day of the triffids (1962)

aka Invasion of the Triffids. Revolt of the Triffids.
Based on the John Wyndham novel, this is a tale of apocalypse. An impressive meteorite shower produces a once in a lifetime spectacle, that everyone watches. Unfortunately the shower results in blindness for anyone that watched it. The shower also introduces a new plant life to earth, the triffids, a carnivorous life form, which quickly exploits the blind as a food source. Into this scenario we are introduced to a couple who are quickly disintegrating due to his alcoholism, surrounded and trapped in a lighthouse, and a sailor who searches for other survivors, firstly in Britain, then France. None of them watched the meteors, and all wake to a world full of blind people and triffids.
Many liberties have been taken with Wyndham's novel, which annoys some, but when wasn't a novel adapted and butchered by the film version? What we have here is a low budget film, that does what it can with the material. Whilst not a classic, it's still enjoyable, as we watch Howard Keel wander Europe as it disintegrates into chaos and anarchy. But through it all a shred of decency remains, with Keel protecting and leading a young girl hopefully to a sanctuary somewhere.