if you haven not see the original 1960 film and or read whyndham the midwhich cuckoo and then you might possibly like carpenter remake . it have degree of suspense and and passable acting ( perhaps most surprisingly by christopher reeve in his last performance prior to his paralysis ) and but these quality be inconsistent throughout the film and it frequently fall flat . if you have see the original film then avoid this one and especially if you have read whyndam novel too and you will only come away from the experience with a sense of disappointment and feel cheat of the time you invest in watch it . this film lack many thing that the original have great and consistent acting and tension and and suspense to name but three . there seem to have be a conscious effort to add gore and violence and and that decision be perhaps the main reason this film fail so miserably compare to the original . the gratuitously graphic nature of the violence directly detract from the suspense and tension so evident in the original . whereas in another carpenter remake the thing the effect and violence enhance the sense of dread and here they be responsible for destroy it . there be other reason that this film be quite dire and one of them be the narrative compromise make to attempt a recreation of the visual style of the original film e. g. the child all wear matching clothes which and in the original and be logical since in england child do indeed wear school uniform . however carpenter u town see the child uniformly garb with no reason and other than to draw attention to their uniformity in a massively clumsy and illogical visual device . take my advice and watch the original and avoid this . it one strictly for carpenter fanatic and not people who be simply fan of his work .