The sleepy English village of Midwich is mysteriously cut off from the outside world by an invisible barrier. After the spell is lifted, the villagers discover that every woman of childbearing age has fallen pregnant. When the women simultaneously give birth, it soon becomes clear that their children are not normal. They grow too quickly, understand too much, and can communicate with each other telepathically. Worst of all, they kill anybody who threatens their collective interests.
Evil children have been a horror and science fiction staple since The Bad Seed (1956). But there’s something about British science fiction writer John Wyndham’s 1957 novel The Midwich Cuckoos that writers and directors keep coming back to.
