Light in the Dark

I've been watching several Hammer films over Christmas, a series of films noirs, and this one continues the practice of imported American star in British production. This is sf rather than horror or noir, and feels a little like two films bolted together. Simon Wells (Macdonald Carey) is lured by Joan (Shirley Anne Field) into a mugging by King's (Oliver Reed) biker gang. Joan later runs away with Wells, chased by the gang, and they seek refuge on a military base where they find a group of odd children who are at the centre of an experiment.

There seems to be an uncanny echo between the biker boys and the children, with both groupings being adrift from society, and a threat to society. In both cases youth is a threat to the adult population - although it turns out that the children could also offer salvation. It is not at all clear who the damned are - especially given the alternate title These Are the Damned. I think the poster is claiming it is the children, but it might be the bikers or the adults - especially the adults condemned by their discovery of the project? I suspect there's an echo of Village of the Damned, although thinking about it I'm not sure that title is referring to the children as the damned.

I suspect there's an article to be written on Hammer's sf - this looks gorgeous, aside from some poor back projection. Losey, of course, is more famous for other work.