Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		3.5

The Damned Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 21, 2020

Note: This version of this film is available as part of Hammer Volume Four: Faces of Fear.

Powerhouse Films has already delighted fans of a certain iconic British studio with Hammer Volume One: Fear Warning!, Hammer Volume Two: Criminal Intent and Hammer Volume Three: Blood & Terror, all of which offered an admittedly sometimes odd grabbag of films. This fourth volume of offerings from Hammer is itself kind of an odd grabbag of sorts, with two more “traditional” Hammer opuses, at least in terms of offering a recognizable genre character like Frankenstein and/or Dr. Jekyll, included with two other, more contemporary, outings that at least may arguably offer some Gothic content in their own way.

The Damned is also known as These Are the Damned, but some may wonder if this film might have just as easily been called Village of the Damned had that title not already been taken by the well remembered 1960 film. The Damned was evidently shot in 1961 but languished until 1963 when it was finally given a UK release (its US debut didn’t come until two years after that), a wait that probably was due to Hammer wondering about the marketability of its obvious anti-nuke message, but which may have been undertaken at least in part to let memories of Village of the Damned fade, even if the film’s title (in any form) might subliminally have recalled the earlier outing. In any case, there are at least a couple undeniable similarities between the properties, with both offering a gaggle of kids with unusual “conditions” (for want of a better term) and a potent subtext of nuclear annihilation informing the proceedings. The Damned takes a bit longer to reveal its various plot dynamics, but the film is really rather interesting for those with enough patience to let it unfold at its own pace.

Part of that wait for the "real" story in The Damned may be a reason why this film just doesn't work as a whole for me. The first part of the film almost seems to be an "angry young man" drama per the British tradition of that era (more or less, anyway) mixed with a bit of The Wild One, detailing a ruthless gang led by King (Oliver Reed) in the seaside town of Weymouth (note some of the key art, as per the insert art above, which may imply that The Damned of the title are a biker gang). Apparently well to do American expat Simon Wells (Macdonald Carey) is stupidly lured into a conversation with King's sister Joan (Shirley Anne Field), with his reward being getting the you know what kicked out of him. Already The Damned seems to be off on a kind of social critique soap opera tangent, and it only gets weirder when Simon and Joan end up taking off in Simon's boat together (the motives in this part of the film were decidedly opaque to this viewer). It's only courtesy of this journey that the film finally gets into its really weird component, and ostensibly its main focus, when Simon and Joan stumble upon a gaggle of kids holed up in a seaside cave that is weirdly appointed and has a video feed connecting it to a guy named Bernard (Alexander Knox).

The fate (and history) of the children do become the main source of intrigue, but The Damned stuffs in all sorts of sidebars, including some frankly kind of sleazy material vis a vis King (who also ends up in the cave like bunker) and Joan. The film has some really interesting content, though, especially with regard to Bernard, who might be deemed simpatico in a way with the character played by Walter Matthau in another, later, anti-nuke film, Fail Safe, with both Bernard and the Matthau character espousing the inevitability of nuclear war, but the glimmer of hope that someone might survive. Viveca Lindfors is on hand as a kind of bohemian artist involved with Bernard, in yet another rather odd tangent.

The Damned is unabashedly nihilistic, and it’s not hard to see why Hammer may have been a bit reticent to release it. This is another film directed by Joseph Losey that is stuffed to the gills with subtext, and as such it makes for a fascinating viewing experience, even if it can seem like more than one film kind of haphazardly stuffed into one property.

The Damned Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Powerhouse provided only check discs for purposes of this review.

The Damned is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Powerhouse's Indicator imprint with AVC encoded 1080p transfers in 2.35:1. Since I'm working from check discs without the benefit of any supporting documentation, I can't include any verbiage from Powerhouse about the transfer, other than their website's statement that this release sports a "2K restoration" (there's no specification as to whether this refers to both versions). While Disc One offers the film with two different titles, other than the credits sequence, there's no difference. Disc Two offers the shorter original UK theatrical version, but if there are any major differences in actual video quality, they escaped my eyes. For those interested screenshots 1 through 20 are from the longer cuts on Disc One, while screenshots 21 through 25 are from the shorter original UK version, and I've attempted to come close to duplicating frames on at least a couple of them so that those interested can do side by side comparisons. Arthur Grant's black and white cinematography is generally very well rendered here, with some excellent fine detail in close-ups and an engagingly organic looking grain field throughout the presentations. Clarity is generally excellent throughout as well, but a couple of location shots, notably a scene with Simon's boat and some later cliffside material, can look just slightly washed out. There are occasional slight deficits in shadow detail in some of the darker "cave" scenes. Some of the compositing is almost comically bad (see screenshots 20 and 25).

The Damned Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Kind of interestingly, Disc One features DTS-HD Master Audio Mono and Disc Two features LPCM Mono, but I didn't notice any huge differences between the two tracks (it's maybe arguable that the DTS-HD Master Audio track has a bit more in the midrange, but not by much if at all). There's a just very slight brashness to the upper registers that can make some of the cues in James Bernard's score utilizing higher frequencies sound a tad bright, but dialogue and actual sound effects are full bodied and sound fine. There are some good changes in general ambience when the film ventures from outside to the cloistered environment of the bunker where the kids are being held.

The Damned Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This comes as a two disc release which is a bit confusedly listed as an exclusive to the box set, since from what I'm gleaning the film is only available as part of the box set, anyway. In any case, the contents of each disc are as follows:

Disc One

• Alternate Title Versions (1080p; 1:35:18) allow the viewer to choose whether to watch the film titled The Damned or These Are the Damned. It's kind of interesting to note that the second title is delivered in quotes on screen, as if that would make the phrase more palatable.


• Audio Commentary with Samm Deighan and Kat Ellinger


• On the Brink: Inside The Damned (1080p; 26:35) features the dependably informative and engaging trio of Alan Barnes, Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby, joined here by Nick Riddle.


• Hammer's Women: Viveca Lindfors (1080p; 14:25) features Lindsay Anne Hallam discussing the actress.


• Cast and Crew Interviews

  Shirley Anne Field: Looking in the Right Place (1080p; 10:05)

  
  

  David Palmer, Kit Williams, and Christopher Witty: Children of 'The Damned' (1080p; 23:16) is a fun piece with some of the now middle aged performers who were among the kids in the film.

  
  

  Evan Jones: Something Out of Nothing (1080p; 6:36) features the film's writer, who got his first feature film credit with this piece.

  
  

  Anthony Heller: Smoke Screen (1080p; 11:22) features the film's camera operator.

• Critical Appreciations

  Gavrik Losey: Beneath the Surface (1080p; 25:37) offers some interesting thoughts from director Joseph Losey's son.

  
  

  I Q Hunter: Beyond Black Leather (1080p; 14:20)

  
  

  Neil Sinyard: No Future (1080p; 25:29)

• The Lonely Shore: Huckvale on Bernard (1080p; 20:50) features David Huckvale analyzing the score by James Bernard


• Isolated Music & Effects Track is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0.


• US Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:43)


• Joe Dante Trailer Commentary (1080p; 3:25) is culled from Trailers from Hell.


• Image Gallery (1080p)

Disc Two

• Original UK Theatrical Cut (1080p; 1:27:26) bears the title The Damned .

Powerhouse only supplied check discs for the purposes of this review, so I can't comment authoritatively on non-disc swag, but Powerhouse's website mentions a poster (exclusive to sales from the website) and a booklet with essays.

The Damned Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Damned is in some ways unlike any other Hammer film, even some that have a perceived science fiction bent. This is a film with a message, but for me personally, that message encounters some significant detours due to both the structure of the film and some of the interrelationships that are delved into. Still, this is a fascinating viewing experience, and one which is presented with generally solid technical merits and an outstanding slate of supplements. Recommended.