After approximately four hours, the villagers regain consciousness, and all are apparently unaffected by the time-out that had temporarily cut Midwich off from the rest of the world.

Two months later, all Midwich women and girls of child-bearing age, including Anthea, are discovered to be pregnant, sparking many accusations of both adultery and premarital sex.

The accusations of adultery and premarital sex fade as the extraordinary nature of the pregnancies is discovered, with seven-month fetuses appearing after only five months.

They dress impeccably, always walk as a group, speak in an adult manner, and behave maturely, but they show no conscience or love, and demonstrate a coldness to others, causing the villagers and the Zellabies' dog, Bruno, to fear and shun them.

This is confirmed when the children are seen killing a man-who had accidentally hit one of them with his car-by making him crash into a wall, and again when they force his suspicious brother to shoot himself.

Zellaby compares the children's resistance to reasoning with a brick wall and uses this motif as self-protection against their mind-reading after their inhuman nature becomes clear to him.

Anthea, upon realizing that Zellaby was planning something drastic, drives back to Midwich, and a distance away, she and Bernard watch the school explode.

[8] By December, the title had been changed to Village of the Damned and Russ Tamblyn, who appeared as the lead in MGM's Tom Thumb (1958), was named as a possible star.

[23] Most filming took place at MGM's Borehamwood Studio but it was also shot on location in the village of Letchmore Heath,[24] near Watford, approximately 12 miles (19 kilometres) north of London.

Local buildings such as The Three Horseshoes Pub[25] and Aldenham House (which subsequently became part of The Haberdashers' Aske's School, Elstree) were used during filming.

[citation needed] Given an 'A' certificate by the British censors, the film opened in June 1960 at The Ritz cinema in Leicester Square, London.

[21] The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The solution of this excellent adaptation from John Wyndham's The Midwich Cuckoos can be recommended for its ruthless ingenuity, the story is original as these things go and has grip, the village background is pleasing and Wolf Rilla's direction (except for some irksome glimpses of George Sanders' marital bliss) both sharp and discreet.

Altogether, in fact, with chillingly effective performances from the children to add to the tension, this is probably the neatest science fiction film yet to have come out of a British studio.

[citation needed] Ernest Betts wrote in The People: "As a horror film with a difference, it'll give you the creeps for 77 minutes.

"[citation needed] The Time reviewer called it "one of the neatest little horror pictures produced since Peter Lorre went straight" and questioned the wisdom of MGM's low-profile release strategy.

"[32] The film received a small but positive mention in the Saturday Review which called it "an absorbing little picture that you may yet be able to find on some double-feature bill.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Chilling performances and a restrained, eerie atmosphere make this British horror both an unnerving parable of its era and a timeless classic.

"[35] The climactic scene in which the children break down Zellaby's mental brick wall is #92 on the Bravo miniseries 100 Scariest Movie Moments.

Also titled Village of the Damned, the film was directed by John Carpenter and moved to a contemporary time period and an American setting.