The Day the World Ended

Rating:
Summary: The Day the World Ended 1956
Review: After the Atomic destruction a hand full of people find them selves in a valley that escaped the initial radiation. Slowly encroaching on them is a strange mutant that has physic powers. There is also the possibility of rain bringing radiation. One of the fun scenes in this Rodger Corman movie is when they throw a dummy off the cliff and you are supposed to believe it is a blond.



Rating:
Summary: Small Towns and The Monsters They Keep
Review: Dr. Jennifer Stillman is a New York therapist that decides that taking a job as an elementary psychiatrist in the backwaters of Nevada (Sierra Vista) would be a good idea. So, packing up the Volkswagen, she enters the town that time seems to have forgotten, one filled with all the wonderful elements of a cozy little place that includes, among other things, suspicious leering and a sea of faces brimming with undertones of almost openly thriving hate. Still, Jennifer doesn't let the fact that she's constantly jeered at by the yokel elements of the town get to her, finding herself harassed not only by some of the residents but also by the local sheriff, thinking that this will all pass with time. Little does she suspect that the townsfolk have other motives meshed within their distrust, ones reflecting a murderous undertone and that lie buried in the head of a very strange, very gifted, boy that she decides to try and help.

This, another of Stan Winston's creature features (Earth Vs The Spider, Teenage Caveman, She Creature, and How to Make a Monster being the other releases thusfar), was actually one of the reasons I started picking up the series in the first place. Besides having not only the effects mastermind himself behind the creation of the creature (one I thought looked pretty good and offered a bit of a horror feel up with) involved in this film, there is also another element, one that manages to hinge a strange plot on events that reek of human dismemberment and the forgotten art of facepeeling. That, in and of itself, makes this a treat for the overindulgent eye.

Rating:
Summary: It's a pretty good movie!
Review: I was totally surprised when I bought this dvd very cheaply. Boredom one night forced me to watch it and it was most uniques. The special effects were decent. The story line was good, and kept me guessing at least 1/2 the way thru, and one small mystery til the very end!
The actors all did a very good job. I think its a great movie for the little price, a little gore. No nudity but there is one sex scene. Very little swearing too. I enjoyed it. I think you will too.

Rating:
Summary: It's a pretty good movie!
Review: I was totally surprised when I bought this dvd very cheaply. Boredom one night forced me to watch it and it was most uniques. The special effects were decent. The story line was good, and kept me guessing at least 1/2 the way thru, and one small mystery til the very end!
The actors all did a very good job. I think its a great movie for the little price, a little gore. No nudity but there is one sex scene. Very little swearing too. I enjoyed it. I think you will too.

Rating:
Summary: No masterpiece, but still creepy fun...holds your interest
Review: I'm giving a higher mark to this film because there are several things that make this an above-par effort. The story will definitely hold your interest, the cast is mature and the acting is with enough conviction, and it gives a nice B-movie feel without resorting to bad CGI effects for a creature.

It has the classic cliche elements for a perfect B flick: a mysterious misunderstood child, a town with a secret, and an alien. While not a direct remake of The Day The World Ended, it utilizes the original film by showing segments on a TV in the story and showing the 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 good X-Files episode with 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 used a mature cast as well. They cast who would work well with the story, not who was young and hot at the moment. By casting the way they did, this film will hold up better in years to come than by choosing a teen-looking cast that will 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 humour 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 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 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 in just 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 pyschological horror.

Those who are collectors of (particularly 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 will be one that years from now will still entertain. It's good enough, smart enough, and doggone it -- just creepy enough that people will like it. I know I've enjoyed this one a heck of a lot more than most recent theatrical yawners, so give this one a try with a big bowl of popcorn and enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: SMALL TOWN CHARM?
Review: Perhaps the most chilling aspect of this well done, High grade B movie is the town itself. Leering people who don't want a newcomer around; and of course, they have a secret they don't want exposed, either. Nastassia Kinski brings a mature warmth to her role as the unwanted school psychologist, and Randy Quaid scores as the gruff Dr. McCann, who is the adopted father of young Bobby Edner, who has some pretty mysterious powers.
The atmosphere is appropriately spooky, and although we don't see the creature much, you can see Stan Winston's print on it, and there are no CGI effects, sort of an homage to those great B movies of the fifties. The inclusion of the original "Day the World Ended" is clever, and helps us remember this is not really a remake, as much as an homage.
Creepy and crawly, it entertains.

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't live up to potential
Review: Unfortunately, this movie doesn't live up to the enormous potential that it is. The story is an intriguing one, and the cast is filled with underrated actors. There are many things never explained. While that is sometimes good to leave the audience guessing, I was left with the impression that it was mainly due to slopping directing.

A lot of the imagery is cool however, and the story does keep the viewer interested. In the end, it isnt a bad movie, and if you are in the mood for a kinda creepy B-movie with awesome effects, then this DVD should suffice.

Also in the "Creature Feature" series are two very well done movies called Earth Vs. The Spider and She-Creature. I definetly recommend those

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't live up to potential
Review: Unfortunately, this movie doesn't live up to the enormous potential that it is. The story is an intriguing one, and the cast is filled with underrated actors. There are many things never explained. While that is sometimes good to leave the audience guessing, I was left with the impression that it was mainly due to slopping directing.

A lot of the imagery is cool however, and the story does keep the viewer interested. In the end, it isnt a bad movie, and if you are in the mood for a kinda creepy B-movie with awesome effects, then this DVD should suffice.

Also in the "Creature Feature" series are two very well done movies called Earth Vs. The Spider and She-Creature. I definetly recommend those

Rating:
Summary: MONSTER from the ID sleeper...
Review: What an UNPLESEANT SURPRISE!Director Terence Gross(right!)cuts no slack with extremely classy reprise of an old 50's drive-in, make-out classic.Is this dude scary!Do bears sleep in the woods?Quien sabe? SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES sure as hell does sleep in the woods of Homietown USA,and it'll eat your ass-connnected-to-the-thigh-hip-&-face bone up!This DAY THE WORLD ENDED is kick-A to the max.It's archetypal BOGIEMAN with turkey-trimming cliches reversed/abolished-demolished.Talk about FATHER KNOWS BEST? Brian King and film scribe M.E.A.de Young know their golden oldie TV and sci-fi to concoct something PM ilk of X-Files;(Don't)LEAVE IT TO BEAVER;and"The Brother of BART SIMPSON strikes again!"

King CREATURE MAN,Stan Winston[the"damned" soul bro of Ray Harryhousen,king of stop-action Beast Masters]creator of ALIEN monsters;and JURASSIC PARK dinos deserves your raptor attention when reincarnated MONSTER from the ID makes the aesthtetically messy-but-not-gross scene. Fx and featured-creature are... "'too-da-lang/too-da-lang/too lang'...SO FINE!" But nobody'll wish "IT" were mine in what amounts to wickedly dark humored; AIDs-amoral;post-Modern anti-fairy tale. Whose ID is it? "When you go out in the Woods today/you're in for a Big Surprise!" Randy Quaid;Nastassja Kinski;and young,telepathic,very un-homeboy played by Bobby Edner; lead this charge into The VILLAGE woods to stave-off a "Teddy Bears'picnic"on the Town's un-body politic.
THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED is a stylized,so-solid production values; sci-fi/horror treat,so unexpectedly good I'd give it 5 Stars if I weren't afraid to. Check-out this cult sleeper-paeon against our CULTURE OF DEATH. It's a savvy...not Baby...killer.(4 and 1/2 stars)