'The Day of the Triffids' is a film that scared the hell out of me when I was a kid and one I still enjoy watching. It is essentially a low-budget sci-fi horror film, but on another level, it's a post-apocalyptic story and a study in how people react to a breakdown in society. One night, a strange, brilliant meteor shower causes blindness in anyone who witnesses it, which as it turns out is virtually the entire population of the Earth. Only those people who for whatever reason had no opportunity to watch the display are spared (submarine crews, for example.) Bill Masen (Howard Keel), an American naval officer, is in a London hospital after an eye operation with his eyes bandaged that night, so the next day, he discovers he has retained his sight but practically no one else has. There are scenes of confusion and anarchy wherever he goes; the bus depot, outside in the city streets, and at the train station, where there is a train wreck and he meets up with Susan (Janina Faye), an English schoolgirl who had been hiding in the baggage car the night before and so can see as well. Concurrently, triffids (tall, ambulatory, deadly plants) begin roaming the towns and countryside, killing any humans they come in contact with. A side story takes place in a lighthouse on a remote island, where a scientist and his wife try to figure out a way to kill the creatures. Bill and Susan cross the channel and the rest of the film chronicles their attempts to be rescued, encounters with various people, and confrontations with the triffids. Along the way, they meet up with Christine (Nicole Maurey), a sighted French woman, who joins them on their quest. Keel, the former star of MGM musicals such as 'Show Boat,' gives a somewhat indifferent performance. It's fair to say his film career was in sharp decline at the time, and one definitely gets the impression that he took the role in a low-budget sf thriller strictly for the paycheck. But oddly enough, he seems right for the part, as he provides a kind of laidback authority to the proceedings, which are themselves strangely low-key much of the time, given the traumatic circumstances. In fact, aside from the requisite scream here and there, the three principles do not seem terribly concerned about their predicament. This might have to do with the film being a British production and the customary British understatement about even such matters as the end of civilization. There is a certain charm to 'The Day of the Triffids' and in how Bill, Christine, and Susan become an ad hoc family of sorts. Periodically throughout, the triffids provide a jolt of surprise and suspense but mainly the mood is melancholy, which is unusual for this kind of movie. Not surprisingly, the special effects are less than stellar yet adequate for the most part. 'The Day of the Triffids' is an enjoyable little film that holds up well, more than forty years later.
Review of The Day of the Triffids
