Cover Art

Credits

Director: Steve Sekely Starring: Howard Keel, Nicole Maurey, Janette Scott, Kieron Moore Screenplay: Bernard Gordon, Philip Yordan Music: Ron Goodwin Tagline: Man eating plants! Spine chilling terror! Country: UK

The Day of the Triffids tells the tale of Bill Masen (50's square-jawed legend Howard Keel), who has woken up in hospital after an operation on his eyes to find the hospital deserted. After much thought, he un-wraps his eyes to find the world a different place. A meteor shower the previous evening has rendered all who watched it blind, and victims of an unusual carnivorous plant known as a 'triffid'. He eventually rescues a young girl who had been enslaved by one of the blind, and they make their way across countries, trying to find sanctuary. Meanwhile, a young couple who are trapped on a lighthouse island are descended upon by the plants, their only salvation being to find a way to destroy them. Apparently, the scenes with the lighthouse couple were filmed later, as the original cut of the film, when handed over to the studio, was deemed too short, and this extra story was added into the film.

This is not a bad film, and can be excused of its overacting and, shall we say, primitive special effects, but really should only act as a supplement to the novel. Those who have read the novel first will generally find this film incredibly disappointing, as it hops, skips and jumps through Wyndham's tale, and younger fans may find it similar to more recent films like 28 Days Later, and of course, Romero's Dead series. There are some true moments of dread in the film though - the scene with the doomed aircraft is of particular tragic value - and while the film ends on a high point, it still remains that mankind has been decimated by its own foibles: greed and mistrust, not to mention walking trees that kill with a whip-like stamen and are born to consume meat.