The Day Review

The Day is the latest in a long line of post-apocalyptic survival flicks, but while it looks good and features a handful of excellent action sequences, it sadly brings little new to the sub-genre.

The story is a simple one - a group of five disparate individuals have survived whatever unnamed disaster has hit the planet, and are working their way across the United States in an effort to find refuge.

But their plight is complicated by the fact that there are malevolent tribes of cannibals roaming the countryside, thirsty for flesh and blood.

In order to survive, the group live by a strict set of rules, but thanks to a lack of food and the fact that one of their number is mortally wounded, they break the most important of them and decide to take shelter for the night in an abandoned farmhouse.

At once sitting ducks, they are soon located by the man-eaters and relentlessly attacked, the film turning into a siege movie as the group desperately fights to survive in the face of a stronger, more powerful enemy.

Trouble is, the characters are paper-thin, making it difficult to either empathise or sympathise as their situation worsens. There's an interesting story to be told here, but it feels like these aren't the people to tell it, while a more serious by-product of this failing is that you simply don't care as their numbers start to dwindle.

The film looks good, director Douglas Aarniokoski bathing proceedings in colourless, washed out tones that perfectly complement the sombre tone of the story. And as a Robert Rodriguez protogee, he's on sure ground when shooting action, delivering some knock-out set-pieces.

But he struggles when it comes to the drama, the film's most serious sequences falling disappointingly flat, and failing to stir the emotions required from a story about the destruction of mankind.

The cast - which includes Dominic Monaghan, Shawn Ashmore and Shannyn Sossamon - is for the most part fine, although there's a weak link in the shape of Ashley Bell's Mary. The newest member of the group, she harbours a dark secret that threatens to tear the team apart. However, when said revelation finally comes to light and her true character is revealed, Bell fails to fully convince, leading to a somewhat unbelievable final act.

But perhaps The Day's biggest problem is that it tells a tale that has been brought to the screen countless times before, most recently in the shape of John Hillcoat's brilliant adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's The Road. But while that film transcended its genre roots, turning a story about a father and son fighting to survive into an examination of what it means to be human, The Day never once feels like anything more than a throwaway action flick, with nothing new to say on the subject.

The result is a celluloid experience that will fade from the memory as soon as the concluding credits have rolled; a forgettable film that favours style over substance, which is a shame as it had the potential to be so much more.