Smart low-budget fiction The fifties of the XX century were a kind of golden age of American film fiction. At this time, hundreds of fantastic films of different quality were released on the screens of the United States. Pictures of alien invasion were particularly popular, which can be explained by the alarming atmosphere of the Cold War era. Many viewers, not without reason, considered the tapes about the invasion of unfriendly aliens a metaphor of the “red threat”, which was strongly imposed in the notorious times of McCarthyism. The most famous representatives of this subgenre were War of the Worlds and Invasion of Body Snatchers, but many other works appeared that received not so much fame.
Such films include “The 27th Day” by William Escher, based on the novel by John Mantley, who also wrote the script. Unlike most science fiction films of the era, here the aliens, who need a new habitat to replace their dying planet, do not try to destroy humanity, as it is contrary to their moral principles. Instead, they kidnap five of humanity and hand each of them a box of capsules that can wipe people off the face of the Earth without touching animals and plants. Each of the earthlings who received such capsules should use them for 27 days, because then they will lose their strength.
As Escher's film is low-budget, one should not expect impressive special effects from it, but the well-crafted interior of the spacecraft should be noted. Among the actors it is necessary to highlight Gene Barry, who also starred in the “War of the Worlds” in 1953. In general, this film is not a great revelation for fans of science fiction and is not free of cliches, but still it is somewhat smarter than many tapes of that time and makes you think about the responsibility of mankind for the fate of the home planet.
6 out of 10