The Children’s powers continue to grow, as Michaela questions her father’s role in events…

The updated (and additional) elements of this new adaptation work as well as they did in the first part, and the way in which the Children debate their existence and the place of the different in our society is at times gripping – even if it does mean that the agency of Gordon Zellaby in the final act is very different from in Wyndham’s original. Basically, he keeps them occupied by debating with them, and agrees to suicide by drone (perhaps from guilt – it’s not totally clear) – as opposed to being someone who is terminally ill and uses his death to deal with the problem. Each path has its validity, but for those of us who grew up on George Sanders keeping a brick wall in his mind, the new version doesn’t quite work.

What does definitely work is the acting quality across the board: co-directors Polly Thomas and Jenny Sealey gain nuanced performances from their cast, and there’s strong continuity between the actors playing the 12 year old versions and those playing the 18 year olds.

Those who’ve enjoyed this may well want to seek out David Owen’s Young Adult novel The Fallen Children which similarly updates the central tenets of the Midwich story. I’d also be very intrigued to see how Graeae would tackle other Wyndham tales – in particular, Chocky…

Verdict: An impressive reinterpretation. 8/10

Paul Simpson