THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS (1962)

THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS

Alternate Title:
Invasion Of The Triffids

German Titles:
Blumen des Schreckens / Angriff der Mörderpflanzen


UK, 1962
Directors: Steve Sekely, (uncredited) Freddie Francis

7/10

During my inquiries about the Apes-movies, I somehow stumbled upon another huuuge childhood favorite of mine:
"The Day Of The Triffids", the adaptation of John Wyndham's classic novel of the same name. One of the very first horror films I ever saw and definitely my first ever film about walking and man-eating space-plants :-)

The plants were the main reason why I loved this little 60s-gem so much. I already knew killer-plants from an episode of "The Real Ghostbusters" and from countless issues of my favorite comic "Gespenster Geschichten" (= Ghost Stories),

but to see them in real on the TV in the glorious Austrian afternoon program, was an unforgettable experience.

I annoyed my parents for weeks by talking about the Triffids :-)

Watching it nowadays as a grown-up in a CGI-age is of course a quite different experience. "Day of the Triffids" has many flaws that I didn't noticed as a child, f.e. many large plot holes, many shoddy effects, one of the most underwhelming-looking train crashes ever filmed and a lame, rushed ending.

However, I'm surprised how well this movie has aged, despite its weaknesses.

It's tense and thrilling throughout the whole runtime including a few stunningly intense suspense-scene, f.e. the opening, the escape in the fog, the scene in the greenhouse and the climax in the lighthouse. Camera work and editing are fine, the soundtrack is pretty effective and the acting is neat.

Highlights are (of course) the well-designed and quite scary-looking killer plants (I love the screeching sounds they make!), the cool.looking meteor shower and every single scene where the blind walk like zombies through the streets of London (probably a source of inspiration for Romero?).

Overall, a highly creative and well-entertaining sci-fi/horror flick, especially recommended to fans of post-apocalyptic cinema and 50s/60s genre stuff in general!

Note: 2 made-for-TV remakes were made in 1981 and 2009 which I haven't seen yet.

They both look quite interesting but I'm sure they're not as charming as the original.

Wiki ~ Imdb