Reviews of THE 27TH DAY on IMDB tend to go one of two ways. Either the film is lauded for its atypical intellectualization of whether mankind on planet Earth will check out through our own Hydrogen bomb foolishness or that of intergalactic interlopers; Or, the film is reviled for its simplistic, moralizing (especially its ending) and its retro vision (it was a product of the fifties, after all) of communist regimes. Personally, I find the moral question pondering in The 27th Day to be handled too simplistically and the attitudes of reviewers who think the film comes down too hard on the Soviets and the Chicoms of that era to be either woefully uninformed about life in communist countries or possessing little humanity themselves. However, that is not the focus of this review. Rather, I would like to point out an alternate narrative that emerges if one looks at the film not through the lens of science fiction, but instead, a supernatural one.
First of all, "The Alien", as Moss' character calls himself, appears seemingly out of nowhere to each of the five "abductees". Was this accomplished through electro-mechanical Teleportation (ala Star Trek's 'Transporter') or dimensional travel? I note that the subjects were all addressed by The Alien before they were taken and then "woke up" in what he called his spaceship. I also note that this is similar to the classic UFO abduction experience. While we are on the subject of the abductees, a commonly used term to describe their collection is "randomly selected", however, there is nothing to support that. Rather than being random, they all seem to share a moral code. (More on that later.) While in the flying saucer, The Alien tells them that they were snatched from their timelines and will be returned there at the instant they left. He explains this is possible because they are traveling at the speed of light. This doesn't make sense as he shows them on a viewer that they appear to be in orbit around the Earth. Are they orbiting the earth at the speed of light? Rather than deconstruct the theory of relativity, it is easier to manipulate the Time/Space Continuum by moving into or out of one's plane of existence. Such a maneuver could explain slipping the time barrier. So far, The Alien's actions are more consistent with a Hyper-Dimensional Entity (aka Angel/Demon) than an extraterrestrial.
Next comes the bargain. The Alien gifts each subject with a personalized weapon of mass destruction. The use of the weapons is conditioned by a meticulous set of rules: 1) The case containing the weapons is indestructible and can only be opened by its assigned owner using "thought waves". 2) Inside each case are three "bombs", each one about the size and shape of a AA battery. Each bomb has the power to destroy all human life (and only human life) in a 1500 mile radius. (That's a 3000 mile diameter kill zone!) The bomb only kills humans, it does not harm animals, vegetation or terrain. 3) Once the case is opened, each bomb can be activated by anyone. All the user has to do is speak the global coordinates designated by latitude and longitude of the bomb's blast center. 4) If the subject should die, the weapon becomes useless. 5) The weapon is only active for 27 days. After that, the weapon's "freshness date" expires and it becomes useless.
The Alien then explains why he kidnapped the five subjects. He says he is from a dying world that will be destroyed by a supernova in 35 days. His race is looking for a new world to inhabit. The assumption is that one of the five subjects will succumb to a destructive urge and clear the land for their new alien occupiers. They ask The Alien if his race plans to invade the earth. The Alien says: "Oh, no. No, our moral code does not permit us to invade nor to destroy any form of intelligent life. We are prepared to lend you a weapon, a weapon which will permit you to destroy yourselves without harming your planet. This weapon affects only human life. Nothing else will be harmed. It will be loaned to you for twenty-seven of the thirty-five days remaining to us. If at the end of that time, midnight of the twenty-seventh day, Greenwich Time, you've not used it, the weapon will automatically become harmless. You are under no compulsion to make use of the weapon." This also does not make sense. How can a moral code that prohibits the taking of intelligent life allow letting that same intelligent life exterminate itself by arming it with advanced weaponry? Such a moral code is a contradiction in terms. I assess that it is not a moral code, but rather a moral test. The film does not address this point but rather bulldozes ahead without considering alternatives. What happens next is the moral tale illustrated. This is where the moral character of the five abductees is tested.
They are American Jonathan Clark (Gene Barry), a cynical newspaper reporter. British Eve Wingate (Valerie French), a winsome English lass dating an artist. German (?) Professor Klaus Bechner (Geroge Voskovec), a scientist of either mathematics or physics. Russian Ivan Godofsky (Azemat Janti), a soldier in USSR. And finally, Chinese Su Tan (Maria McClay), a peasant woman who is introduced by showing Red Chinese soldiers kill her husband and destroy her village.
I stated earlier that these characters were all bound by a moral code of conduct. This is demonstrated by their actions. Su Tan, upon being returned to her timeline, commits suicide in anguish of despair, but doing so honorably before the shrine of her ancestors. The bombs in her weapon turn instantly into dust.
Eve Wingate tosses her case into the ocean with barely a thought. Not daring to possess that much power, she abdicates it immediately.
The other three hold onto theirs. Professor Bechner, his scientist's mind locked in thought on his predicament crosses the street absent mindedly and is knocked down by a car! He later recovers. Pvt. Godofsky is detained by his own Red Army and ordered to relinquish the secret of the weapon so the political and military leaders can use it for their own plans, but he refuses, under torture to obey. Only after days of harsh physical and mental duress does he then open the case and tell them how to use it.
Reporter Clark has a crisis of conscience and hides out with his weapon, only to turn himself in to his country's authorities later.
The plot is trite and boring, but the story is fascinating. Professor Bechner, working with the American military and adding his weapon to Clark's, test the weapon's legitimacy (something the Soviets don't bother to do) by setting one off in a remote area of the world where (supposedly) there are no other humans. A terminally ill scientist volunteers to be the guinea pig. Observed via television camera on a raft with some test animals from 1500 miles away, the coordinates are read out loud to one of the 'bombs' and sure enough, the scientist is disintegrated leaving behind his clothes and the unaffected caged birds and goat on the raft! Professor Bechner then begs to closely examine all the bombs they have. He notices numeric values and symbols in relief on them and suspects they hold a secret. By rolling the small cylinders onto clay, he imprints the writing onto flat tablets so that they can be better read. This is an interesting detail that is shown in the movie but never explained. In fact, one of the greatest mysteries on earth is that of the ancient Mesopotamian Cylinder Seals. They are Cuneiform seals in relief on cylinders of hard gem, such as obsidian. The ancient Babylonians used them to keep records. These seals are thought to be carved, but the actual process of their creation is unknown, nor is their age. Some experts date them to 3500 BC, but others say they go as far back as 7600 BC, before known writing existed! This suggests that The Alien's technology is based on an ancient science that is itself a mystery.
Meanwhile, the Soviets are planning to wipe out North America with their weapon. At the last minute, the worn out but present Private Godofsky lunges at the Soviet General just as he is about to read out the coordinates, having foolishly chosen the balcony of his Moscow office to do so. This heroic act buys time for Professor Bechner to read out his coordinates derived from his research, which causes the Soviet General to hear a high-pitched sound, collapse and die. Newscaster Mason Ward (the indomitable Paul Frees) announces on the radio: "Ladies and gentlemen, here it is! The bulletin we've been waiting for. Scientists believe we have been bombarded by invisible rays from outer space. Reports pouring in from all over the globe confirm sudden and unexplainable deaths. All the cases have shown the same symptoms. All heard a high pitched, almost super-sonic noise accompanied by acute agony and severe shock and followed by death. I know it's unbelievable, Fantastic; but the rays appear to have killed every person throughout the world known to have been a confirmed enemy of human freedom. Yes, the entire world is now united in a spiritual unity unparalleled in its history. There are those who might say it can't last. But let us pray it does." Bechner explains he got the idea because on the spaceship, The Alien said he offered them not "Life or Death" but "Life and Death." Flimsy? Dubious? Perhaps, but it does point at Biblical prophecy.
In the Book of Revelations, after the Dragon/Satan/The Devil is destroyed in torment forever, the followers of The Savior inherit the earth. Is THE 27TH DAY a parable of one of the books of the Bible disguised as a sci-fi movie?
First of all, "The Alien", as Moss' character calls himself, appears seemingly out of nowhere to each of the five "abductees". Was this accomplished through electro-mechanical Teleportation (ala Star Trek's 'Transporter') or dimensional travel? I note that the subjects were all addressed by The Alien before they were taken and then "woke up" in what he called his spaceship. I also note that this is similar to the classic UFO abduction experience. While we are on the subject of the abductees, a commonly used term to describe their collection is "randomly selected", however, there is nothing to support that. Rather than being random, they all seem to share a moral code. (More on that later.) While in the flying saucer, The Alien tells them that they were snatched from their timelines and will be returned there at the instant they left. He explains this is possible because they are traveling at the speed of light. This doesn't make sense as he shows them on a viewer that they appear to be in orbit around the Earth. Are they orbiting the earth at the speed of light? Rather than deconstruct the theory of relativity, it is easier to manipulate the Time/Space Continuum by moving into or out of one's plane of existence. Such a maneuver could explain slipping the time barrier. So far, The Alien's actions are more consistent with a Hyper-Dimensional Entity (aka Angel/Demon) than an extraterrestrial.
Next comes the bargain. The Alien gifts each subject with a personalized weapon of mass destruction. The use of the weapons is conditioned by a meticulous set of rules: 1) The case containing the weapons is indestructible and can only be opened by its assigned owner using "thought waves". 2) Inside each case are three "bombs", each one about the size and shape of a AA battery. Each bomb has the power to destroy all human life (and only human life) in a 1500 mile radius. (That's a 3000 mile diameter kill zone!) The bomb only kills humans, it does not harm animals, vegetation or terrain. 3) Once the case is opened, each bomb can be activated by anyone. All the user has to do is speak the global coordinates designated by latitude and longitude of the bomb's blast center. 4) If the subject should die, the weapon becomes useless. 5) The weapon is only active for 27 days. After that, the weapon's "freshness date" expires and it becomes useless.
The Alien then explains why he kidnapped the five subjects. He says he is from a dying world that will be destroyed by a supernova in 35 days. His race is looking for a new world to inhabit. The assumption is that one of the five subjects will succumb to a destructive urge and clear the land for their new alien occupiers. They ask The Alien if his race plans to invade the earth. The Alien says: "Oh, no. No, our moral code does not permit us to invade nor to destroy any form of intelligent life. We are prepared to lend you a weapon, a weapon which will permit you to destroy yourselves without harming your planet. This weapon affects only human life. Nothing else will be harmed. It will be loaned to you for twenty-seven of the thirty-five days remaining to us. If at the end of that time, midnight of the twenty-seventh day, Greenwich Time, you've not used it, the weapon will automatically become harmless. You are under no compulsion to make use of the weapon." This also does not make sense. How can a moral code that prohibits the taking of intelligent life allow letting that same intelligent life exterminate itself by arming it with advanced weaponry? Such a moral code is a contradiction in terms. I assess that it is not a moral code, but rather a moral test. The film does not address this point but rather bulldozes ahead without considering alternatives. What happens next is the moral tale illustrated. This is where the moral character of the five abductees is tested.
They are American Jonathan Clark (Gene Barry), a cynical newspaper reporter. British Eve Wingate (Valerie French), a winsome English lass dating an artist. German (?) Professor Klaus Bechner (Geroge Voskovec), a scientist of either mathematics or physics. Russian Ivan Godofsky (Azemat Janti), a soldier in USSR. And finally, Chinese Su Tan (Maria McClay), a peasant woman who is introduced by showing Red Chinese soldiers kill her husband and destroy her village.
I stated earlier that these characters were all bound by a moral code of conduct. This is demonstrated by their actions. Su Tan, upon being returned to her timeline, commits suicide in anguish of despair, but doing so honorably before the shrine of her ancestors. The bombs in her weapon turn instantly into dust.
Eve Wingate tosses her case into the ocean with barely a thought. Not daring to possess that much power, she abdicates it immediately.
The other three hold onto theirs. Professor Bechner, his scientist's mind locked in thought on his predicament crosses the street absent mindedly and is knocked down by a car! He later recovers. Pvt. Godofsky is detained by his own Red Army and ordered to relinquish the secret of the weapon so the political and military leaders can use it for their own plans, but he refuses, under torture to obey. Only after days of harsh physical and mental duress does he then open the case and tell them how to use it.
Reporter Clark has a crisis of conscience and hides out with his weapon, only to turn himself in to his country's authorities later.
The plot is trite and boring, but the story is fascinating. Professor Bechner, working with the American military and adding his weapon to Clark's, test the weapon's legitimacy (something the Soviets don't bother to do) by setting one off in a remote area of the world where (supposedly) there are no other humans. A terminally ill scientist volunteers to be the guinea pig. Observed via television camera on a raft with some test animals from 1500 miles away, the coordinates are read out loud to one of the 'bombs' and sure enough, the scientist is disintegrated leaving behind his clothes and the unaffected caged birds and goat on the raft! Professor Bechner then begs to closely examine all the bombs they have. He notices numeric values and symbols in relief on them and suspects they hold a secret. By rolling the small cylinders onto clay, he imprints the writing onto flat tablets so that they can be better read. This is an interesting detail that is shown in the movie but never explained. In fact, one of the greatest mysteries on earth is that of the ancient Mesopotamian Cylinder Seals. They are Cuneiform seals in relief on cylinders of hard gem, such as obsidian. The ancient Babylonians used them to keep records. These seals are thought to be carved, but the actual process of their creation is unknown, nor is their age. Some experts date them to 3500 BC, but others say they go as far back as 7600 BC, before known writing existed! This suggests that The Alien's technology is based on an ancient science that is itself a mystery.
Meanwhile, the Soviets are planning to wipe out North America with their weapon. At the last minute, the worn out but present Private Godofsky lunges at the Soviet General just as he is about to read out the coordinates, having foolishly chosen the balcony of his Moscow office to do so. This heroic act buys time for Professor Bechner to read out his coordinates derived from his research, which causes the Soviet General to hear a high-pitched sound, collapse and die. Newscaster Mason Ward (the indomitable Paul Frees) announces on the radio: "Ladies and gentlemen, here it is! The bulletin we've been waiting for. Scientists believe we have been bombarded by invisible rays from outer space. Reports pouring in from all over the globe confirm sudden and unexplainable deaths. All the cases have shown the same symptoms. All heard a high pitched, almost super-sonic noise accompanied by acute agony and severe shock and followed by death. I know it's unbelievable, Fantastic; but the rays appear to have killed every person throughout the world known to have been a confirmed enemy of human freedom. Yes, the entire world is now united in a spiritual unity unparalleled in its history. There are those who might say it can't last. But let us pray it does." Bechner explains he got the idea because on the spaceship, The Alien said he offered them not "Life or Death" but "Life and Death." Flimsy? Dubious? Perhaps, but it does point at Biblical prophecy.
In the Book of Revelations, after the Dragon/Satan/The Devil is destroyed in torment forever, the followers of The Savior inherit the earth. Is THE 27TH DAY a parable of one of the books of the Bible disguised as a sci-fi movie?