A straightforward, low budget action thriller with a post apocalypse setting. The cheapness of this production is hidden by some slick greyed-out photography, which makes the setting look bleak and washed-out, as is the intention. I'm not a huge fan of this predictable washed-out look but it's done to such a degree here that THE DAY appears to be a black and white movie.

Otherwise it's business as usual, with a straightforward storyline and some interesting characters to recommend it. There's a certain air of unpredictability to the unfolding events which makes it more than watchable, and the action, when it hits, is well handled. Certainly the cannibalistic bad guys are generic and could have been replaced by vampires or zombies with the same effect, but then the focus isn't on the exterior villains.

Instead this is almost a reprise of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, with much of the tension coming from within the group. Shawn Ashmore is a solidly reliable prop, as he was in FROZEN, but it's THE LAST EXORCISM's Brianna Barnes who really shines as Nikki, the outsider in the group who has her own hidden secrets. Barnes gives a compelling turn as the unlikeable character who grows on you, before ending up the most interesting thing in the whole thing. There's also a good turn from Dominic Monaghan, much better than he was in I SELL THE DEAD. I think it's fair to say that THE DAY is no classic but it's much more interesting than I expected.