Invasion of the Triffids (1963)

I first saw this movie in the summer of 1962 at a drive in theater. I loved it. I was probably about 14 or 15 at the time. I never forgot it, and have owned it on VHS tape and laser disk. Only recently did I find out it was out on DVD. I am confused, however, as to reviews of the DVD quality, and am reluctant to purchase it, as my laser disc release is pristine in it's video content. Apparently the video on the DVD is not good. I will have to check into this further. However, to get back to my review: This is a somewhat choppy, disjointed movie, but even though it's somewhat cheesy with its special effects, and acting, it is still a real neat story, and it certainly entertains. It has a solid cult following, and I give it my highest rating, which is rare for me for a movie like this, but somehow I have always been attached to this film, and I would consider it one of my desert island movies. If you have not seen it, do check it out, it is a real hoot.

Fmovies: Day of the Triffids is a delightful sci-fi horror movie from the sixties, and it will be a sure-fire hit with fans of this sort of cinema. The film stands halfway between a serious disaster movie (although it's definitely one that is much more ingenious than most actual disaster movies) and a silly B-movie complete with absolutely ridiculous monsters. Some viewers will most probably be deterred by the second side of the movie - but not me! I found the ridiculous monsters to be an absolute treat, and although the film is certainly messy; on the whole I think it came together rather well. Certainly no worse than you'd expect from this sort of movie. The film follows the story of a meteorite shower that beings down a new species of plant - the man-eating triffid! And, not only that, but the glare of the shower has blinded almost the entire population of the world; which is bound to lead only to trouble. Right from the word go, you know that you're in for a cool piece of kitsch as the voice-over introduces the new species of plant and the film keeps this atmosphere going throughout.

While many viewers will be put off by the silly special effects, the only thing that annoyed me about this is the pacing of the plot. The first fifty minutes at least are highly inventive and very involving so the running time just slips by as you lose yourself in the camp classic that you're watching. However, as we approach the hour mark, the plot slows down to walking pace, and although the inventiveness is still there; it never reaches the highs of the first half of the movie, which featured excellent flashes of brilliance as we see panic on an aeroplane as the pilot is blinded, trains crashing and the hapless, now blind, population of the UK trying to make their way through London station. Howard Keel makes a fine leading man, especially for a film like this. He has an almost cheesy aura surrounding him, and this helps the unintentional humour side of the movie when it's mixed with the rather awful and very corny script that the film works on. On the whole, while this movie won't do anything for fans of artistic and serious cinema, if you like to have fun with your film viewings; this one is recommended.

Reading the previous reviews for this film were like watching a tennis match. One reviewer made a valid negative point(or serve) whilst another made a positive point. Back and forth....back and forth. Those people that read the book seemed to be in general much less happy with the film than those who had never read the book. I can understand that, but looking at films and their adaptations of books must sometimes be done with a more discerning eye. And, of course, sometimes the adaptations of books are so horribly done that nothing but a feeling of resentment, disappointment, and hate can be achieved from the viewer. I have not read the John Wyndham novel..yet. I will. But as sci-fi films and horror films go, The Day of the Triffids is an enjoyable flawed..very flawed film. I have such concrete memories of seeing this as a child and after watching it again after at least twenty years, scene after scene came back to my consciousness. The vivid, colorful meteorite showers over a London backdrop, the night watchman working in the greenhouse, the crowds of sightless people begging for help from those that could see, and the battle between life and death on a remote lighthouse island. The special effects are not very good, the plants look...well..a bit preposterous. The acting is not very grand either. C'mon, what did you expect with Howard Keel in the lead...Shakespeare? Actually Keel is decent as is the cast for the most part. The biggest flaw in the film for me is the script....which has little cohesion as it jumps from one thing to another and then another. The ending was vastly unsatisfactory as it really abruptly ends. Maybe there was no money or good thoughts left. But notwithstanding all of this, The Day of the Triffids is a fun film and a trip down Memory Lane for me.

Invasion of the Triffids fmovies. A meteorite shower lights up the sky and blinds all that watches it. Most of the world population must also deal with some rather weird plant life that can uproot itself and seek human nourishment.

Howard Keel plays a sailor recovering from an eye operation, thus not being blinded by the mysterious glowing display. He finds a young girl that slept through the starry shower. Together they seek out help and a solution to this very weird problem. A couple of marine biologist, stranded in a lighthouse, get a 'hands on' encounter with the rampaging stalks of terror.

An evenly paced movie considering the slow moving menace. This makes you ponder watering your plants. Very good movie.

Also in the cast are Janina Faye, Nicole Maurey and Janette Scott.

Another film-role immortalised in the line above, from the soundtrack of The Rocky Horror Show! Bit of a misnomer actually, SHE didn't fight the triffid, Kieron Moore did! All poor Janette did was to stand there shoving her hand in her mouth and screaming!

Well here's another sci-fi flick seems to have struck a sour note with many viewers. Yeah, there HAVE been many liberties taken with John Wyndham's original tale, doesn't mean though "Hey, three strikes you're out! Derided and laughed-at, much like RAISE THE TITANIC, many aspects of this film are clearly socially responsible and relevant today. How would YOU handle yourself in the situation Howard Keel finds himself in after the majority of the world's population is blinded by the light emanated from a meteor shower? The film was made for a 1960's outlook and acceptance, not new millennium desensitised and pseudo-enlightened audiences. Maybe the triffids WERE men in suits, they were damn good ones though. The fx where the triffids were seeking to gain entry to the lighthouse I thought were exceptionally good for their age. OK, so the film DOES also offer what is probably the WORST train pile up ever filmed (you never actually see it!) but give the makers a break. What did you EXPECT them to do? close Charing Cross station and have an eight coach steam train from Watford ram the buffers at 100 mph?

Many wonderful images from this film stick in the mind. That great scene where Mervyn Johns and Howard Keel stand on the edge of the quarry, watching the triffid spores becoming airborne. The triffid, as it lashes the back window of the Humber as Keel shepherds the little girl to safety. The stock-standard British stiff upper lip when the blinded crew of the airplane know they are doomed. The panorama of burning triffids when Keel rigs up the elctric fence then has to torch them before they break through. Even now so many years since I saw it, I can still hear that ice-cream truck as the triffids are led in pied-piper fashion away to their ultimate fate.

I can forgive 'Tommythek' his less than relevant comments. He at least admits to being "illiterate" and functioning at the lowest level. Others though are stupefyingly brittle and short-sighted. THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS is top sci-fi entertainment, not quite a fully-fledged classic I agree, but I'll watch it anyday before I ever sit through CAST AWAY again!

The film opens with a marvellously atmospheric sequence of a night security guard being stalked by an aggressive man-size killer plant in a huge greenhouse. Illuminated by a night sky full of falling comets, the use of darkness with splashes of technicolor makes this visually very rich and introduces the triffid as a terrifying menace. For a British-made sci-fi story, this is an ambitious attempt to follow action across three countries, show society in ruins and portray (not quite as successfully) a rampaging army of killer plants! The grim early scenes of blinded populous are quite upsetting, a plane falls out of the sky because the pilot cannot see but he knows he is running out of fuel, a train crashes into a terminus and its blinded passengers can't help themselves amongst the wreckage... The film follows an American sailor, who has not been blinded by the comets, as he tries to reach safety. This story is intercut with a couple stranded in a lighthouse surrounded by Triffids - these scenes were all added by the (uncredited) director Freddie Francis after the original cut of the movie came in way under its correct running time. The woman in the lighthouse scenes is played by Janette Scott, who has been immortalised in the lyrics of the title song of "THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW". If possible watch a widescreen version of this movie - it makes a lot more sense.