In the small English village of Midwich everybody fall unconscious, and anyone entering the village also loses consciousness. The military send in a man wearing a biological isolation suit, but he too falls unconscious and is pulled back by a safety rope. After some hours, the villagers regain consciousness, seeming otherwise unaffected. The incident is referred to as a "time-out," and no cause is determined. About two months later every woman capable of child-bearing is pregnant and all the children that are born out of these pregnancies have the same blond hair and strange, penetrating eyes. As they grow, and develop at impossible speed, it becomes clear that they also have a powerful telepathic bond with one another. They can tell each other anything that they see from great distances. As one learns something, so do the others. Three years later village resident Professor Gordon Zellaby, who is connected to the military via his brother-in-law, attends a meeting with British Intelligence to discuss the children. There he learns that Midwich was not the only place affected, and followup investigations had revealed similar phenomena in other areas of the world. Gordon, whose 'son' David is one of the children, is initially positive about them. With government agreement, attempts to teach the children while hoping to learn from them, and the children are all placed in a separate building where they will learn and live. The children exert force to try to break down Gordon's mental wall to learn what he is hiding from them.

Wolf Rilla, 1920-2005. He was born in Berlin, where his part-Jewish father Walter Rilla was a prominent actor. When Hitler came to power the family moved to London in 1934. In 1942 he joined the BBC World Service's German section. He left the BBC staff in 1952 to pursue his ambition to make films, but continued to take on television productions as a freelance. In the cinema, Rilla made his feature film directorial debut writing and directing the minor Glad Tidings (1952). After a series of low-budget second features at Nettlefold Studios for Butchers and Insignia, Rilla joined Group 3, an idealistic production. Rilla's first film for Group 3 was End of the Road (1954). The first of Rilla's films to attract critical attention, The Blue Peter (1955), starred Kieron Moore. By 1960s Rilla had made a handful of films for the Rank Organisation and was working for MGM in Britain, with whom he would direct two films: Village of the Damned (1960) and Cairo (1963). From the Sixties on, most of his work was in television, where he directed or scripted a variety of shows. His lasting contribution was educational: for example, he lectured at the London International Film School, and wrote A-Z of Movie Making (1970).

Una ricerca dell’UNESCO che si propone di studiare lo sviluppo infantile, individua e raccoglie un gruppo di bambini provenienti da varie parti del mondo, sistemandoli tutti in una casa di Londra per poterli esaminare approfonditamente. Alcuni sembrano avere poteri intellettivi straordinari, oltre alla capacità di completare difficili rompicapi, tutti quanti nello stesso lasso di tempo. In particolare sei di questi bambini – nati in Cina, Unione Sovietica, India, Nigeria, Stati Uniti e Gran Bretagna – condividono queste capacità. Lo psicologo inglese Tom Lewellin ed il genetista David Neville mostrano un interesse particolare per Paul, il ragazzo nato a Londra. Dopo qualche ricerca, scoprono che tutti e sei i bambini sono nati senza avere un padre e che hanno poteri telepatici. A causa di tensioni internazionali legate alla Guerra Fredda, i governi decidono di riportare i ragazzini nelle rispettive ambasciate, ma questi riescono a scappare nascondendosi in una chiesa abbandonata nel Southwark, vicino Londra. I bambini prendono il controllo dello zio di Paul, per fare in modo che li aiuti a sopravvivere nella chiesa semi-distrutta, mentre l’esercito si chiede se non sia meglio ucciderli: i ragazzini hanno infatti dimostrato la loro capacità di controllare le menti, causando la morte di alcuni dirigenti di governo e soldati. Lewellin chiede al  governo a dare una possibilità ai bambini affinchè lui ed altri scienziati possano studiare la differenza fra una normale cellula umana e quelle dei bambini. Durante la ricerca, uno scienziato inizia a supporre che queste possano essere cellule umane più avanzate delle normali di un milione di anni. Intanto le autorità cercano di prendere il controllo dei bambini, che si vedono costretti a difendersi. La situazione precipita sempre di più, fino allo scontro finale fra l’esercito ed i bambini.

Anton Leader inizia la sua carriera dirigendo trasmissioni radio a New York. Nel 1946-1947 dirige il programma radiofononico Murder at Midnight, dal 1948 al 1950 produce il programma della CBS Radio Suspense. Dall’inizio degli Anni ’50 ai primi Anni ’60, Leader è autore di alcuni film tra cui It Happens Every Thursday (1953) e Children of the Damned (1963). Raggiunge poi una certa notorietà come regista televisivo. Nel 1956 vince il Western Heritage Award per la regia di The Virginian (1962). I suoi lavori includono anche le popolari serie TV Star Trek (1968) ed Ironside (1967-1969), oltre a Ai confini della realtà (1960-1961) I Spy (1966), Daniel Boone (1966), Get Smart (1970), e Hawaii Five-O (1970-1971).

Anton Leader gets his start directing radio shows in New York: in 1946-1947 he directs the syndicated radio program Murder at Midnight, from 1948 to 1950 he produces the CBS Radio's Suspense. Then Leader makes a few films from the early '50s through the early '60s, among them are It Happens Every Thursday (1953) and Children of the Damned (1963). After that he becomes a versatile and very successful television director. In 1956 he wins the Western Heritage Award for the direction of The Virginian (1962). His works in television includes the popular Star Trek (1968) and Ironside(1967-1969) series, plus Twilight zone (1960-1961), I Spy (1966), Daniel Boone (1966), Get Smart (1970), and Hawaii Five-O (1970-1971).