DIY VIRAL
The author Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Long before M. Night Shyamalan turned plants into killers What's happeningand a few years before George Romero turned horror on its head with Night of the Living Deadthe British sci-fi horror classic introduced the world to triffids. Adapting the hit book of the same name, Day of the Triffidsmaybe about aliens, not zombies, but it left a lasting impression on zombie horror for 60 years. In particular 28 days later and The Walking Dead they were heavily influenced by the 1963 film.
People are a real monster
Day of the Triffids begins with a freak meteor shower that blinds everyone who sees it, save for Bill, a naval officer who was recovering in the hospital when it happened. The sequence where Bill wanders from the hospital to the empty city streets is one of those scenes that you may never have realized was a tribute. Danny Boyle sure shoots Cillian Murphy in exactly the same way when cooking 28 days laterbut that's not the only scene the two films share.
“Humans are the real monster” has become an expected message in most horror films, and 28 days later it is revealed by the third act, the arrival of soldiers at an abandoned house. This is similar to the same sequence in the 1951 novel Day of the Triffids, right down to the use of zombies/triffids as a weapon. The movie made a major change from the novel to the ending, changing the ending to something more hopeful, but between the two you can see 28 days later.
While the movie version Day of the Triffids has little in common with the novel and does not allow us to understand exactly where the Triffids came from. The novel suggests that they are the result of Soviet experiments, but then the film includes spores spread by a mysterious meteor shower, giving the impression that they are invaders. an alien species. Both versions feature a young girl, Susan, whom Bill befriends and protects as they wander the countryside in search of a safe haven.
60 years later
Day of the Triffids isn't a traditional zombie film, but it helped set the template for the genre to follow. The 1963 film currently has a 78 percent fresh critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to a lackluster 51 percent audience rating, but with more than 5,000 audience reviews for a 61-year-old film, that's still a better rating than most of science fiction movies released in 2024. Later adaptations would be more faithful to the original novel, including a 2009 miniseries starring Jason Priestley, Brian CoxVanessa Redgrave and Eddie Izzard, but neither has had the lasting but underrated impact of the original.
George Romero Night of the Living Deadthe most influential zombie film of all time, which debuted five years after that Day of the Triffidsbut together the two films helped launch the horror subgenre that is still popular today. Over the past 20 years, zombie films that deconstruct the genre and turn tropes on their side have become more popular, from Shaun of the Dead to The dead don't diewith varying results. But through it all, the 1963 British sci-fi horror film has quietly influenced countless films and novels.
Before you watch again 28 days later to prepare 28 years laterdo yourself a favor and stream Day of the Triffids free further Pipes, Philoor It cracklesand see if you can spot the tributes and references.
Source link
DIY VIRAL
