The Day the Earth Stopped is a 2008 American direct-to-DVD science fiction action horror film produced by independent studio The Asylum, directed by and starring C. Thomas Howell. Howell stars as the protagonist, soldier Josh Myron, who witnesses the arrival of giant alien robots that threaten to destroy the Earth unless they are shown the value of human existence.

Its title and premise are similar to those of the 2008 remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still (of which The Day the Earth Stopped is considered a mockbuster).

Plot
The film centers on soldier Josh Myron, as six hundred and sixty six gigantic extraterrestrial robots land on Earth.

As the robots are landing, two alien humanoids also arrive, one male and one female.  Both are eventually captured by the military who try to communicate with them.  Eventually, the female starts talking to Myron and reveals that she can read his mind along with others.  Myron is told that the entire human race is a threat to the rest of the galaxy and unless she is shown the value of humanity by sunset, the planet will be destroyed.

Attempts to communicate with the robots fail as they vaporize anyone that tries to attack them or even fires a rifle to get their attention.  An effort is made to destroy the robots using Sidewinder Missiles, delivered by YF-22s.  The missiles are ineffective and the attacking planes are destroyed.

The woman, who reveals that her name in its closest English translation is Skye, also displays the ability to harness surrounding energy to protect herself.  However, after using that, the military officer in charge of the "mission" starts to use a Taser on Skye, leading to Myron violently intervening and being thrown off the project.  He goes AWOL but, as he is driving away, he is telepathically contacted by Skye and he returns to rescue her.  The effort proves successful and starts a citywide search for him and Skye.

The male alien also manages to escape as the robots begin a systemic attack on the planet, first with an electromagnetic pulse (which aids in Josh rescuing Skye).  It is also discovered that the robots are slowing down the Earth's core and stopping the planet's rotation.

An effort is made to destroy one of the robots with a nuclear explosion, sacrificing 9000 inhabitants of a small island.  When the bomb goes off, the machine emerges unharmed and Skye feels the pain of the people dying and almost passes out.  Josh takes the time to comfort Skye before the military finds them again.  Myron and Skye come across a married couple and put the wife in the back of a 4x4, as she is in labour.  The husband delivers the child but is unaware of a complication until he realizes that his wife has stopped breathing.  Myron hands the infant to Skye and tells her that if she wants to know the value of humanity, "you're staring at it".  Myron and the husband try to revive the wife but are unsuccessful.  Myron realizes that the wife is dead and stops applying CPR.  Skye, despite her earlier statement that she would not get involved, uses her powers to bring the wife back to life.

Skye, now convinced of the value of humanity, needs to get to the closest robot to return home and end the invasion, but, before they can get to the robot, Skye is shot by the military.  Skye and Myron are taken back to the base where Skye is treated for the injury, as the planet's rotation stops and a major global earthquake hits.

The commander realizes that Myron was right and helps Myron move Skye to a vehicle.  As they leave, they are chased by the psychologist, who is convinced that keeping Skye will prevent the robots from attacking further.

At the feet of the robot, Myron is shot by the psychologist; the robot vaporizes him.  The alien male arrives, sees both Skye and Myron possibly dead and uses his own powers to revive both.  Skye, in gratitude, hugs Myron before both of the aliens are beamed aboard.  The invasion ends and the robots depart, leaving the planet intact but with major damage.

Cast
 C. Thomas Howell as Josh Myron
 Judd Nelson as Charlie
 Darren Dalton as Prewitt
 Sinead McCafferty as Skye
 Bug Hall as Man
 Patrick Ian Moore as Guard
 Gary Daniels as Himself (uncredited)

Production

Its title and premise are similar to those of the 2008 remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still (of which The Day the Earth Stopped is a mockbuster) but the film's plot also incorporates elements from other science-fiction films involving aliens, such as Transformers, Independence Day and Earth vs. the Flying Saucers. The film is Howell's second Asylum film in which he was attached as director, the first being War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave.

Controversy
Due to its similarities with The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Asylum was threatened with legal action by 20th Century Fox over the release of The Day the Earth Stopped. However, no action was taken and the film proceeded to be released.

Reception

Found to be one of the best movies from the Asylum, and in many ways superior to the original.  Likewise Den of Geek found the movie to be among the best from The Asylum.  However, Moira gave the movie one star, finding it uninspired and so generic that it's hard to care what happens.

Screen Rant found it to be a fun B-Movie and an improvement on the original, while Dread Central found it tedious.

Release

It was released on DVD by The Asylum on December 9, 3 days before Fox's remake of Stood Still released to theaters. Later on, Echo Bridge Entertainment re-released it on DVD and released it on Blu-Ray May 18, 2010. It was also included in a Blu-Ray double feature with War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave and a DVD triple feature with Transmorphers: Fall of Man and Countdown: Armageddon.

In addition to its home video release, the movie is available to stream on many sites, including - as of November 2022- Plex, Tubi and YouTube.

See also
H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds - Another film by The Asylum starring C. Thomas Howell which features an invasion by extraterrestrials
Invasion of the Pod People - A similar film produced by The Asylum and released in 2007
Transmorphers - Another film by The Asylum with a similar storyline
Mockbuster

References

External links
The Day the Earth Stopped at The Asylum

"The Day the Earth Stopped" article by Annalee Newitz on i09.

2000s science fiction horror films
2008 independent films
2008 films
2008 science fiction action films
2008 direct-to-video films
American science fiction action films
American natural horror films
American science fiction horror films
The Asylum films
Mockbuster films
2000s English-language films
Films set in Washington, D.C.
Films directed by C. Thomas Howell
Alien invasions in films
2000s American films