The Day the Earth Stopped is a 2008 direct-to-DVD science fiction film made by American studio The Asylum, directed by and starring C. Thomas Howell. Its title and premise are similar to those of the 2008 film 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 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. It was released with an R rating in the United States and a 15 rating in the United Kingdom.
The film stars director C. Thomas Howell as the protagonist 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. Myron becomes a fugitive to protect the aliens' messenger Skye (Sinead McCafferty) and tries to meet her demands, while the aliens begin to tilt the earth on its axis and all military defense is defeated.