Movie | Day the World Ended | Pass

For wannbe filmmakers like me, Roger Corman is a god of indy film. Having produced nearly 400 films, he's the master of expolotation. But, he's more than that. He's a beacon of light for those of us drawn to making fun movies on a low budgets with second-tier actors. Not only that, he's darn good at it.

This scifi thriller from 1955 is about as hokey as they get, but it's also brilliant. They created an entire atmosphere with minimal sets and got the most from very little.

Everything is hokey - the acting, the music, the filming and especially the FX. Just another guy in a rubber suit type stuff (say hello to starfish face for me, willya?). And the intentional avoidance of reality in terms of atomic fallout is absurb.

But it all comes together in this story of a group of people holed up in a house out in the woods after a nuclear war. There's something out in the woods...will it get them or will they destroy themselves first?

Is this a good movie? No. But, it's a cultural and historical touchstone as well as being a guide for low budget film students (it was shot in 9 days!).

Two radiated thumbs up!