A Double Feature Rated D: "Village of the Damned" and "Day of the Dead"- Tonight!

Posted on June 21, 2025

Tonight, on MeTV- it’s 3 Ds- but not the kind you think- with a cinema duo of devilish devastation- starting with “Village of the DAMNED” followed by the Sven Squad with George Romero’s “DAY of the DEAD”!

First up-on a seemingly normal day, everyone within the city limits of the British village of Midwich suddenly falls unconscious- as does anyone who even tries to enter the village. The military moves in but is unable to cross the invisible town limits- with even a soldier in a gas mask and containment suit falling into this odd sleep as he crosses the line. In about four hours- everyone awakens- with no apparent effects.

That changes within a mere two months- when all the women of child-bearing age in the village discover that- they are pregnant!? This naturally leads to suspicions and accusations among the townsfolk- but then the strange nature of the pregnancies is discovered. There is accelerated development of the fetuses, and all the women giving birth- on the same day! The children born have an odd similarity, including blond-white hair and “unusual eyes”.

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The children continue to grow and develop at an amazing rate- and are revealed to have some kind of psychic bond with almost a “hive” mentality. They tend to travel in a closely-knit group- and seem very cold and frightening to everyone, even their parents. They begin to show signs of having mind control with the frightening ability to make people do things against their will.

Professor Gordon Zellaby, whose wife Anthea was among the women who had one of these children, tries to find answers to this mystery- and is informed by British Intelligence that the same phenomenon has occurred in other nations around the world. Plus, just in Midwich alone, there have been unexplained deaths- leading the villagers to think the strange children are responsible. Zellaby takes on the task of becoming a teacher to the children (including his own son David) to possibly learn more about them- as there are more deaths- and anyone who crosses the offspring becomes an endangered species!

This famed 1960 movie, based on John Wyndham’s novel “The Midwich Cuckoos”, is truly frightening- and was so successful, it spawned a sequel-“Children of the Damned”. One of the most unnerving effects is the children’s eyes turning white when they use their mental powers. We’ll explain how that was done, as well as introducing you to the cast, which includes Barbara Shelly and George Sanders. We also have a new song, plus interviews with various stars and artists- including the guy whose work is the first in this year’s artist series, Franco, and one of the men who put Svengoolie in the Dick Tracy comic strip- artist Joe Staton- as well as Mad magazine artist Tom Richmond. Plus, we encore our visit from the GoGos’ Gina Schock, chat with an actress who has been in such chillers as “Dressed to Kill” and “RoboCop”- Nancy Allen and again meet up with wrestling legend Dannhausen! All this, and Tombstone’s latest enterprise for retirees and more!

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Then, we turn it over to Gwengoolie, Imp, and Nostalgiaferatoo for a real shocker- the third entry in George Romero’s “Living Dead” series- “Day of the Dead”! This 1985 film picks up the story after the shopping mall zombie fest “Dawn of the Dead”-with survivors of the zombie apocalypse now holed up in an underground bunker-where scientists and the military are at odds over how to handle the zombies- with their differing opinions causing conflict that risks everyone’s lives! Our friend Tom Savini is again the special effects master for this film- which we do warn you may be too strong and frightening for some viewers. Please use your judgment regarding who should- and shouldn’t-watch!

The double feature begins at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central time on MeTV- and the tradition continues of our viewers posting comments live during the show on both Twitter/X and Bluesky, using the hashtag #svengoolie- feel free to join in! In the Chicago area, we will bring you the encore of Lon Chaney Jr. as “Son of Dracula” on our local station, WCIU the U, at 11 am!

We’re getting great comments on the new Artists Series merchandise, featuring the artwork of our friend Franco- make sure to check it out in our store (all together now-“I have a…”)-and we will shortly be posting some amazing dates under our “appearances” tab here on our website, so remember to visit there every so often.

Tonight- join us for those damned kids and those darn zombies in our June double-feature on MeTV!

Yikesgeist