dominion76251 I didn't track down this rare flick till last year, but am I glad I did. This one stands as a strong entry into the post-nuke genre. The plot is simple: after the nuclear war, small pockets exist where the radiation levels are low enough to sustain life. These areas are known as "Survival Zones". The story follows the lives of a family on a farm, trying to eek by after "the big one". This is definitely a B movie, and the acting less than stellar, but it makes up for it in spirit. I really liked the overwhelmingly positive attitude displayed by the father. This is just what would be needed to get through a situation as dire as this. He was the glue that held his survival unit together. What really hurt the movie was the budget. There was no footage of any devastation: flattened cities, burnt-out buildings, nothing. No money for special effects here, like radiated zombies, etc. The only way you know what happened is from dialog. This hurt the overall impression of how bad the aftermath of World War III would be. They only make one trip to a city for supplies, and it looks normal, just abandoned. The heavies in the movie are leather-clad cannibalistic bikers (a bit cliché, no doubt). I'm not sure what the significance of the plastic baby doll parts on his helmet and clothing was!? If it was supposed to be scary, it wasn't. Nevertheless, the realities of kill or be killed in a lawless world are presented quite clearly, and provide a lot of food for thought. As far as I know, this never made it to DVD, so you will be forced to locate a used VHS on online, but it will be worth the search. If you can look past the numerous small flaws, it is a solid flick. If you like these types of movies, also check out The Aftermath, Def Con 4, Damnation Alley, Warriors of the Wasteland, and After the Fall of New York.

Woodyanders After a devastating nuclear war most of the land has become contaminated by radioactive fallout. Only several scattered patches of land known as "survival zones" remain untainted. Rugged, hard-working farmer Ben Faber (forcefully essayed by dour, husky, pudgy-faced "2001: A Space Odysey" star Gary Lockwood) resides on one such area with his gutsy wife Lucy (lovely Camilla Spav), willful teenage daughter Rachel (comely brunette knockout Zoli Marki), adoring son, and feisty old buddy Uncle Luke. The Faber's peaceful existence gets jeopardized when a vicious horde of scummy, black leather-clad cannibalistic bikers led by the highly intimidating and intelligent Bigman (coolly underplayed by big, brawny, hirsute George Eastman lookalike Ian Steadman) stop by and lay siege to their house. Fortunately, nice guy itinerant loner Adam Strong (a likable turn by handsome, muscular Morgan Stevens) comes to the Fabers' aid.The shopworn premise, basically just another rough'n'tumble post-nuke survivalist take on a classic Western movie scenario (the Fabers are clearly patterned after early settlers, with Strong as a heroic roving troubleshooter type and the bikers substituting for marauding Native Americans), doesn't promise much, but luckily the uniformly sound performances, unusually complex, well-drawn and even plausibly human characters, a welcome element of genuine humanity, Percival Rubens and Eric Brown's smart, surprisingly thoughtful and introspective script, a few unsettling oddball touches (Bigman has a severed doll's head affixed to the top of his motorcycle helmet), Rubens' capable direction, a sturdy theme which addresses how a man ought to fight for what's his and stand up for what he believes in (Ben refuses just to let the bikers destroy his farm without putting up a fight), an unsparingly harsh and savage tone (early in the picture the bikers raid a missionary and murder a bunch of nuns!), and shocking outbursts of raw, brutal violence lift this one well out of the rut. Vincent Cox and Colin Taylor's spare, stripped-down cinematography, shot on gritty film stock, gives the film a convincingly scrappy look. Only the somewhat sluggish pace and Nic Labuschagne's slushy, obtrusively overwrought score detract from this otherwise satisfyingly tense and gripping winner.

anxietyresister And with those words, our ubiquitous couple walk off into the sunset together, having just survived a spade/knife fight and an attempt on their lives with a land rover. Warms the cockles doesn't it? Except in this film it doesn't. You'll have been too busy laughing at one of the most hilarious decapitations ever seen on film and wondering what the hell happened to the little boy who vanished from the cast twenty minutes ago with no explanation. Not to mention the strange case of the American dad who has a South African accented wife and daughter, but a USA sounding son. And then there's the..But I digress, let's get to the plot.. for what it is. Another nuclear bomb, another bunch of mutated survivors on motorbikes, and yep, you guessed it.. plenty of leather and shades to go around. They are led by the typical bearded bloke with a rasping voice and a toy doll's head on his helmet(?) We knows he's in charge because he has the word BIGMAN engraved on the back of his jacket. During the opening, him and his crew of ruffians ransack a nunnery. (Oh the beasts!!) Turns out they're cannibals who roam around munching their way through the survivors of the holocaust. But have they met their match when they try to take over a farm presided over by a resourceful farmer and his feisty family? Let battle commence!! All thumbs and no fingers sums up this little flick. Every single scene seems to be have been handled in the most clumsy way imaginable, so you get random camera angles and abrupt sudden cuts galore. You know from the budget that the acting isn't going to be the best and the dialogue won't win the screenwriter any Oscars, but it would be nice to have a few surprises along the way. Nothing in this film is anything less than predictable, from who will be the first to die (always the old guy) to the fact that the stereotypical young blonde hero who arrives on the scene in the middle will be the one to save the day. From a purely artistic point of view I've seen much worse even in the last month, but why waste time on this when there are so many other superior movies out there calling for your attention? In fact, some of them are probably on television right now. Go and take a look.. 3/10

hoopshank I was thirteen when I saw this film. Some friends of mine were big fans of horror films. I wasn't particularly a fan but I knew what to expect. "Survival Zone" wasn't at all what I expected. I have a soft spot for this movie and would love the opportunity to see it again. But I'm afraid to say that is because I distinctly recall it as being the worst film I ever saw. I mean....the doll's head on top of the motorcycle...is that supposed to be scary? Evidently it was supposed to be. It wasn't.