This terrifying special effect in Village of the Damned was what convinced the studio to produce the film
As if these kids couldn't get any creepier.
Sometimes, the best special effects are the simplest. During an interview with Fangoria, director Wolf Rilla explained that he relied on simplicity when filming his 1960 horror film, Village of the Damned.
Centered around a town full of some more than creepy children with psychic powers, Village of the Damned kicks the "killer kid" trope into overdrive. One of the more terrifying moments throughout the film comes when the children use their powers, causing their eyes to glow bright white. Rilla revealed that the glow was simply "a little matte insert of the eyes."
"Changing them from positive to negative is what made them glow," said Rilla. "We cast the children to have very, very dark eyes - we didn't use contact lenses." In fact, making the children look eerily similar was a process that began at the casting call. "In order to give them a look-alike effect, we first chose children roughly of the same height and build," said Rilla. "We then equipped them with identical wigs; the wigs being quite subtly made to give their heads a slightly more dome-like feeling. Apart from the wigs, there was just straight makeup; nothing heavy, as it would make them look unreal."
Rilla said that it was the glowing eye effect was the main reason that the film studio agreed to produce the film, and as a director, he had no interest in special effects in his film.
"I preferred the film at the time without the special effects. The effect of their evil influence came across through the sheer intensity of their evil looks; if you had to use special effects of the eyes, you made it slightly forced and unreal."
However, audiences agreed that the special effects involved were what took Village of the Damned from scary to terrifying. After the film was released, Rilla agreed. "Obviously I was wrong," said the director.
