Never has a film so aptly demonstrated the transition between two decades. The Day Time Ended is so 70s and yet so 80s it’s a visual brain freeze. Fashions, setting, characters, and direction couldn’t be more 70s (think classic 70s b-movie like Kingdom of the Spiders) while the family in jeopardy sci-fi theme and visual effects (save for the stop motion) point straight to the burgeoning fantasy adventure movement that would define 80s cinema. I’m going to take a deep breath and try to explain the plot in as few words as possible:

Grandpa surprises his entire family with a new home bewilderingly built on a secluded desert plain. A time rift occurs (off screen!), spitting out various creatures and machines from the past and future during the course of one night. Visitors include the worst stop motion dinosaurs (?) seen in 40 years, a floating plastic drone (imagine what a Death Star vacuum droid might look like), little green aliens, and glowing pyramids. These occurrences are strangely localised to one house in the desert and none of this is explained at all, in any way, ever. If this all sounds utterly awesome it isn’t, but it should have been, because it’s so fucking bonkers.

So who’s seen this one? be sure to check out all 29 movies you’ve never heard of