At first, watching The Day feels a little like sitting through Post-Apocalyptic Movie Making 101. It opens on a gray, lonely road littered with gray rubble shot through a gray filter. Five gray figures slowly walk toward us and come into focus. They’re dirty, tired, and clad in a multitude of cargo pockets and hoods and flaps. So far so good, director Douglas Aarniokoski, but for extra credit, are they also armed and on the run from an unknown enemy? Excellent. You get a gold star! But once these tropes are established and have a minute or two to settle, that’s when things get interesting.
The group comes across an abandoned house in the countryside, and the specifics of these characters and their situation start to come to light. Their leader is Rick (Dominic Monaghan). Adam (Shawn Ashmore) and Henson (Cory Hardrict) are longtime friends of his. Shannon (Shannyn Sossamon) is Rick’s girlfriend, and Mary (Ashley Bell) is the quiet, mysterious loner. Rick is carrying some seeds in a pair of jars that he believes will be their salvation once they can safely settle down, presumably since much of the world’s flora and fauna are gone in the aftermath of the unnamed catastrophe.
In this decade-old new world order, humanity has been split down the middle into two factions defined by a single characteristic: cannibalism. Those who aren’t above it to survive have banded together into roving clans to hunt and serve up those who refuse to chow down, like Rick and his group. Most of this is revealed incidentally, in passing dialogue and imagery, and the audience has to pick up on it, as opposed to the leaden and glaringly obvious exposition that befalls so much of this and other geek genres. So, extra points for that.
Shortly after they arrive at the house, the post-apocalyptic poop hits the fan, and for the rest of the film they find themselves in a vicious, bloody battle to survive against their pursuers.