Le jour de la fin des temps

Yes, The Day Time Ended does indeed lent itself to many possibilities. Unfortunately, they tried to fit all of them into this one film, and yet despite the many different ideas, creatures, and going on present, there really isn't much of a story to speak of. It's as though the folks behind The Day Time Ended were making these things up as they went along. Some of the acting is fine, while some of it was poorly executed. The special effects weren't really all that effective. The story just didn't have any cohesion and as such never gain ed any momentum to draw the viewer in. Despite the efforts of some of the players here it just didn't amount to enough to recommend.

I recently returned to this film after having watched it 12 years ago on VHS. (This time, I watched the 4:3 frame DVD included in the Brentwood 4-DVD collection "Time Travelers," which, apparently, is the best of the transfers out there; I've read the standalone transfer isn't as good and contains atrocious artifacts.) Anyway, I remembered originally liking the film for its peppy pacing and its honest intentions. I was pleased to see those elements still intact. The film whipped along a brisk pace, the characters were likable and acted well enough, and the late 1970's "desert house of the future" provides a pretty unique setting.

As is evident by the reviews already listed here on IMDb, it seems you are either a fan of the film or feel compelled to hound it for its technical shortcomings--shortcomings, by the way, which are many. (Let's at least be honest while we temporarily kneel at the alter of director John "Bud" Cardos.) I understand the stop motion prehistoric creatures are animated by none other than icon Dave Allen, and there are precious matte paintings by film artist extraordinaire Jim Danforth, but let's face it. The low budget nature of the flick really shines through (in a bad way) during the effects-heavy scenes—which account for about half the film. As many reviewers have pointed out, "The Day Time Ended" does at times feel like a very-poor-man's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Considering this film was screened 2 years after "Close Encounters," the Spielbergian influences can't be hidden. You've got low-flying, multicolored UFOs whipping down deserted highways that stretch through the mountains. You've got the little child (inevitably kidnapped) who is inexorably drawn to the aliens and their technology, etc. (By the way, if this film reminds anyone of "E.T.," remember you are a few years too soon—that film wouldn't be made for at least another two years after "The Day Time Ended.").

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this film was made on the cusp of the made-for-video revolution (my books say 1979, not 1980), so I'm not certain about its actual theatrical release. The film feels as though it was prepared for a major release—though its short running time just barely makes it full-length. Overall, the production values hint at something larger than later Full Moon-era Richard Band releases (Puppetmaster 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 12) which were clearly made for the video-shelf-small-screen. But like many of Richard Band's releases, the ambidextrous Band does the music himself. His orchestral flourishes really aren't all that bad.

But speaking of bad, something VERY bad happens around the 60-minute mark. The film's plot—what little was established—falls completely to shreds. As the family is attacked by every SPFX artist on the set, the story is, literally, tossed into the vortex. By the end, the family (which has been torn asunder in time and space with much crashing of cymbals and whirling of stars) suddenly and inexplicably reunites at the edge of a crystal city glimmering in the distance. They all sort of shrug their shoulders, hop on their horses, and head to their "new home" (a pretty, futuristic matte painting by none other than Jim Danforth). Problem is, none of the family members seem particularly bothered by any of it. They're not bothered by the fact that their house—indeed their entire world and its civilization—has vanished. Heck, they've got each other, and, who knows, "Maybe this was all meant to happen," as Jim Davis, the family patriarch, says. Yeah, right! In fact, this saccharine reunion takes place so quickly after the family members are separated in the "timespace warp," that the viewer never really gets a chance to worry about what is happening—you end up not caring about their plight, or their new circumstances, at all. Of course, you might say, "What do you expect from a below-B science fiction flick?" The problem is that for the first 60 minutes of the film, the characters are believable, likable, rational folk beset by otherworldly forces, and they react accordingly (most of the time). Unfortunately, those established characters inexplicably evaporate at the end, and the story and characters really fall apart as they mundanely saunter their way into the future. This comes damn, damn close to wrecking the entire film.

Of course, this isn't the first time I've seen John "Bud" Cardos do this kind of thing. Maybe it's his shtick—wrecking a film just during the last few minutes.

According to the opening credits for "The Day Time Ended", four writers are credited with developing the story and writing the screenplay. And none of them apparently were able to make the movie's story make much sense. I'm not sure even if you can call what's in the movie a story - much of the movie seems to be just a series of random supernatural events, and even the resolution at the end doesn't answer what the intents of the creators of the events are. Though the problems of the movie go beyond the bad script. Director John 'Bud' Cardos makes much of this theatrical movie have the feel of a made-for-TV movie of this period. Is there anything positive to say about this movie? Well, some of the special effects aren't bad for a movie that had a pittance of a budget. But I'd rather have a good script with bad special effects than a movie with good special effects and a bad script.

Have I been watching the same movie as some of the other reviewers here?

The first thing to realise before you sit down to watch this tedious plonker is that it is going to be a totally fruitless and unrewarding experience. The movie is plot free. Don't get me wrong - things happen - but nothing any of the characters do or say affects anything that happens throughout the whole movie. They just bob along, buffeted by a series of unexplained events that are totally outwith their control and they are powerless to change.

Basically what happens is this: after an interminably long montage of starscapes with a pontificating, portentous voice-over - always a dead giveaway that you are about to watch a REALLY bad SF movie - an all-American family move into their new home in the desert. Strange things start to happen, giant UFOs buzz the house, giant dinosaur things appear in the yard and try and eat each other, tiny UFOs invade the house (curiously these appear to have the ability to fly through windows without breaking them but have to use lasers to get through bedroom doors), tiny green people appear and tell the tiny UFOs to go away (bad UFO!). The house is mysteriously hurled into the future. Mom and little girl wander off and are lost in a swirling vortex of bad SFX. Rest of family are hurled even further into the future (?) get on their horses and ride off for no particular reason. Almost immediately they meet Mom, who hasn't died or been eaten by dinosaur things or learned to act, who says "it's all OK!". The end.

Seriously. That's it. Nothing is resolved. Nothing explained. No characters develop. Nothing.

Oh! I forgot the other "plotline". After dropping his family off at their new house, Dad has to go into the city to work. Dad decides to come home. Dad crashes car and finds horse. Dad rides home and witnesses firework display and vanishing house. Dad reacts to his entire family disappearing in front of his eyes with the same slack-jawed sonumbulistic non-acting with which he has shambled through the rest of the movie.

I assumed from the fact that Jim Brown gets to say "My God!" about 27 bejillion times through the course of the film and his "maybe it was meant to be... this is where we will make our new lives" speech at the end that in the end this was some sort of Christian allegory - and a bloody poor one at that.

Students of bad acting - and as a bad actor myself I watch out for this stuff - will enjoy Dorothy Malone's "awe" at the end. She looks like a fish having an orgasm. And since when has anyone in real life taken two steps forward to admire something in the distance? It happens all the time in bad movies. Think about the last time you saw a beautiful sunset. Did you take a step forward? "Oh look, the horizon is 20 miles away, the Sun is 93 million miles away I'll take a step forward to get a closer view." Cobblers!

This is a bad film. Most of it is boring. None of it makes any sense.

"The Day Time Ended" is marked by excellent special effects, an interesting musical score, and some competent acting performances by Jim Davis as the patriarch and by child actress Natasha Ryan (Actually, Natasha wasn't just decent, she was excellent. The film would have benefited greatly if her young mug had been on screen more). Natasha gives a performance that brings to mind Angela Cartwright's persona on "Make Room For Daddy". The Angela Cartwright connection doesn't end there, as there is a strong "Lost in Space" influence to this flick. Dorothy Malone gives a June Lockhart-like spin to the matriarch character, and the family-clan-wandering-around in a lunar-like setting, with all manner of strangeness taking place around them, was right out of "Lost in Space". If you imagine their Aztec-influenced solar-powered house (w/matching barn) being a disk-shaped flying saucer instead, then you will get the "Lost in Space" image. Missing is the comic relief that Mr. Smith & The Robot brought to "Lost in Space".

Where this film went wrong -- it has some hokey dialogue, directing gaffs, and some poor editing. Marcy Lafferty (William Shatner's ex-wife) is given a particularly peculiar few lines of dialogue to recite near the end of the film. It is a moment that does real harm to the entire film, as it highlights the confused and muddled nature of the entire flick. Also, there are numerous scenes that seem like campy moments from a "Brady Bunch" episode, but they are not meant to be funny. For instance, Jenny getting out of bed to use the bathroom, Beth needing to sip on her wine while listening to Jenny deliver a line of dialogue, and the grandparents heading out into the desert night wearing bathrobes, are moments which would have fit in fine if this had been a campy comedy film.

By the way, the scene in which Jenny makes a trip to the bathroom epitomizes truly BAD filmmaking. First of all, the scene is completely unnecessary to the plot. Second of all, to be blunt -- it is a stupidly filmed scene, as the child manages to use the facilities in less than 10 seconds.

I notice that "Vortex" is an alternate title for "The Day Time Ended". "Vortex" is a more apt title for the flick -- "Lost in the Vortex" (or "Lost in Time") would have been an even better title, as it would have paid homage to "Lost in Space" while also paying homage to the "lost" nature of the screenplay (especially in the final act). The film brought to mind some better-made 1970s made-for-television sci-fi productions like "Logan's Run", "Isis", "Shazam", and "The Fantastic Journey" (the short-lived television series that Roddy McDowall appeared in).

I agree with IMDB reviewer CaptEcco who wrote of "The Day Time Ended" ending -- "It's like having a water balloon blow up in your hand before you've had the chance to throw it." This was almost a good sci-fi flick, instead, a few missteps turned it into a fair sci-fi flick.

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DVD Note: I viewed "The Day Time Ended" from a 4-film DVD collection titled "Time Travelers". I've already watched three of the four films (the sound and picture quality hasn't been good). "The Day Time Ended" is an OUTSTANDING film compared to the first two that I've watched: "Journey to the Center of Time" and "In the Year 2889". Those two were wretched on so many levels. The one film of the four that I've yet to see is the Peter Fonda directed "Idaho Transfer". I'm hoping it will be the best of the four.