Customer Reviews

The Day the World Ended

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

I have yet to see the original The Day the World Ended, directed by Roger Corman and released in 1955 by American International Pictures (AIP), but I did get a chance to see this 2001 feature of the same title...I wouldn't necessarily call it a remake as in reading the synopsis of the original movie apparently it dealt with survivors living in a post apocalyptic holocaust, forced to fend for themselves against a fleshy headed mutant...this updated, made for cable version features none of that...directed by Terence Gross (Hotel Splendide), the film stars Nastassja Kinski (Cat People, Unfaithfully Yours) and Randy `Cousin Eddie' Quaid (Vacation, Kingpin). Also appearing is Bobby Edner (Haunted Lighthouse, Welcome to Paradise), Harry Groener (Road to Perdition), Lee de Broux (Pumpkinhead), Debra Christofferson (Mousehunt), Neil Vipond (Phobia), and Stephen `Ned the Head' Tobolowsky (Basic Instinct, Sneakers, Groundhog Day).

Kinski plays Dr. Jennifer Stillman, a therapist and native New Yorker who's recently taken a position working for a school district in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in a small town called Sierra Vista. Upon arrival she finds she has her work cut out for her as she meets Ben McCann (Edner), the adoptive son of the town's doctor Michael McCann (Quaid). Seems most of the residents of the town, especially the children, regard Ben as some kind of freak (they're not too far off as it turns out Ben does possess some spooky, freaky deaky mind powers). Ben's mother, before she died, claimed Ben's father was from outer space, and Ben believes someday he'll return and take Ben away (I sort of suspect mom was pretty promiscuous, and told her son this only because she probably couldn't say for sure who his real father was...). As Stillman begins rooting around in Ben's past, the townspeople get edgy (seems certain individuals have something to hide), and soon we see the arrival of an entity from space, something large, squishy, and covered with hurty tentacles which it uses to rip peoples faces off, quite deftly, I might add. As the townspeople mobilize into an armed posse to scour the wooded areas for the killer (the body count is on the rise), Stillman continue her prying ways, and Ben's repressed memories start coming forth, indicating perhaps those recently slaughtered may have all been a apart of something that happened not too long ago involving the death of Ben's mother. Eventually various truths are revealed, along with a few more individuals de-brained (aliens sure seem to like them juicy noggins), as the good (and not so good) folks of Sierra Vista learn the hard way the past, while buried, isn't necessarily gone.

In and of itself this film was pretty decent, with a seemingly good amount of effort from most involved. The main bone I have to pick with the movie is while it shares a title with his predecessor releases some fifty years prior, that's about all it shares. None of the original story, as I understand it, has remained intact, and given the story that was used, it didn't really tie in with the title all that well making me wonder what was the point in even keeping the title? A more appropriate title might have been The Day the World Ended for One Particular Little Boy. The film does pay homage to that which had been released before in one, small way, as at one point Ben and his adoptive father are watching the original Roger Corman feature on television. Thanks for throwing us that meager bone...ah well...the story was kind of fun I suppose, but really, it didn't offer up any surprises because most of it I'd already seen in some format or other (the `twist' element reminded me a lot of story featured in the Twilight Zone movie released in 1983). I thought most of the performers competent and capable enough, but there seemed a lack of strength, particularly because there wasn't a solid lead actor (most of the performers were of the character actor variety, including Quaid). Ms. Kinski did well, but I thought she was slightly miscast in the role, as I just found it hard to buy off on this obviously metropolitan oriented individual taking a job across the country in some bumf**k, backwater mountain community for no, proper reason. Did she lose a bet? Was she doing it for kicks? Maybe she just wanted to see how the other half lived. Despite the issues mentioned (some of them fairly major, from my standpoint), the movie still comes off reasonably well. The creature effects, provided by Stan Winston, were professional as the monster really did look like something from a 1950s science fiction movie, only instead of a guy in a rubber suit, it looked someone had taken that idea and given the technology at hand, created a real, living, breathing monster. I did get a little annoyed with the character of the kid, especially once the killing starts and he never shuts up about the creature being his father and how he was the only one who truly understood it and all. I'll tell you what, if'n I were that kid, once I got a look at the ugly, slavering beast I wouldn't have been as willing to go around telling everyone it was my father. Had it been up to me, I probably would have sent the kid into the woods to be with his `father'...have fun, squirt, and don't forget to send us a postcard from whatever crab nebula you end up in...I did like the `conspiratorial' aspect of the story, and I kept hoping it would result in a bigger payoff, but we got what we got. All in all I thought this not an outstanding feature, but slightly better than average, and worth a look if you enjoy science fiction tinged with horror...just don't expect something along the lines of the original feature (again, which I have yet to see, but given the synopsis I've read, the two have little in common).

The picture, provided in both fullscreen and anamorphic widescreen, looks decent enough, and the audio, available in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Surround, comes across well. Extras include a `making of' featurette, a fairly large photo gallery, filmographies, a creature effects commentary with Stan Winston and Shane Mahan, subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Thai, Chinese, and Korean, and trailers for other DVD releases like Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), Night of the Living Dead (1990), and The Blob (1988), the last tentatively scheduled for big screen remake in 2007.

Cookieman108

This one's ok, but put your time & money towards a better movie.

If you don't mind a B-grade movie with unspectacular effects, and a scary creature that isn't really scary, then you may enjoy this one.

The acting is good, but the storyline is pretty ordinary.

Nothing great here - but ok to pass the time.

THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED has Nastassja Kinski (Cat People, To The Devil... A Daughter, Blind Terror) as Dr. Stillman, a NYC psychologist who takes a small town position as an elementary school therapist. She gets the cold shoulder from nearly the entire town, which seems to be hiding a dark secret. Stillman meets a boy who appears to have telekinetic powers. The boy is feared / shunned by the townsfolk. So, the two outcasts are drawn together. A series of mutilation murders begins, commited by a slithery, be-tentacled monster (designed by the incredible Stan Winston) that is somehow connected to the boy. I loved this one! The characters are fun, w/ Randy Quaid (Independence Day, Parents) as the town doctor being a standout. The school principal and nurse are hilarious, especially in their "love" scene! As killer-kritter movies go, TDTWE is well above average. No, it has nothing to do w/ the goofy (though entertaining) Roger Corman original, but that's a good thing...

OLD SCI FI MOVIE THAT WAS A LITTLE MORE CAMPY THAN I REMEMBER BUT ENJOYABLE ANYWAY

Beware! I just got my copies of both "I Was A teenage Caveman" and "The Day The World Ended" (both "Creature Features"). I haven't even watched them yet and I'm already PO'ed. Both came in clear snap cases with NO COVERS / NO ARTWORK!! As a collector, I am APPALLED.

Inside the package there is a note from a company called kellie@norampartners.com which says, "NorAm sells over 750,000 used DVDs a year that are overstock from national retailers. We put the DVD's in new durable clear cases so you can see the DVD inside, and we list them as VERY GOOD, clearly saying in the seller notes the condition as "NO ARTWORK, NEW CLEAR CASE". We make every effort to make this known before our customers make a purchase, but sometimes the notes get overlooked. We are sorry if you accidentally purchased this without artwork. Rest assured you have a great quality, original studio release."

Little consolation in that you don't get this note until your DVDs ARRIVE!

So I went back to the ads for both movies. There is NOTHING listed under "Condition" anywhere to be found in the actual ads for either movie. So I decided to walk through purchasing another copy under the list of "used" sellers. I found the seller I purchased them from and sure enough there is a small notation about it JUST AS YOU ARE ABOUT TO CLICK THE PURCHASE BUTTON! You might miss it? You will DEFINITELY miss it! Why do you think they have to print up this note with each package sent out? And you know what? It's a 4-color 2-sided note on glossy 6 point stock - the same as a COVER! They could have RE-PRINTED the covers for the same amount of printing these lame "excuses".

AND... at the VERY LEAST, they could give you a link with the cover art so that YOU could download it and print it yourself.

Just... BEWARE... and look closely before you press that "purchase" button.