Day of the Triffids (1963)

I just watched this (again) for the sci-fi challenge. I must have had this thought before, but, whatever... I was just startled, watching it, by how influential it seems to have been. I should have written this as I was watching it, I would probably have remembered more.... I just kept constantly being reminded of more modern films, while watching it, and of course that is probably because those more modern films were partly inspired by, or at least doing homage to, Day of the Triffids.

The dude waking up in the hospital room, the morning after some horrifying pestilence or other events has run its horrifying course through the community, has been done in 28 Days Later, The Walking Dead, and possibly some other movies I have seen. I will come back and write in anything I remember here. Anyway, those movies and TV shows aren't necessarily inspired by DotT, but I just feel like someone on the set of both those sets must have mentioned the similarity to DotT, and maybe stuck in some kind of Easter egg for alert fans.

The scenes at the lighthouse made me think of The Fog, of course. I bet John Carpenter has talked about any connection that might exist here, in some interview... I can't remember hearing this, but I bet he has.

Also, just the way the Triffids move, and what they are like, just in general... it just feels like DotT might have been more of an influence on the zombie apocalypse sub-genre than some of the early films that are actually about zombies.

I will come back and post more, if I remember anything else, or think of anything new.

The Blob and its global warming message

It hates the cold, so they defeat it with fire extinguishers and dump it in the arctic. Then the last lines of the movie really sell it.

"At least we've got it stopped."
"Yeah, as long as the Arctic stays cold."


Was there any global warming movies before this one? In the 70s, I notice they had some global warming tripe in some animal horror flicks, but this here might be the earliest that I can think of.

Also, the theme song is great.

Interstellar 2013

I still don't get this movie. It starts off strong and all the space stuff is interesting, so I sit through it all waiting for some mind-blowing Nolan ending, but that's where this movie falls apart. The ending. It's like he was working up to something big, but in his pretentiously cerebral plotlines, he couldn't figure it out, so he threw some shit together about bookcase time dimensions and hoped we'd swallow it.

Some bullshit about love being the answer, even though the wormholes are so paradoxical in origin. Some basic John Connor/chicken or the egg stuff right there. As long as the characters know what they're talking about, the audience is supposed to accept it is smart people talk. If Matt Damon says it's science, it must be science!

(Wormholes + Gravity) / Love = this movie. I don't hate it, but I don't like it.

#Review

Possible Fly Sequel

I was just thinking about this. I think they missed an opportunity for a sequel. Maybe they'll still do it someday.

I'm thinking of the scenes in the 1986 The Fly, where Seth Brundle goes out to that bar, wins that woman by almost killing that guy in an arm wrestling match, and eventually they go back to Seth's warehouse apartment place (I think that was what they used to call a "loft") for drunken meaningless sex. You see where I'm going with this. If they had sex, and it sounded like they probably had a LOT of sex, then she could have become pregnant with his... baby? Larva? Baby-larva? Whatever.

They could easily do something with that. The offspring would be in his thirties now. They could say he has recessive fly traits, and they suddenly start to emerge for some reason.

I don't have anything really brilliant or exciting to say about this. I just wanted to mention that it is something they could do.

Kirk out.

It comes at night (2017)

This flick's one of those indies that actually got a theatrical release, and I'm not sure how you guys feel about that.

The movie's basically The Village, post-apocalypse edition. It's unclear what kind of virus they're dealing with, but I think Mortuary (2005) began a "black vomit" trend, which is present here.
The "It" probably refers to the paranoia they have for each other, although it's happening 24/7, not just nightly.
Joel Edgerton plays a hard-nosed family man, but a fair one, who has to make some tough calls throughout.
So there's lots of action, with shades of grey everywhere.

All in all, I recommend the film. My only complaint is that (much like The Village), it's a film pretty much marketed as horror, but is really a thriller. 7/10

Candy Corn 2019

I'm always on the prowl for Halloween-set horror films, and boy, are most of them rotten. Rotten like your teeth if you eat that concentrated heap of sugar known as "candy corn". Just because it's fall-colored, it's a fall thing? What if fall doesn't want it?

But this movie looks pretty dope, doesn't it? The intro credits are promising. Produced by Courtney Gains and Tony Todd. Weird combo, but I'll take it. The film begins rather competently. Good fall atmosphere, a simple score, and a quick rundown of our setting. The director is trying to channel John Carpenter.

The setup is this: bullies harrass a retarded guy who works for a midget in a traveling circus of sorts. They take things a bit too far, and then it becomes a supernatural revenge slasher.

There are hints that this movie is going to turn into a full blown b-movie. But when the killer makes his first kill... there's absolutely zero tension in the scene. Even the music is starting to sound inept and pompous. This movie fell apart real quick, and then I had to watch another hour of it.


I like Courtney Gains. He was in Poolboy, which pretty much makes him a VIP in the world of trash. Also, Hardbodies was great. Suffice to say, I want to cut him some slack here, but it's hard. His mustache is stupid, his protagonist sheriff character is worthless, and there's no stakes. All these characters are dicks with an X on their forehead. Who cares if they die? And then they throw some dramatic sad music at you in the aftermath scenes, as if the loss of these dirt bags warrants any sympathy whatsoever? Who is this movie trying to kid? Candy Corn isn't a treat. Candy Corn is a trick.


Pancho Moler does good with this weak-ass script, but he can't save this jabroni. Nor can tiny roles from Tony Todd and P.J. Soles. This movie is rotten. And worst of all, it's boring.

#Review

I finally tried VR

It was some monkey game where you crawl around by moving your arms. I was climbing trees and gazebos and then I jumped off a tall tree and whoa. It felt pretty real. I wonder if free runners use these games as practice.

I was getting pretty fearful at times. Afraid that I would leave my boundaries and walk into a wall. I can see how that would be easy to do.

Things (1989) has 9 sequels?!

Wtf?! I saw someone posted something about a "Things 666", mentioning it was the seventh in the series (part 666 as number 7?), but they were wrong apparently, because that's number 10 on imdb's list under "connections". The numbering for those movies makes no sense.

I guess I have a new goal for turkey season!

I've been an ordained minister for 10 years

I completely forgot about this. I filled out some form online and got ordained. Probably while I was drunk or high.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre is 50 years old

When I was a kid, I already thought of TCM as an old movie. It was about 20-25 years old then, and now it's half a century old. Sure, it's not like the series has any solid continuity, but it's not about those movies. The original is the only real nightmare, and so many of that cast and crew has been vanquished to time. Such a strange pill to swallow.

It sure did leave a mark, didn't it? Several people still think it's a real thing and claim to know the guy in a 6th degree kind of way. Several people still think Texas is like that, and it's awesome. I hope those non-horror-fans go back to California, where TCM3 was filmed. TCM3 is my least favorite of the series for some reason. Probably because of California.

I'm glad I met a few of those folk while I could. Thanks to video, the events of that film will forever remain one of the most bizarre crimes in the annals of American history.

No sequel will ever outdo the original. The series should probably die now. The game looks alright though.