have the pale white haired bright eyed kids here. The kids (maybe the program was trying to be woke?) are no where near as creepy and as uniformed or as one because they've moved them away from the novel. They look like average kids. The village atmosphere is lost too. More a community than a small village that's taken over by blackout.

It's okay for what it's worth but no where near as good as some of the original films that stick to the creepy vibe of the novel.

Another 'classic' badly adapted for television

[alanpuzey · 3/10 · 25 June 2022]

'The Midwich Cuckoos' was an excellent novel, and very well filmed as 'Village of the Damned' in 1960. That film kept it short at 1 hour 17 minutes and maintained tension throughout.

This version must have lasted about 6 hours overall, and followed the familiar pattern of recent TV series - re-imagining a classic story and spinning it out. Finally it looked just like so many other recent series, completely losing its original charm and impact. Many scenes far too long, and many unnecessary characterizations whilst important characters were hardly developed.

I enjoyed the first episode which set the modern-day scene well, but it got long-winded in episode 2 and continued in that vein to the end. Even the climax, which had some tension in it, was no match for the 'battle of minds' portrayed in both 'Village of the Damned' feature films.

Sadly, many people praised it, showing the effect that countless similar TV productions has had on viewers.

I certainly agree with another reviewer who likened it to a Dr Who series, for these reasons.

An Interesting Modern Take on A Classic Novel

[fatfil-414-451797 · 9/10 · 6 June 2022]

Really don't understand all the haters on here. I have used the analogy before, but it is down to the Squid Game Mentality. No one gets slaughtered in the first 10 minutes so it's boring. Back story, character building, and a plot? Heaven forbid! Was a fan of the book, and all of John Wyndham's work. Village of the Damned, a previous adaptation of this story from the 60's was one of the first movies I vividly remember. Still a great movie, albeit a little dated. Which is one of the reasons I love this so much. It drags the story into the 21st century, while keeping the heart and essence of the original intact, which is no mean feat.

Wolf Rilla did it better

[tony-70-667920 · 6/10 · 8 June 2022]

I haven't read the novel, but this series was less chilling than Wolf Rilla's 1960 version "The Village of the Damned." The children in that version, with their blond(e) hair, were eerily like the Nazis' ideal German youths. That look was out this time round, because London-centric casting directors nowadays insist on populating dramas and adverts with mixed-race couples and children. That may well be what they'd like to see and also the best way forward, since if in future everyone was coffee-coloured there would be no racism, but it's a totally dishonest picture of where we are now. Black people constitute only 3 to 3.5% of the UK's population. That proportion is much higher in London, but we saw Keeley Hawes going to Marylebone station to get a Chiltern Line train, and the announcer mentioned Amersham and Chorleywood: I seriously doubt there are many black people in the Chilterns' towns and villages. The funny thing is we still get black actors saying they're under-rather than over-represented in the UK, and have to go to the US for work.

Keeley played a role filled by George Sanders in the original (another sign of the times, I suppose.) She was excellent as ever, while Max Beesley scowled a lot. Aisling Loftus made the biggest impression, and I certainly want to see more of her work.

Not worth the effort!

[oz-marky · 3/10 · 7 June 2022]

The Midwich Cuckoos is a 1957 science fiction novel written by the English author John Wyndham. It tells the tale of an English village in which the women become pregnant by brood parasitic aliens.

The book has been praised by many critics, including the dramatist Dan Rebellato, who called it a searching novel of moral ambiguities, and the novelist Margaret Atwood, who called the book Wyndham's masterpiece. His previous best seller was The Day Of The Triffids.

Ambulances arrive at two traffic accidents blocking the only roads into the (fictional) British village of Midwich, Winshire. Attempting to approach the village, one ambulanceman becomes unconscious. Suspecting gas poisoning, the army is notified. They discover that a caged canary becomes unconscious upon entering the affected region, but regains consciousness when removed. Further experiments reveal the region to be a hemisphere with a diameter of 2 miles (3.2 km) around the village. Aerial photography shows an unidentifiable silvery object on the ground in the centre of the affected zone.

After one day, the effect vanishes, along with the unidentified object, and the villagers wake with no apparent ill effects. Some months later they realise that every woman of child-bearing age is pregnant-even those who are single or not otherwise in relationships with men-with all indications that the pregnancies were caused by xenogenesis during the period of unconsciousness that has come to be referred to as the "Dayout".

When the 31 boys and 30 girls are born, they appear normal, except for their unusual golden eyes, light blonde hair, and pale, silvery skin. These children have none of the genetic characteristics of their mothers. As they grow up, it becomes increasingly apparent that they are, at least in some respects, not human. They possess telepathic abilities and can control others' actions. The Children (they are referred to with a capital C) have two distinct group minds: one for the boys and another for the girls. Their physical development is accelerated compared with that of humans; upon reaching the age of nine, they appear to be sixteen-year-olds.

The Children protect themselves as much as possible using a form of mind control. One young man who accidentally hits a Child in the hip while driving a car is made to drive into a wall and kill himself. A bull that chased the Children is forced into a pond to drown. The villagers form a mob and try to burn down the Midwich Grange, where the Children are taught and live, but the Children make the villagers attack each other.

I was "made" to read this novel by my school. I had no idea that cuckoos lay their eggs in other bird's nests, so I missed the title's meaning. I'd just read To Kill A Mockingbird, which I loved, but was surprised that this was nothing like anything I'd previously read, and after one chapter I was hooked. I couldn't believe this was considered "classic", it was wonderful, modern, and creepy as all hell.

In 1960 it was made into a movie. There were some slight changes. No object on the ground, which worked better, for me. The movie is black and white, and beautiful. The children are incredible, and frightening. It's a superb rendition of the story, but was unfortunately renamed Village Of The Damned, which is a stupid title.

John Carpenter remade the movie in. 1995 under the same title. It's so similar, I couldn't see the point. Also the wigs they had the children wear look ridiculous.

Now it's a British series, under the book's title The Midwich Cuckoos.

I was looking forward to it, but it's awful. The "village" is quite a large town, and it's not remote, or conservative, which makes the events far less shocking. The lead character has been changed to a woman, for no reason. The children aren't identical, but multi-racial, like their parents. They don't have yellow eyes.

I don't understand why it's using the novel's title, as it's completely different and not very interesting. I'm not watching the rest of it. Those complaining that the changes are warranted, are wrong.

Let down.

[Arch-Carl · 4 June 2022]

Sorry but being a fan of books and original movies series extra that this based on could not like this remake as much as wanted to and yes watched them all, just went way to far of original source materials and look...

Great start, drawn out and abrupt ending

[adrianmpage · 7/10 · 30 June 2022]

A lot of low scores are because the cast isn't all white considering it's meant to be based in a middle England village. One of the earliest scenes is a character going on a date in London, it's not a middle England village but one of the commuter towns. They've basically made Midwich Amersham (where it's filmed). I also pity anybody who's so racist that the second they see a brown/black face they get angry.

The series had enough to start with that it keeps me in suspense throughout, some of the decision making by the people is questionable but then so is the decision making of people in real life.

My biggest gripe is the ending dragged on a bit and then ends abruptly. There were also a couple of minor bits were the attention to detail with how the kids interacted with each other changed with no explanation. Until the last couple of episodes I'd have given it an 8 or 9 rating.

Good but not great

[absentia-63871 · 7/10 · 4 June 2022]

I see the bedwetters who think that when something offends them, (usually a non white face) it is 'Woke' are out in force again. Please just go and get in the sea and take your purile prejudices with you.

As for the programme itself, it's OK, dodgy acting in places but conveys an element of suspense at times which smartly reflects the source material. Could've been better but nowhere near as bad as some of the sad reviews suggest.

Village of the damned

[Nellie22 · 9/10 · 2 June 2022]

I am on episode 4 and I'm hooked. I think it's something very different to other series available right now. The acting is good, especially the children, who are creepy. It reminds me a bit of Village of the damned. I'm intrigued to see how the story ends...

A passable watch

[bucklberry-18046 · 6/10 · 4 June 2022]

The writing isn't amazing, there are plot points which make you scratch your head and ask "Really, that's the choice you make?", but over all the majority of the acting and general story make it a reasonable version.

Is the casting a demonstration of diversity quotas and over representation? Yes it is (everyone in UK showbiz seems to think African descent actors reflect this more than Asians oddly, who in reality double their numbers), and it is mildly annoying, but to give scores of 1 based primarily on this..? It's a -1 at most, get over yourselves.

Some of the child actors have really promising futures in the industry, and the jobbing actors hold the plot together as best they can.

Intriguing and well acted

[imknight · 8/10 · 3 June 2022]

Midwich Cookoo is the original title of Village of the Dammed based on a book . I've never read the book but enjoying this series . Low scores are from purists who want everything to be like the book and let's face it when are they ever ? I'm 3 episodes in and its a good series .

OK but not something memorable

[philsanday · 6/10 · 6 June 2022]

Never read the book so had no idea what to expect. First couple of episodes started well enough and showed promise. While the acting was good, with a reasonable story line, nothing stood out. Not as "spooky" as it might (could) have been and a bit predictable at times. It's OK but could have been better.

Series of the damned mediocre

[pompey2310 · 4/10 · 19 June 2022]

Having seen and read the originals this is both absurd and unrealistic. Plot holes and situations in abundance coupled with poor acting absolutely ruin a classic syfi. A small town/village with a police station let alone a CID section... Yeah right. Soldiers doing drill with loaded weapons! All the characters are stupid and blind beyond belief. Another weak and poorly made Sky production.

Great adaptation

[nataliesinnadurai · 10/10 · 5 June 2022]

Really enoyed - I love it as it sticks pretty closely to the heart of book & brought it up to date - having to cope with the prevalence of social media.

The casting & directing of the children is well done.

Say Goodbye To the Brick Wall

[DVDExotica · 7/10 · 9 March 2023]

The more I've learned about the original novel, the less satisfied I've become with its official film adaptation, Village Of the Damned. So when I saw that they were updating it as a British television miniseries, I was excited. We could have a version with everything left out of the novel, and tackle some of the more adult themes a 1960 sci-fi flick wasn't prepared to deal with (for instance: abortion).

When I saw it was updated to present day and received middling reviews, however, I backed off. I didn't watch it until this week, when I finally whittled down my watch list to the bottom. But now I'm glad I finally got to it!

We don't need older novels updated to modern times, we really don't. I can apply everything Jane Austen is expressing in Mansfield Park to the relationships in my life perfectly well without a screenwriter turning Fanny Price into a coke-slinging EDM DJ at a hot London nightclub. But, honestly, the modernization didn't hurt this film at all. The change from a small village to a more plugged-in modern town doesn't wind up making too much of a difference, except them having to add a few throw-away lines like, "I posted about it on Facebook, and it was removed!" If that's what the producers felt they needed to do to secure network funding in 2022, fine; it's not important.

And yes, this series does get to more of the themes and nuance in the source material. It gives female characters more agency in a smart way. And the most famous scenes from both the film and the book are still here (the boiling kettle, the car crash, the bomb), just slightly adjusted to fit the new trappings. In a lot of ways, this is the fuller, more grown-up adaptation I always wanted.

But they made some dumb changes, too. They're not too destructive, but I wish somebody could've been on set to stop them. The inclusion of a 40 year-old "Child" doesn't add much, and makes the end anti-climatic to the point that it lead audiences and critics to expect a season 2 (but the show runner has assured us it was intended to be and will remain an enclosed, completed story). And the addition of a good Child is just schmaltzy and counter to the themes of the story they're telling. But if you put it out of your mind and make a conscious effort not to let it bother you, it doesn't change much in the end. Everything good about this story is still there.

So yes, it's flawed and I can see why it didn't make a splash. But seeing as how this likely has shut the door on anybody else taking a stab at this novel for at least another decade, it's nice that they got so much right. I's not perfect, but it's underrated. Is it better than the 1960 film? I don't know (it's certainly better than the 90's remake, that's for sure). The original still holds up - those kids were great. But I wish this show was a little better appreciated, too. It's quite good.

Oh for the love of a good show..

[rjjackson-17120 · 2/10 · 13 June 2022]

This could have been so good. Two good leads.. small British town.. suspense.. instead it's forgotten what makes a good small town mystery is .. a small town ..

So much focus has gone into a diverse cast.. we have mixed race couples, people of colour, that's not representative of a small British town.. it's started off so well.. the mixed race couple looking for small town life. Then it became more like London with its diversity. I should know I'm a person of colour who moved from a small town, where we were the only Asian family, into London.. it's distracting and annoying. It loses its authenticity. If you wanted to ram diversity form our throats why not set it in London..?

Then there's the fact that the acting is mediocre, apart from Keeley and Max.. the lady from the home office seriously looked out of her depth. She had one expression only.

All in all blah..