Review of The Day After (1983) by Timothy S — 20 Feb 2012

Back in the day, "The Day After" was one of the most talked about and controversial TV movies of all time. While the controversy certainly has subsided, the movie is still surprisingly watchable and timely even though it is also very dated. Still, that only makes the movie that much more fun now that the shock value has worn off.

The moment when the bombs actually touch down and citizen after citizen are turned into skeletons via some hilariously shoddy special effects is wonderfully campy. Some of the performances are a little over the top, and some of the information doesn't seem to be altogether factual. But despite all of that the film is still powerful. Putting all of the obvious flaws aside, you can't deny the fact that the movie is still immensely moving. And as I mentioned, a lot of it is dated but the central theme has never stopped being relevant at all over the past twenty-five years.

The first hour gives you enough background information on the characters to make you care about them, and just enough plot details to make the whole thing dramatic and believable. The news footage feels real. The film's scope is kept small enough, focusing only on a handful of characters in a small town, but I liked that because it feels so much more intimate. Anything on a grander scale would have been an impossibility to pull off this successfully.

"The Day After" may seem like an afterthought after all of these years, but it's still definitely worth a look. It's still shockingly relevant.