The Day of the Triffids 2006 Horror Movie Review

American sailor Bill Masen (Howard Keel) is convalescing in a London hospital; his eyes are bandaged so he cannot watch the spectacular meteor shower with everyone else.  Next morning, all who saw the meteors are now blind and being attacked by hideous man-eating plants.  Bill makes his way to France where he meets a handful of others who still are sighted, but the hideous Triffids are everywhere.


This low-budget movie with primitive special effects is considered a cult classic by many these days, but the mechanical plants aren’t scary and the acting is generally wooden.  The premise that most of the world’s inhabitants are blinded is, however, very scary; we see what happens when all aboard a jet and a passenger train lose their sight.  People wander through the deserted streets of London with no hope.


Howard Keel is the best of the cast, although he never seems particularly worried about the strange events and handles each emergency with ease.  An odd side note is that the movie turned out to be way too short, so a completely unrelated story about some scientists trapped in an island lighthouse was added to lengthen it.  This plot line is interesting but jarringly disconnected to Dave Masen’s story.  Better acting and a better script would have helped a lot; as it is it’s strictly for laughs.