Movie Review - Damnation Alley (1977)

There’s one thing that I’m learning this month which that is how human kind seems to find the will to survive after some catastrophic event. Even the darkest of moment’s survivors can find the motivation, hope and solace to live on. I’ve just finished watching “Damnation Alley” (1977) and this movie is just that.

The opening sequence of the movie shows two air force personnel coming in for a shift; Lt. Tanner and Major Denton. They are in charge of missile deployment. During their shift there was a nuclear launch of attack from Russia. The military responded by launching a counter attack with rockets but they only took out 40% of the incoming horde. As a result, the nuclear bombs detonate in major cities scattered thought the US.

About 2 years later, set in a desert like backdrop somewhere in California are the remnants of a military compound headed by a recent turned insane General. Sadly, there was an explosion in the building and the last of the crew died in the fire. This left Lt. Tanner, Lt. Perry and Airman Keegan with Major Denton being the lead. There had been multiple broadcasts announcing a safe zone located in Albany, NY. Together they set out paired in a couple bus like all terrain armoured vehicles bound for that location. Problems occur when a wind storm overturns one of the vehicles causing Perry to be the first casualty. A wounded Keegan now joins the other vehicle and off they go. The first stop ends up being in Las Vegas. The group spends some time in a run down sand filled casino called Circus Circus playing the slot machines. While they are there, survivor Janice who used to be lounge act joins the group. Another stop is made to look for fuel but ends with fatal consequences when aggressive killer cockroaches swarm. This led to the death of Keegan who was eaten alive while taking refuge in a parked vehicle. The remaining group barely makes it out alive. While driving, a boy named Billy is spotted and after some coaxing he joins the group. Still looking for fuel, they stop at a presumed deserted restaurant and gas bar. Four outlandish survivors quickly surround and subdue the team with guns but some quick thinking allows them to escape. Later, the all terrain vehicle needed some repairs and a stop at a salvage yard allowing for the parts to be taken but a wind water storm sweeps them away. Now drying out, the vehicle drives onto land and rest is well needed. In still listening to the radio, they hear a live broadcast and are allowed time to respond via CB. They soon realize that they are within just a few miles of their destination. With haste, Tanner and the boy take off on the motorcycle driving into town to be greeted by many other survivors.

The story was acceptable. I think they could have done a lot more with it but for what it was it played out okay. The movie had some pretty good special effects; giant scorpions, swarming cockroaches and of course the sky with it’s ever changing glowing swirling backdrop. Even the all terrain vehicle was pretty neat. The acting was alright, nothing fantastic to speak up. The main character Denton was played by George Peppard who played ‘Hannibal’ in “The A Team”. Another surprise was Billy -the kid, a 16 year old Jackie Earle Haley, he is the one who headed up the lead in the reboot of “Nightmare on Elm Street” as ‘Freddy Kruger’. Paul Winfield who played Private Keegan is no stranger to acting and had been in countless other movies and shows.

All in all, the movie wasn’t terribly bad, I did enjoy watching it. I would recommend viewing it but only because it has cult status otherwise shelf it. The movie was based upon a book by Roger Zelazny from 1969 so I’m intrigued to read it to see how different it was. In any case I rate this movie 6/10.

Movie Review - 2019: After the Fall of New York (1983)

I really like post apocalyptic movies as they show us our broken world over run with anarchy…but only if the movie is done right. I just finished watching “2019: After the Fall of New York” (1983). I had such high hopes for this movie but it failed to satisfy.

The story opens with mercenary extraordinaire Parsifal. He roams the wasteland just trying to stay alive but seems that he is always looking for a fight or a race. He later is captured by the Pan American Federation of the west and forced into to completing a mission for them. His prize is a spot on the space shuttle to the new world. He has to infiltrate New York to find the only woman who is capable of producing babies. Having this woman’s eggs will ensure the human race will survive. Parsifal won’t be doing it alone; the Federation has sent two men with him to assist. New York is currently run by the Euraks –an evil empire. There are also other smaller groups of humanoids which have been mutated by the radiation and they are hostile. All of which will make it difficult for Parsifal and associates to search, retrieve and get out alive. The group also meets up with a midget and an ape man who assist. Parsifal rescues a blond beauty on the way and she also helps the cause. The mysterious fertile woman is found in a cave sleeping in a stasis container. She is the daughter of a scientist who recently passed. He had put her to sleep in hopes of trying to repopulate but had some problems trying to find fertile males. The climax ends with a last ditch effort to leave with her sleeping pod in a station wagon fixed with iron plating and chains. Parsifal was able to escape by helicopter. The movie ends with her waking up on a space ship headed for a new world with Parsifal.

The story was okay, it does have some merit. When the movie actually played out it in a jumbled mess, it was soon detracted and ended up making it uninteresting. Some acting was alright while others not so good. The camera work was okay but I think the edit cuts were too abrupt. The overall effects were reasonable for a 1983 production. With laser gun sounds and cheap visuals. You could clearly tell it was a scale model set of New York but realistic looking enough than a model train layout. I do think some scenes were filmed on a set stage but it is what it is. When you watch an older film you have to keep in mind about what they had to work with.

I wouldn’t recommend watching this one at all. It’s a little on the silly side to be taken serious but if you like post apocalyptic films then I would say go ahead. It’s like a rip off of ‘Mad Max’ with ‘Escape from New York’ with the cheesiness of ‘The Love Boat’. I rate it 5/10 but note that it could have been put together better than it was.

Movie Review - The Deadly Mantis (1957)

It’s the end of the month now… and you know what that means. So, I present my last and final bug inspired movie; “The Deadly Mantis” (1957). It sure is a special one, ha. I won't lie, I did have a little trouble sitting through this one.

The movie opens with scenes of a map for North America, and then shows you the Artic followed by scenes of snow, ice bergs and volcanic action. The credits and title roll to show a large shadowy figure trapped in the ice as it melts. What a beginning.

Loss of contact from a radar tracking station has been lost. Col. Parkman is sent to investigate the site and disappearance of the servicemen. Strange tracks are found in the snow and a mysterious object is found. The object is 5 feet in length shaped like a thorn. Dr. Ned Jackson has been asked to research it. The object is tested and hunches seem to be that of an insect. As it turns out they deduce that it is the spur from a praying mantis. Dr. Jackson works with the military to track the over-sized insect. The military makes a few attempts to stop the mantis with aircraft support but it is too deadly to be stopped. The mantis soon makes its way south creating havoc along the way. The standoff ends with a final fight in New York.

This movie was shot in black and white. I will say, it certainly has a different feel than if it were colour. The special effects of the over-sized mantis were pretty decent but when they showed it flying across the sky it lost all creditability. The acting was alright nothing fantastic. The story was okay, could use help. A little slow and too much emphasis put on the military action. Usually movies like this from the 50’s are laughable. There was also a love interest romantic side story developing between the doctor and a reporter. This simply created slightly more cheese than what was already present; a move that should appeal to anyone in the 50’s. The sound track has that robust symphony sound and fit the mood. The narration is such that it sounds like a science program and one so obvious from the 50’s.

All in all, this movie was pretty terrible. The only thing I thought was neat was the up-close shots of the mantis. I am quite sure that for 1957 it must have fared well at the theatre but quite different than today’s standards. I do think there is merit here and could have been a lot better than it was. I rate this film 4.5/10 and I wouldn’t recommend watching it unless you wanted to see a dated movie.

Movie Review - Bug (1975)

It just goes to show you that you don’t need anyone else but bugs to headline a movie and even more so if the bug in question is a slow almost non moving cockroach. If you want to see what I mean, check out “Bug” (1975).

So we start off with a small town on an average day. An earthquake of low to moderate richter rocks the area and forms a rips a ridge in the ground. Sure, nothing odd about that. Soon residents begin to be involved in mysterious fires and some are even terrorized by some bugs. Later a scene shows steam and cockroaches bellowing out. Enter - Professor James Parmiter, he is a teacher of entomology at the local college. He is contacted by a local resident who recently had an experience with these fire cockroaches and brings one to him. The professor starts investigating their strange ability to start a fire in their back end. A visit to the rip in the earth confirms his findings. His wife is lost in a fire and starts loosing his mind. Held up in a fixer up shack on the outskirts of town he carries on his experiments with the cockroaches. He tries everything from using a pressure tank to breeding with a domestic cockroach making notes along the way. Things get concerning when the new batch of cockroaches ends up being bloodsuckers. I won't ruin the ending and leave it at that.

The story starts off like most would but for the latter half it turns down another road which is almost unexpectedly. The latter end of the film is entirely about the mad professor’s experiments. From a scientific side I did find it interesting but it made the movie boring. The only thing that kept from being worse is you see the professor slowly becoming more crazy and obsessed with the cockroaches. You just wonder where it’s going. I would have preferred more terror of the town but oh well.

Some pretty good effects -- well for 1975. These particular cockroaches move slow but they managed to create fear. When a cockroach drops from the ceiling and lands on you, you’re done for. Good camera shots. The acting was alright, they do have to act scared of something that isn’t and did so but the whole concept is cheesy and so it ends up being fake-ish. The professor was likely the star along with the cockroaches.

The movie was alright for what it was. I think maybe something further couldn’t have been done with the story direction. After it was realized that the cockroaches were dying, the story continued in lab experiments...where is the terror in that? It was what it was and I rate it 4/10 but suggest watching it only to see the affects and feel of fear created by a docile insect.

Movie Review - Battle Beyond The Stars (1980)

I’m sure this film is classified as ‘B’ rated but nonetheless it’s fun. The movie “Battle Beyond The Stars” (1980) does just that. It is what it is, so lower your expectation.

The story is about defending a peaceful farming planet named Akir. Some galactic scourge overlord called Sador and his mutant cronies are threatening to invade. The people of Akir need help. An old man warrior suggests hiring mercenaries to defend the planet. Sadly, the only payment that the people can make is food and shelter. A teenage boy Shad volunteers to pilot a space craft to find help. Shad is unsure about how to go about his mission but he soon figures things out with the help of a teenage girl Nanelia whom he met on a space station of androids. Together, they meet up with all kinds of people, a space cowboy, aliens, warrior woman and a wealthy assassin. They all have their own personal reasons to assist the helpless planet and are happy to do so. While assembled on the planet and in orbit, the strike force defends against Sador and his attacks.

A true battle beyond the stars complete with cheesy star trekking tracks. The effects were acceptable. The acting was okay for what it was. There were a few veterans but I can’t say their performance stood out. A few laughs but nothing ‘belly busting’.

It had that space opera Star Wars feel to it along with Star Trek but lacked a story that meshed or flowed properly. It had potential to be better than it was. At times I had a hard time watching. This movie did very little for me and I place it in the middle at 5/10.

Movie Review - The Terminal Man (1974)

I just viewed “The Terminal Man” (1974) thinking it was scifi. Yeah, I was a little off. It wasn’t too bad. I mean, you have to keep in mind the year in which it was made in. The book of the same name was published in 1972 by Michael Crichton.

The story involves a man; Harry Benson, who is involved in an accident and receives some sort of head trauma. He is never the same. Harry now suffers from seizures which make him go into a fit of rage and become very violent. Recently he has been locked up for his crimes but released to a doctor for treatment. He has been chosen to be the first in an experiment in which they will implant computer sensory devices in his head. This is to help control the fits he has. His brain soon learns to overcome the electronic suppression and provides him with small windows of madness in which he escapes and kills again.

Too many things have gone bad when computers are integrated with the human psyche.

I had to keep watching to see where this was going. It was very slow in setting up but once it got going it kept my attention.

The acting wasn’t too bad, could always be better. It was an interesting concept but the movie played out just a little too weak for my liking. Maybe it’s just me but, I would not recommend seeing this little jem. I rate this film 4.5/10.

Movie Review - Night Skies (2007)

I can’t be sure about alien abduction films but one thing for sure; they are creepy. It is the unknown that we fear. With that said, I just finished watching "Night Skies" (2007).

This movie is supposed to be a reenactment of an alien abduction -something called ‘The Phoenix Lights’. The acting overall was mediocre at best and the only actor worthy to note is Jason Connery (who is the son of Sean Connery) but even his performance was a bit of a disappointment.

It involves a few 20 something’s going on a trip to Las Vegas in a motor home. They soon get lost on a woodsy back road which was supposed to be a short cut. Their motor home then encounters a stranded truck and its driver (by smashing into it). Some passengers are hurt and help must be found. Things start to shake up when the aliens release their havoc. Need I say more?

The movie pace was a little slow to build. While waiting, I was subject to boring cliché lines read by second rate actors. Once the film got going it didn't take too long for me to get scared. There's nothing like blurred images of grey aliens running, popping head shots and of course the constant clicking. The camera work was alright, lots of POV shots helped create the mood to freak me out.

After watching this film I had an alien induced dream that night. I’m sure I wasn’t abducted but still felt odd. So, although I was deeply touched by this flick, it still lacked a decent story. Yes, I agree that it is a reenactment but still it was poorly done. I felt like I was watching a soap or TV movie so I rate it 4/10.