I actually had the displeasure of spending money on this movie when we rented the video back in the late 1980's from a mom and pop country store. It was set out in the woods...for the entire movie.....the most expensive prop they used was a revolver. The acting? Looked like street people were used. It was filmed with a camcorder. There was a fist fight in the movie that was so poorly orchestrated (punches missing by a couple feet, literally) that the scene was the most memorable part of the movie......it was so awful, it was hilarious. This "movie" could have just as well been written, acted, and filmed by anyone who owned a camcorder. It looked like it could have been a sophomore college student's film project......and the professor would be hard pressed to have given a passing grade on this one.
4 Reviews
Apocalypse Frugal
lianzantoro24 April 2016
Post apocalyptic story that follows a young couple named John and Miranda. We know that there was an apocalypse from the stock footage of riots interspersed with views of a nuclear power plant which plays during the opening credits. John is a retro hippie looking dude with a beard and dirty, ragged clothing. Miranda is an attractive, lean blonde who dresses like a sexy jungle girl. She sort of looks like a pretty, non-albino version of Anne Heche. They also have a dog. They live in the remnants of an old stone house located in a park. It's basically just two walls, it doesn't even have a roof. I can't help but wonder what they did when it rained.
They spend their time listening to John read poetry and wax nostalgic for the old days. Miranda has no memory of the world before "the fall" as John calls it. We learn that Miranda is a mutant. What this entails I have no idea, because she looks perfectly normal. We are told that Miranda was once purple, but it went away. Sometimes they have to stave off attacks by vandals/ mutants. These are just scruffy guys in ragged clothing. The film can't seem to make up it's mind whether they are vandals or mutants. The main characters use the two terms as if they are interchangeable.
One day when John and Miranda are out walking and playing fetch with the dog, it runs away. Upon returning home they encounter a soldier named Simon. They aren't to happy with Simon's presence, but he has a rifle. He is cooking a piece of meat over a fire. The piece of meat looks to be only slightly bigger than a chicken. Yep, it's supposedly the dog. Simon starts demanding salt for his meat. Which John just happens to have laying around. The salt is really some kind of drug that knocks out Simon. Simon awakens the next day bound with rope. John opts to untie Simon rather than kill him. They then become allies of a sort. Now John and Simon can both bore Miranda with stories of the old world.
We learn that there was a financial meltdown in 1986, and some kind of nuclear accidents or something. John bemoans the loss of his brand new 1986 Honda Civic. We also learn that John's father was a scientist who was involved in cloning research.
The rest of the film is just lots of talking leading up to a final confrontation with the mutants/ vandals. John is wounded. John's clone shows up and rescues Miranda before himself being killed. The film ends with the three main characters back at the old stone house and Miranda reading poetry.
This is an extremely low budget affair, shot with a camcorder in the local park. Besides the three main characters, there are about a dozen extras as mutants/ vandals. The only actually good thing about this is Nancy Cser, who played Miranda. She looks mighty fine in her jungle girl outfit and even has a brief skinny dipping scene. She was also in the 80s Canadian soft core skin flick " Perfect Timing", which I highly recommend.
They spend their time listening to John read poetry and wax nostalgic for the old days. Miranda has no memory of the world before "the fall" as John calls it. We learn that Miranda is a mutant. What this entails I have no idea, because she looks perfectly normal. We are told that Miranda was once purple, but it went away. Sometimes they have to stave off attacks by vandals/ mutants. These are just scruffy guys in ragged clothing. The film can't seem to make up it's mind whether they are vandals or mutants. The main characters use the two terms as if they are interchangeable.
One day when John and Miranda are out walking and playing fetch with the dog, it runs away. Upon returning home they encounter a soldier named Simon. They aren't to happy with Simon's presence, but he has a rifle. He is cooking a piece of meat over a fire. The piece of meat looks to be only slightly bigger than a chicken. Yep, it's supposedly the dog. Simon starts demanding salt for his meat. Which John just happens to have laying around. The salt is really some kind of drug that knocks out Simon. Simon awakens the next day bound with rope. John opts to untie Simon rather than kill him. They then become allies of a sort. Now John and Simon can both bore Miranda with stories of the old world.
We learn that there was a financial meltdown in 1986, and some kind of nuclear accidents or something. John bemoans the loss of his brand new 1986 Honda Civic. We also learn that John's father was a scientist who was involved in cloning research.
The rest of the film is just lots of talking leading up to a final confrontation with the mutants/ vandals. John is wounded. John's clone shows up and rescues Miranda before himself being killed. The film ends with the three main characters back at the old stone house and Miranda reading poetry.
This is an extremely low budget affair, shot with a camcorder in the local park. Besides the three main characters, there are about a dozen extras as mutants/ vandals. The only actually good thing about this is Nancy Cser, who played Miranda. She looks mighty fine in her jungle girl outfit and even has a brief skinny dipping scene. She was also in the 80s Canadian soft core skin flick " Perfect Timing", which I highly recommend.
A Classic!
billy_texas21 February 2004
One of my favorites from that decade.Very underrated movie about survival. The cinematography is top class, and the actors delivers the goods. The manuscript could have been better, but i accept it. Overall its top class.
Mature viewing for credible apocalyptic style
drystyx31 March 2023
This apocalyptic story is indeed a story, and indeed has "credible characters in incredible circumstances", so that alienates the usual meth and crack head viewers who get angry about credibility.
The scenery is every day, the characters are not always particularly likable, but they are believable and three dimensional.
This is very low budget, and that's good. The worst movies are those that waste big budgets on depressing and stupid stories.
Now, it isn't a perfect story. It begins well enough, like a stage play with three characters who have to fend off modern day vandals in the woods. Two are a sort of hippie couple, and the third is a military man.
The relationship between the three is very mature, much more so than the usual apocalyptic tale. Their focus is on survival and working together.
However, the "incredible circumstance" of the hippie guy being cloned by a scientist father is a bit far out, but considering it is the one variable that is far out, we can buy into it.
And the clone becomes the climactic point of the story. This has a Twilight Zone feel to it, and in a good way.
This is a good story, with realistic characters, and like all great films, works just as well as a stage play, and is good inspiration for children pretending to be something else. It's a bit of a hidden gem.
The scenery is every day, the characters are not always particularly likable, but they are believable and three dimensional.
This is very low budget, and that's good. The worst movies are those that waste big budgets on depressing and stupid stories.
Now, it isn't a perfect story. It begins well enough, like a stage play with three characters who have to fend off modern day vandals in the woods. Two are a sort of hippie couple, and the third is a military man.
The relationship between the three is very mature, much more so than the usual apocalyptic tale. Their focus is on survival and working together.
However, the "incredible circumstance" of the hippie guy being cloned by a scientist father is a bit far out, but considering it is the one variable that is far out, we can buy into it.
And the clone becomes the climactic point of the story. This has a Twilight Zone feel to it, and in a good way.
This is a good story, with realistic characters, and like all great films, works just as well as a stage play, and is good inspiration for children pretending to be something else. It's a bit of a hidden gem.
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