Triffids In Your Face

Looks like Triffid stingers are going to be whipping out of the screen at us in 3D very soon. Transformers producer Don Murphy has announced that he is teaming with Michael Preger (Village of the Damned) on a big-budget 3D version of John Wyndham's classic apocalyptic novel, The Day of the Triffids (1951).

Wyndham's brilliant tale of ambulatory and deadly plants whose "day" comes when most of humanity is rendered blind thanks to a cosmic accident has been filmed before memorably but inaccurately (UK-1962; dir. Steve Sekely and Freddie Francis), effectively and accurately by the BBC (UK-1981; TV mini-series [6 episodes]; dir. Ken Hannam), and recently in an okay but remarkably generic version whose updated manner manages to miss the point almost completely, again by the BBC (UK-2009; TV mini-series [2 episodes]; dir. Nick Copus). Without a doubt a new cinematic version might be welcomed -- though frankly I can do without the gimmicky annoyance of 3D.

Murphy commented:

This original classic has still to be successfully envisioned on the screen. It is a story that strikes at the heart of what it means to be human -- and does so in an intensely cinematic way. (Variety)

Preger in particular talks up the "advances" in cinematic technology that has come with 3D, but that's just the usual spin. I'm sure the tentacles coming out of the screen at us will be as effective, and as distracting, as such things always are. Hopefully, though, the fact that one of Preger's credits is the 2009 mini-series won't go against the new production too much.

• Source: Variety via Avery. Written by Robert Hood
• Image above by Mark Salwowski for the 2007 Penguin edition of the novel.