The Day the World ended - Tod aus dem All

Yes, I'm giving a higher mark to this film. There are several things that make this an above-par effort. The story will hold your interest, the cast is mature and the acting is with enough conviction. It gives a nice B-movie feel without resorting to bad CGI effects for a creature.

The Day The World Ended has the classic cliché elements for a perfect B flick: a mysterious misunderstood child, a town with a secret, and an alien (or IS it?). While not a direct remake of the 1956 film of the same title, it utilizes the original film by showing segments on a TV seen within the story and showing that VHS video box cover as part of the child's interest in aliens. High production values combined with B movie flair work just enough to be passable entertainment for some, but if you enjoy the *wink-wink* of its intended fun, it comes out a winner. It has the look and feel of a decent X-Files episode with the more psychological horror elements of the newer Outer Limits. That's not bad at all, considering.

Younger audiences may not give this a chance as the cast (except for the child) is well over 40, but I welcomed that element gladly as the older classic sci-fi/horror films always used a mature cast as well. They cast who would work well with the story instead of who was young and hot at the moment. By casting the way they did, this film will hold up better in years to come. Choosing a teen-looking cast would obviously date it when those stars have faded from the spotlight. Randy Quaid and Nastassia Kinski both give convincing performances, and Stephen Toblowsky adds just enough humor to his role as the principal.

The creature itself is hit-or-miss: in some scenes it looks fine, in others it doesn't. But the fact that it was actually part person/puppet/mechanics helps a lot even if it's not entirely convincing, as these days too many films just use computer animation which becomes distracting like watching cheap animation mixed in with live action.

Yes, this is a B movie. But it's a fun one, just like the old classics of its genre but with a bit more cussing and violence. Don't let the R rating keep you back on that part, as it's not gratuitous and just in the right doses. As for the MPAA's warning of a "sex scene"...it's so brief, rather awkward, and basically humorous that it's not even worth fretting over. Otherwise, those looking for sex and breasts better look elsewhere, this film concentrates on the story and its stronger psychological horror.

Those who are collectors of -- and particularly of ones that are homages to -- old B films will be quite satisfied and not worry that the DVD has just the basics to offer, plus some inside views from Stan Winston and Shane Mahan on a commentary. Others just looking to pass the time might not find the price worth it. I personally think this one will be one that years from now will still entertain. It's good enough, smart enough, and doggone it -- just creepy enough that people might like it. I know I've enjoyed this one a heck of a lot more than the most recently hyped theatrical blockbuster yawners, so give this one a try with a big bowl of popcorn and enjoy! Don't have extreme expectations and you'll be fine!

There are definitely too many references to other movies and story traditions in this flick. It starts like Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (the heroine driving a New Beetle – yech!), it continues with dark humor like a novel by Kafka (heroine with a badly defined mission comes to a strange place and meets a bunch of strangely hostile stereotype comic book characters of uncertain authority), then there's a whiff of Twin Peaks (hints of sexual abuse of minors and general depravity in the backwoods), then in comes E.T. (minor bonds with extraterrestrial), then it turns out that minor's mother was regarded by the populace as a kind of a witch and was treated accordingly. On top of that, there is a clear reference to a 50ies horror B-movie. (Hence the confusing title which has nothing to do with the story told here).

The references in themselves are not really bad or a rip-off. However, it would have been more fun, had they tied all that stuff together in a more coherent, rigid and orderly fashion. The pairing of psychology and the supernatural clearly does not work here. I didn't manage to find out what story the movie wants to tell and I suspect its makers could never really make up their mind. This is a pity, as the cast is quite good. I hope Nastassja Kinski still has a long career ahead of her. Not only for her looks, but also because she really is a versatile actress who in my opinion still didn't get her share of good movie parts. Randy Quaid and Bobby Edner are equally convincing in their roles, within the apparent limits of the script. The same goes for the rest of the characters who are parodies or stereotypes.

Dr Jennifer Stillman is a child psychologist who moves to a small town for a break from the big city life. On her first day placed in the town's school, she notices a strange young boy called Ben. Taking the opportunity to dig a little deeper into the clearly troubled lad, she learns that he was adopted by his father (Michael) after his real mother died and nobody knew who his real father was. However she doesn't know quite what to think about Ben's belief that his father was an alien and that he will return one day; but when someone or something is killing people in the small town could it be that Ben is the only one that knows what is really going on?

With a relatively well-known cast and an appealing title, I decided to give this film a go but must admit that I didn't think it was that good – although maybe worth giving a go if you're in an undemanding mood. The plot offers mystery that appealed to me but it reveals its secrets very early on by revealing the rubbery beast quite early on in the proceedings. In fact it reveals so much early on that I realized that there must be more to the story than this, there must be some sort of twist and turn coming at the end or else this will have been one very dull movie. For what it's worth, there are some plot 'revelations' towards the end but they are not that good and they certainly don't make up for the rest of the film being a rather dull affair that occasionally throws in some rubbery effects. This part should create tension and mystery but it doesn't and the direction the plot takes comes across rather like a series of ideas that have been lifted from better films and not fully delivered here. It has some entertainment value but it would have worked better as a short film (30 minutes long) because here it feels rather stretched.

Edner was good as Ben, he wasn't as horribly cute as he could have been and he deals with the 'running and being scared' side of things just fine. Kinski overplays her part and makes it too earnest and serious. I'm not suggesting that she needed to be all-singing, all-dancing, but there is a difference between being convincingly earnest and coming across as really forcing the performance of being earnest – Kinski does the latter rather than the former and she didn't do anything for me at all. Quaid is his usual self and is a nice addition; he does well with what he is given to work with. Support is quite good from Tobolowsky, Groener and a few others but generally this film is not about the characters – it is about the plot and, in that regard, it isn't as satisfying as I had hoped it would be.

Overall this is watchable once but it is not much cop after that. The plot marks out its stall early on and tells us a lot but then settles on that for a while, making the majority of the film come across as a bit dull. When the twists and turns do come, they are a bit flat and uninspired and it never gets anywhere near the atmosphere that it wants to have and it doesn't really work on any level. Maybe genre fans will like it but I can find little to recommend it for and would advise that there are better films with similar ideas which develop and deliver them much better than this below-average made-for-television effort.

This is a 1950's science fiction B-movie remade for the noughties.

Some of the expected variations from a 50's movie are present - the injection of foul language, the obligatory sex scene and the emphasis placed very firmly on horror rather than sci-fi. There is also the predictable selection of nasty, unlikeable characters, a complete absence of fun, and a much-reduced level of excitement compared to the old films.

Unfortunately, one change that should have been evident - improved special effects - is entirely absent. The effects are not only very un-special, they are inferior to many of the most ordinary 1950's sci-fi movies.

Still, it's a somewhat entertaining film. Something to watch if you find yourself at a loose end and there's nothing else on TV that you want to see. It will keep you mildly interested for much of the runtime.

Just don't let the somewhat starry names of the leads (Randy Quaid and Nastassja Kinski) mislead you. This is a small film, with an uninspired central premise, adequately executed - no more.

Disappointing.

3/10

Preposterous sci-fi trash in which a little boy believes himself a son of an alien. Based on this account, he waits for his 'alien' father returns to bring him back for another planet. Suddenly, a strange creature appears at the little town where the boy lives with an adopted father and starts to kill the inhabitants. The premise of this misfire could have rendered an acceptable film but the final result is ridiculous, boring and unbelievable. Just Miss Kinsky is a delight to see. I give this a 03 (three).