15th April 2017, 01:14 PM
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 | Cult Acolyte | | | |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs  The Day of the Triffids (1962)
For a first time viewing i was a little disappointed with The Day of the Triffids. For a post apocalyptic film it seems to lack the threat of battling for survival in a strange new world albeit a world we already live in. It feels flat due to lack of zip and decidedly average direction, with only the lighthouse scenes (which since watching i've found out were directed by Freddie Francis, not credited director Steve Sekerly, and added to the movie at post production) standing out, as far as atmosphere and terror go.
There are moments of suspense such as the attack on the house and the initial Triffid lighthouse scene but it's a shame to say this, the Triffids are quite poorly realised, seemingly being pushed and pulled around by offscreen stage hands.The clunkiness of it all makes it feel like a 60's Doctor Who story rather than a feature film. For the most part the film is a rampaging monster fest rather than the original John Wyndham novels emphasis on surviving the apocalypse. The way the Triffids are dealt with - salt water - smacks of the War of the Worlds easy solution as does leading the plants away by using the sound from an ice cream van.
Despite some reservations The Day of the Triffids isn't a bad film, it's just an average film very loosely based on a classic post apocalyptic novel. The BBC's 1981 tv version is a far more faithful version of the story. It's also a far more chilling experience.
The new Screenbound dvd is average at best. The picture is quite soft in places and works best in the studio shot scenes. The sound quality is excellent. | I rather enjoyed this to be honest.
As a genre there has been a few killer plant movies,segment in Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors , Donald Pleasance turning young 1970s students into plants in The Mutations,Steve King going green in The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill episode of Creepshow and Im sure there is another killer vine movie out there somewhere's and there has bound to of been at least one Dr Who episode with a rampaging plant in its story. I suppose on the whole we see plants as rather sedentary and placid things,plus they do not have legs which makes it easy to runaway from. Still this all changed with John Wyndham's novel The Day of the Triffids,as these lumbering penis shaped rose bushes manage to waddle around quite well and blind and kill anybody they came across including the odd canine.Of course when ever its gets a bit Beyond the Thunderdome on earth,its not just the killer plants that are the problem but the surviving humans,most of which are blinded by a meteorite,are bumping into things and just generally annoying each other.In this 1962 adaptation Howard Keel is the last man standing as he was all bandaged up in hospital ,(how convenient a plot device) when the rest of the planet was getting bombarded by an early fireworks night. Its no secret that 28 Days Later (2002) was influenced by this part of the story,which is good because they ripped it off whole sale id say. But like slow zombies and the Inland revenue,the Triffids always manage to get you when you least expect it.And while they might look like the kind of trees you would get in a school play,the Triffids in this version do have a kind of weird nightmare appearance,even if they do shuffle along like an old lady .Its all great B-movie fun,especially when Keel goes all Rambo with his machine gun,something he never did in Dallas.
__________________ Always forgive your enemies, nothing annoys them so much.. |
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