Science-Fiction Classic ‘Day of the Triffids’ Gets Another Adaptation

According to Deadline, Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures is planning a new adaptation of Day of the Triffids. Mike Newell, the director of Four Weddings and a Funeral and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, will take the helm with a screenplay from Neil Cross and Don Murphy producing. The book of the same name by John Wyndham was previously adapted into a film in 1962 directed by Steve Sekely and starring Howard Keel.

In the book, the titular triffids, plants capable of movement and communication with each other, gradually took over planet Earth after a meteor shower left the majority of the human population blind. The triffids have whips containing deadly poison that they use to immobilize their victims before feeding on the carcasses. The protagonist, a botanist named Bill Masen, suspected that the triffids were a bioengineered weapon developed by the Soviets (the book was written in 1951, so we’ll see if this particular detail changes).

Despite an earlier generalization we made about horror remakes versus original properties, last year’s Evil Dead remake from Ghost House Pictures was one of few exceptions which showed remakes can be done well, possibly due to Sam Raimi’s continued involvement. With the same studio and a veteran director behind it, Day of the Triffids could become another such exception.