The Day the World Ended

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. Jenniffer Stillman (the gorgeous Nastassja Kinski) is a school psychologist from N.Y. that moves to her new job in a small American town. There she will meet Benjamin James McCann (Bobby Edner), a boy with a powerful mind, and some strange citizens that live under the shadow of a mysterious event in the past. I am a great fan of those Universal Classic Monster movies from the 50's, such as 'The Creature from The Black Lagoon', 'The Wolf Man', 'Frankenstein', 'The Invisible Man' etc. 'The Day the World Ended' look like one of those movies from the 50's. It seems that the director and the screenplay writer wanted to honor those movies. Further, it could be used as a 'X-Files' episode. There are clichés, the special effects are very poor, but it has a charm. It is a Sci-Fi / Horror movie without explicit violence that entertains. It deserves to be watched. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Dia Que o Mundo Acabou" ("The Day the World Ended")

The world doesn't come anywhere near ending in this movie, which makes the title a mystery.

The kid who plays the young boy is appropriately creepy-looking, though. The monster? Well, it shuffles along making gooshy-slurpy noises. There are some big teeth in there somewhere, I think.

This is a lame movie, but what the hey -- I watched it all the way through anyway. Such is my unaccountable love for monster movies.

There are some noteworthy names and familiar faces involved here, not least effects maestro Stan Winston. While Terence Gross isn't otherwise known to me, I did quite enjoy his 2000 feature 'Hotel Splendide,' which boasted outstanding, fanciful aesthetics and dark humor. How might all these folks and the anticipated creature effects fare in a TV movie - a medium not generally well known for high quality, or originality?

Well. Uh. The writing sure is heavy-handed, isn't it? And it sure does rely on tropes and ideas so well-worn that we're well past beating a dead horse and entering the territory of "pulverizing the dead horse's bones one stroke at a time." Big city woman in a small town; small town peculiar, and unfriendly to strangers; small town unfriendly to modern medicine, science, or social ideations, including the great mysterious discipline of "Psychology." Adults being abuse to young kid; young kid expected to conform to all adult expectations, and being bullied and treated different. Aliens, monsters, supernatural/unnatural something or other; obligatory, gratuitous "creepy" imagery and sequences; the big city woman newcomer is sure to find out what's going on and connect it to this one specific kid that's different. Characters making abjectly poor decisions. And so on, and so on.

It's not that 'The day the world ended' is specifically bad. It's that the flick altogether gives away at least half of its plot within the first third, and that in every last capacity, we've effectively seen this before. Every idea in the writing has been employed countless times. Every thought in Gross' direction can be plucked from any of countless genre pieces - theatrical release and TV movie alike - from the better part of at least thirty years. Same for the editing, and the cinematography, and the music; the actors give decent performances, but sometimes they are guided into acting that's downright ham-fisted, or at least just unremarkable. From the beginning this is a title that we can "watch" rather passively, without actively engaging, and that only becomes more true as the minutes tick by. That's fine, I suppose, but if that's the type of viewing experience being offered, then we don't have much reason to bother in the first place, do we?

I do appreciate Winston's effects. While I'm usually of the mind that horror should suggest more than show - keeping the shock as a surprise - in this instance I wonder if it wouldn't have been better if we'd seen a lot more of the creature a lot sooner. I say this because with the picture being so roundly tried and true, and so readily revealing of its story, the minutes start to drag on. The pacing is fine in and of itself, but if we were sitting to watch ninety minutes of actors reciting the Latin alphabet, then the result would suffer in the same way this does with its very common notions. In turn, for whatever mild entertainment 'The day the world ended' has to offer, it's arguably just as true that the viewing experience is a bit of a chore.

When you get down to it this is suitably passable to whittle away some time on a quiet day. Maybe that's all it needs to be. Keep your expectations in check, and definitely don't go out of your way for it, but so long as you know what you're getting into - and how could you not? - then there are worse ways to spend your time. Take that as you will.

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!