Laikals The greatest movie ever made..!

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Orla Zuniga It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Roedy Green The music was so corny I almost abandoned the video immediately. It was extremely bad and amateurish. It almost makes the film unwatchable, like something in a high school video project.The video is broken into 10-minute segments, each with opening and closing credits and a recap of the previous segment. This is tedious.The science is pretty shaky, but at one point went completely off the rails. They decide some stones point up permanently aligned with a star in Ursa Major. Vertical stones in England would never align so far north. Further, no English stones would be permanently aligned anywhere because the earth rotates and revolves around the sun.In general, the science is utterly embarrassing. It would be too silly even for an Austin Powers movie.I think the writer went to a math library and grabbed snippets and formulae at random to include in the script. Given that there is so much of this and that it is central to the plot, I think they could have hired a real (or at least student) mathematician to compose some plausible dialogue.The movie is carried by Matthew, a scientist's ten-year-old son. He is unusually intelligent, curious and spunky. He is a considerably better actor than any of the adults in the movie. The acting, in general, has a stagy feel with lots of contrived exposition.They show you something strange, then let you sit with it for a long time before giving their explanation. It does a good job that way of building suspense. The way they build unease is by showing you very ordinary things, but that just should not happen, like a giant stone appearing in a different place. There is almost nothing that would count as a special effect, other than possibly a dissolve.Despite all the negative things I said about the movie, it was engaging. I cared about the characters. It was creepy. The very last reel was high camp. I expected the villain to play Toccata and Fugue on an organ.

Paul Evans Scientist Adam and his bright son Matthew move to the small, sleepy, happy village of Milbury. An attractive little place, slap bang on the site of an Ancient Stone circle, with a secret. The villagers are nice, too nice, creepy in a way, with a greeting of Happy day. Those that aren't members of the Happy day group are treated as outcasts, they're not as involved, nor as clever. One by one the people begin changing, becoming members of the Happy day group, even Margaret, the local Museum creator that Adam has become very fond of. Soon only Adam and Matthew are left, it falls on them to discover what's been going on, and stop the plans of Rafiel Hendrick.A really enjoyable series for people of all ages, I find it such a shame that series such as this aren't made for today's youngsters, back in the 70's there seemed to be a wealth of programmes made for teens, some pretty memorable, iconic programmes.I'm sure those that watched this during its transmission remember it fondly, and for good reason, it's a very watchable and enjoyable series. Enough good stuff going on for first time viewers too.Very 70's in terms of production values, music and clothing, so expect plenty of dodgy ties and haircuts.8/10 definitely one to watch.

Master Cultist A spooky supernatural children's tale from the 70's that transcends the age range it was aimed at, and is fascinating viewing for all.Adam Brake is an astrophysicist interested in a stone circle in a sleepy village in rural England called Milbury. He and his son pay a visit to the village in question, and soon begin to notice strange occurrences, not least the villagers odd behaviour and obsession with happiness. As the tale unfolds, we discover that the head resident has plans that are more malevolent than their worst nightmares, and the stone circle is somehow a direct link to a black hole that will unleash an ancient and terrifying force.Though the budget is limited, good use is made of the wonderful location, and the script is excellent.Some of the acting leaves a little to be desired, not least from Gareth Thomas of Blake's 7 fame.Still, that aside this is well worth tracking down for all lovers of cult TV

gnb If ever any one ITV region was the head of the pack when it came to producing children's TV, then HTV West, on the merit of "Children of the Stones" alone, would be it.Broadcast in 1977, COTS is a 7-part fantasy series set in the fictional village of Milbury. Starring a pre-Blake's 7 Gareth Thomas and 70s telly stalwart Iain Cuthbertson, this delightful little series concerns a scientist and his son's attempts to discover the secret power behind the Milbury stone circle.This is an incredibly eerie sci-fi series and to call it a kids show is a bit of an insult. It is a well crafted tale, brought to the screen with some very adept direction and a remarkably haunting musical score.The performances from the cast are uniformly excellent and special praise must got to the talented youngsters involved.If you can get a hold of this tremendous series then I can highly recommend it. However, it has been deleted on video in the UK for some time.COTS is kids TV at its best - thoughtfully written, well acted, amazingly directed and a delightful, summery, eerie masterpiece. Because of its folksy score and pagan references COTS has been referred to as "The Wicker Man" for kids - it could be called a lot worse.