End of the World: Remastered – Full Moon Features (DVD)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1977
Director: John Hayes
Writer: Frank Ray Perilli
Cast: Christopher Lee, Sue Lyon, Kirk Scott, Dean Jagger, Lew Ayres, Macdonald Carey

Release Date: February 10th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 86 Minutes 38 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Rating: PG
Sound: Dolby Digital Mono English, Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Subtitles: N/A
Region Coding: Region Free NTSC
Retail Price: $16.95

"When Professor Andrew Boran and his wife Sylvia tap into a series of strange signals from space that predict natural disasters on earth, they track the source to a mysterious, remote convent. There, they discover that aliens have cloned the priest and the nuns and are using the abbey as a base camp for their mission to spur on global destruction. Can the heroes stop the invaders and save the earth? Should they?" – Synopsis provided by the Distributor

Video: 2/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "Full Moon recently unearthed a pristine 16mm interpositive of the movie, now remastered in HD and looking better than it's ever looked."

End of the World comes on a single layer DVD.

Disc Size: 4 GB

Source imperfections remain; flesh tones and colors are inconsistent, black levels are never convincing, and there are issues related to digital noise reduction.

Audio: 1.5/5 (Both Audio Tracks)

This release comes with two audio options, a Dolby Digital mono mix in English and a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix in English. When I sampled the 5.1 mix, it did not open things up in any substantial way. Both tracks sound muffled, there is buzzing in some parts of the track, and they are barely serviceable range-wise.

Extras:

Extras for this release include trailers for Crash!, Mansion of the Doomed, Day Time Ended, Laserblast, Fairy Tales, and Last Foxtrot in Burbank. 

Summary:

John Hayes directed End of the World. He’s known for The Hang Up, Dream No Evil, The Cut-Throats, Grave of the Vampire, and Baby Rosemary.

A NASA professor who discovers a signal that did not originate from space uncovers an alien plot to conquer Earth.

Christopher Lee (The Wicker Man), over his career, appeared in many questionable films that make you wonder why someone of his stature is in this film. When asked about these films, he frequently points out that what the producers promised him differed significantly from what ultimately appeared on screen. Case in point, End of the World, a post-apocalyptic film that will make you wish the world came to an end instead of having to endure it.

Besides Christopher Lee, there are other notable cast members that include Dean Jagger (Twelve O’Clock High), Lew Ayres (All Quiet on the Western Front), Macdonald Carey (Days of Our Lives), and Sue Lyon (Lolita). Unfortunately, like Christopher Lee, they are not given anything to work with.

While things start off with a literal bang when a payphone and coffee machine explode, nothing that follows ever matches this moment. The narrative progresses slowly, fails to generate any momentum, and culminates in a predictable conclusion. Ultimately, End of the World is an underwhelming film that wastes a solid cast.

Full Moon Features gives End of the World a mediocre audio/video presentation.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer