If you remember the film Village of the Damned, you may have some chilling memories of alien babies taking over a quiet town.
The 1957 John Wyndham novel behind that movie has now inspired a TV series, with The Midwich Cuckoos starting on Sky Max on Thursday.
Picture the scene: you live in a sleepy village, where the views are idyllic, people are friendly and nobody locks their doors. One night, the weather turns bleak and there’s a strange spirit in the air.
Everyone collapses, falling to the ground and there’s a communications blackout. Nobody can leave – because they’re all unconscious – and nobody is safe to enter.
The next morning, everyone wakes up and tries to figure out what on Earth happened on this fateful night. Soon, they discover that all of the young women are pregnant, and the babies aren’t human…
If that doesn’t freak you out next time there’s a thunderstorm at night, I don’t know what will.
The series stars Keeley Hawes as a child psychologist, who had left Midwich that evening to visit the Big Smoke – but her daughter Cassie had stayed home.
Keeley is reliably brilliant and you’re instantly rooting for her as she desperately tries to reach her daughter. Casting Keeley is always a smart move – she even makes travel adverts more interesting.
Meanwhile, Max Beesley plays DCI Paul Haynes, the detective investigating these bizarre goings-on. His wife was already pregnant before the aliens arrived, and he’s anxious for her, as well as his neighbours.
We also meet a young couple who have just moved into Midwich, hoping they might finally be able to start a family.
Of course, they didn’t quite expect it to happen in this mysterious way.
Although I don’t have the stomach for horror and am quite picky with sci-fi, I am enjoying this show so much more than I thought I would.
While there is obviously a deeply sinister, unsettling element to the story, you won’t need to hide behind your sofa.
And it’s not one of those ridiculously complicated plots that you need to keep rewinding to understand.
Instead, it’s a gripping drama about a group of women facing the most extraordinary new reality, all the time wondering what these aliens actually want.
Are they out to destroy us, or do they have something else in mind?
I have no idea where it’s going and I can’t wait to find out…
