|
| .. |
|
|
THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED
Review by Chastity Campbell
Stars: Randy Quaid, Nastassja Kinski, Bobby Edner
Director: Terence Gross
Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital and 2-Channel Dolby Surround
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen & Full Screen Presentations
Studio: Columbia Tri-Star
Features: See Review
Length: 90 Minutes
Release Date: August 20,2002
“I’m sorry, would it help if I said I’m
sorry?”
Film ***
Creature Features…what more does one have to say to be
taken back to a time when the smell of fresh buttered popcorn and movie titles
like She Creatures, Earth vs. The Spider, and Teenage Caveman
were the biggest attraction in the small town you were from? Unfortunately I grew up a bit too late to enjoy those types
of movies, but thanks to Columbia Tri-Star, I get to create a few of those kinds
of memories right in my own living room.
Let me say one thing right from the start: The Day The
World Ended is not a “B” movie! It
is a psychological thrill ride that will keep you guessing right up till the
end, but don’t take my word for it….
Dr. Jennifer Stillman, played by the beautiful and talented
Nastassia Kinski (Terminal Velocity, Town & Country) is a New
York psychologist who takes a job in a small Nevada town in order to get away
from city life. Dr. Stillman
arrives in town and is met with quite a bit of animosity right from the start.
She befriends a young boy named Ben, played by Bobby Edner (7th
Heaven, The Pretender), who seems to have a lot of secrets and some sort of
kinetic ability.
Ben’s father, played by Randy Quaid (Kingpin.
Independence Day), is the town doctor and is doing everything he can to keep
Dr. Stillman from unlocking the secrets hidden in Ben’s mind.
You know, this is the kind of movie I love because your
danger sense goes off and you instantly begin wondering what’s really going on
in that small town. Kinski
plays the unwitting psychologist perfectly as she wanders through the maze of
what is real and what is not, in the mind of her young friend Ben.
The best part of this movie, in my humble opinion, was the use of the
original The Day The World Ended to add a unique twist to the plot.
I have a bad habit of telling my friends everything about a
movie before they see it, and I refuse to ruin this film for anyone by detailing
the story too much. However,
I will tell you to pay close attention to all the flashbacks you see, because as
all fans of this genre know, they often hold the key.
This film twists, turns, and bends itself to form three
complex storylines that all converge into one by it’s end.
Combine that with the amazing talents of Stan Winston behind the creature
magic and you’ve got a wild and exciting ride that rivals the Creature
Features of old.
Video ***
When you say Creature Design & Effects a few names come
to mind, but none can compare to the man behind the creature designs for The
End of the World, Mr. StanWinston. The
visual effects he helped to create for this film were absolutely wonderful.
Muted where necessary, and flawed when needed, the effects delivered on
every level except for one, the lighting.
Mr. Winston’s amazing creature would have been even better if the
shadows used to create an air of mystery hadn’t stayed with the alien all
through the movie. When there was
enough light however, the images, were crisp and clear with enough detail in
them to actually make you feel like you were there.
Audio ***
Charles Bernstein’s score for this movie has a good
handle on how a fright flick should feel.
The music in the beginning helps lend a hand to the creepy feel of the
town, and does it’s job well to create suspense when necessary. The Dolby Surround was a very well balanced blend and had no
dips or flaws that I could detect. Over
all it was pieced together very well and there was never a time when any audio
felt as if it were out of place or didn’t fit.
Features ***
When you pop in the disc and turn it on you are immediately
offered the coolest choice, Aspect Ratio! What
is that you say? Well that my friends, means you get to choose widescreen or
fullscreen for your viewing pleasure. I watched the movie both ways and have to say that widescreen
is the way to go.
The Extra Features on this DVD were a mixed bag of just
okay and really great. The
creature effects commentary by Stan Winston & Shane Mahan should be turned
on, and believe me, you won’t get bored listening to Mr. Winston talk about
this movie and its effects.
The “Making Of” Featurette was rather short at only 3
minutes and 30 seconds long. It
didn’t include very much at all. The
director Terence Gross makes a few comments and then it switches over to the
creature department where you are shown a brief overview of how the creature was
made. Don’t worry though, in the creature effects commentary by Mr. Winston
you get plenty of details. The
final part of the featurette is a few comments from the man inside the creature
suit Brian Steele and then it’s back to the features menu.
The Photo Gallery contained approximately 107 images for
you to view. They were broken down
into four categories, Monster sketches, Building the monster, Behind the scenes,
and Production stills. This feature
was nice and helped to round out a few of the comments in the featurette.
The trailers section was jam packed with four different
movie trailers and I loved every single one of them. There was a plug for Creature Features, which showed a
bit about each of the five movies that they have remade. There were trailers for Bram Stokers Dracula, Night
Of The Living Dead, and The Blob. This
was a very fitting collection of movie trailers to add onto this DVD, if
I do say so myself.
The final feature on the disc was the Filmographies.
This feature was very nice and informative.
I especially enjoyed the Stan Winston filmography, because I found other
movies he has worked on that I need to purchase.
Summary: