Falconeer Review of Warriors of the Wasteland

Warriors of the Wasteland (1983)

Trashy, But Expertly Photographed Post Apocalyptic Film

[6/10 · 8 February 2021]

Enzo Castelleri's post-apocalyptic adventure is a cartoonish, 'Mad Max" ripoff, like many others, but this one is wildly entertaining fun, if you are in the right mood. With a dream cast of Italian exploitation royalty, including George Eastman, Venantino Venantini, Giancarlo Prete, as well as American action star Fred Williamson, all of which are equipped with futuristic weaponry and mind blowing costumes, (Williamson's black and gold leather outfit being the most awesome), and driving around in the craziest, pimped out hot-rods that were created by someone with a great creative imagination. Also in this film is child actor Giovanni Frezza, the angelic kid with the blonde hair from "House By the Cemetary," this time around he's fighting off the the evil Templars with a deadly slingshot..The Templars, lead by an intimidating George Eastman, with his white clad gang of blood thirsty Barbarians, as they travel the barren Earth,looking for caravans of people to rob for food and gasoline. Seen on the ancient VHS tapes, it was impossible to appreciate just how well-photographed this thing is, with some fantastic attention paid to camera angles and long shots; a quality not surprising, considering the director's earlier works, including "The Heroin Busters," this movie plays like a futuristic Western, a colorful battle between good guys and bad guys. Some strange moments are seen too, like an unexpected rape of Giancarlo Prete's character by George Eastman. "Warriors of the Wasteland' is not as good, or as well-written as D'Amato's "Endgame," but for fans of the genre this is definitely worth a look. Be sure to see the restored version, as the widescreen photography is so important for this movie..