Develiker terrible... so disappointed.

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Tyreece Hulme One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Hitchcoc A pretty decent Roger Corman offering about a group of people who find themselves amid a mountain range that is full of lead after a nuclear holocaust. They include a survivalist and his daughter, a young man knowledgeable in science (handsome Richard Denning), a gangster (played by Mike Connors) and his stripper girlfriend, an old prospector and his donkey, and a poor guy who was caught in the radiation. The dynamics are interesting as food and water run low and they become aware that there are some frightening creatures massing over the rim. It's hard to work together when Connors is constantly on the lookout for a gun he can get his hands on. He also has designs on the young daughter and becomes impatient with his girlfriend. There is some poorly developed science here but, of course, we have to have monsters. Corman doesn't disappoint. Not a bad movie.

Sean Jump Despite its obvious limitations in terms of budget and overall production values, Day the World Ended is an adeptly executed little film that rises above its flaws. The ever-reliable Roger Corman made his name crafting low-budget gems, and Day the World Ended showcases his fine talent for getting the most from a small cast and a smaller bank account. The confined setting – almost all the action takes place inside the secluded home of a survivalist - creates a tight, claustrophobic atmosphere haunted by the spectre of encroaching death. The cast really seems to sell out for their roles, and for all that they are to some degree all playing stereotypes each actor and actress makes their character a believable individual. The headliners, Lori Nelson and Richard Denning, are no strangers to sci-fi films of the period, and our heroine and hero are always appealing people we want to see escape the impending doom that stalks them (especially the wonderfully attractive Ms. Nelson). Though the film absolutely falls into the realm of science fiction, it is worth noting that the plot – a surprisingly well-written and thoughtful plot, rife with Biblical analogies and religious undertones – is primarily a character drama. There is little action in Day the World Ended, which for the most part deals with the handful of survivors in our cast and how they deal with the end of the world and one another. There is a monster, of course, and if the creature is a bit disappointing when revealed this is compensated for by great foreshadowing and the careful build-up of suspense which makes the beast a palpable menace long before its claws reach out and grab the lovely Lori Nelson. Though not generally regarded as a classic of its time or any other, Day the World Ended is a very underrated film that rewards the viewer with a host of unexpected charms.

retrorocketx The Day the World Ended looks super cheap, but it is actually a watchable movie. It all begins with a nuclear holocaust. As poisonous radiation blankets the earth, only a few pockets are able to sustain normal life. The film is about one such pocket located somewhere in a mountainous desert probably in or near California.A father and his daughter are hunkering down in their remote house, fully prepared to survive the nuclear winter. Five survivors straggle down from the nuclear fog-bound hills and make it to the house. There are seven people in the house, but only enough supplies for three (the father and daughter were expecting her fiancée to join them).At this point, the movie becomes a great little character study. The small time hood and the hero, Rick (Richard Denning), compete for the affection of the daughter, Louise (Lori Nelson). An ex-stripper tries to hang onto her man while the father tries to keep everyone in line. The dying guy, surprisingly, does not die, but begins to have strange longings for the nuclear fog and strong cravings for raw meat. An old prospector and his mule round out the cast. The father can't get anyone on the radio, so these folks might be all alone in the world, trapped in a small house, surrounded by poisonous fog.The sets are by far the worst part of the movie. The house looks like a Palm Springs vacation home rented out for the weekend. It just does not look like the father and daughter live here (for a guy who was planning to survive a nuclear war you'd think he would at least remember to trick out his house!). The decor is dull, which is bad because we spend most of the movie looking at it. Oh and the curtains! All the windows are curtained. The characters spend lots of time peering out of the curtains (but we never see what they are looking at), and they enter and leave through curtained doors too. It just looks really cheap.If some of the scenes took place in another room, especially one with survival gear, the film might have been much more interesting. I felt like I needed to see what a 50s survival bunker (or storeroom) might have looked like. After all, it was not unheard of for people to have converted basements or backyard bunkers during this time period. Unfortunately the movie was too cheap to show something that really needed to be shown.The most interesting plot dynamic involves Louise. She has been hoping for her fiancée to arrive at the house, but he does not. Her father urges her to forget about him (and marry Rick within the week and get busy repopulating the earth). But she is not ready. At odd times Louise hears a strange psychic piping noise that seems like a voice calling her (no one else hears it) and she feels she is being watched.It's not too long before the household realizes there is a monster on the prowl outside. And the father and Rick start coming up with theories of humans and animals mutating into monsters due to radiation. I don't think the monster looks any worse than most cheap monster-suits of this genre. At least the monster is somewhat mysterious. The monster uses its psychic piping noise to lure Louise out of the house. Will she be taken by the monster into the poisonous fog? Will the monster let her go? Can Rick kill the monster and save the girl with an army surplus M-1 rifle? Whatever happened to the fiancée? The theme of the movie is survival, but with an emphasis on letting go of the past, letting go of the dead, and finding love and reasons to live in the midst of catastrophe. The only survivors in the movie are those able to let go and embrace a new future as the poisonous nuclear fog dissipates.

copper1963 The Geiger counter is off the meter in this Roger Corman effort. Red hot. Searing. Out of the radioactive mist stagger seven survivors. One, a man, has suffered radiation poisoning. The other six characters are relatively intact. But exposed. Beefy Richard Denning performs his best fireman's carry of the infected man, plucking him out of the lethal, contaminated fog. They all arrive safely in a valley protected by a natural barrier of mountainous lead. Or something. It's best not to think too much about such matters. Stumbling into a place where there are very few people, natural shields and a house with supplies, is alway a plus in this type of genre film. Mike Connors arrives and soon cracks thick skulls with Denning. They both want to take charge. He also has the hots for the daughter of the military man, in whose house they've all crashed. The gruff, older gentleman has only enough supplies for three people: his daughter, her fiancée and himself. The fiancé never makes it. Or does he? The Captain views the others as uninvited guests--extra mouths to feed. The daughter takes pity on them and allows them to stay the night. And longer. Softy. A stripper and prospector (complete with burrow) fill out the remaining cast. The characters fight, argue, dance, bicker, swim, fight (some more) and plan for the future. The father even marries off his daughter to Denning. His philosophy: start making babies as soon as possible. But what if the radioactive rains come too fast? Well, then they will all be pushing up daises. The surrounding hills are populated by mutated humans in different stages of decay and rot. The fog creeps and slithers around the rim of the valley like mustard gas. The movie does convey a spooky atmosphere very well, and violence and religious overtones are present and applied liberally. All you need for a rainy Saturday afternoon of viewing. But keep clear of any radioactive pellets cascading from the sky. They're killers. Now whatever happened to that fiancé?