SoTrumpBelieve Must See Movie...

Claire Dunne One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Jayden-Lee Thomson One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Leofwine_draca I think it's fair to say that after the first two MAD MAX films, every producer in the world decided to jump on the bandwagon and release at least one or more rip-offs. This was the glorious era when the "post-apocalypse" film ruled the box office and Italy kept churning out more nuclear adventures than everyone else, until the Philippines took over later in the decade. SURVIVAL ZONE is yet another cheap and cheesy genre offering, with the notable difference in that it's a South African film! Otherwise the formula is pretty much standard: a motorbike gang (led by BIG MAN, who wears a doll's head on his helmet!) terrorise and kill people; members chain-whip each other to death, and a nun gets her face broken by a well-aimed punch. Well, it starts off good anyway, especially the big guy playing BIG MAN, who is awash (and unwashed) with homoerotic undertones.Meanwhile, we meet a diverse farm family (family members are British, American, and South African, at least judging by their accents!) who you just know is going to get caught up in the violence. First of all a stupid old guy goes to feed his horses whilst the farm is under siege (talk about priorities) and ends up getting knifed, then the characters do lots of stupid and unbelievable things that makes you, the viewer, cry out in exasperation. After lots of waffle and non-activity, the father finally takes it on himself to battle the motorbike gang, so he sets up a wicked bomb and then undergoes a massive shoot-out (well as far as they can stretch to on the budget, that is). The finale involves a young, blond heroic guy who turns up taking on BIG MAN in a duel in the desert, which is as cheesy as it is genuinely entertaining.As you can imagine, production values for this film are non-existent. There's no room for special effects and only a couple of semi-decent performances; nobody is a real professional here and there are no familiar faces. Despite brief references to cannibalism there is little gore and the blood we do see looks like red paint; the atmosphere does simmer with violence though and the suspense is actually pretty good for a little low-budget movie like this. It's not the greatest post-nuke flick in the world and neither is it the worst; fans of this genre would be wise to give it a look before dismissing it with all the others. Characterisation and realism are pretty rare in these kinds of films but they exist in abundance with this one.

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.

helfeleather This like it's going to be a good slasher at the beginning, when in the second scene, Bigman defeats another bikie in a jousting match with chains, then soon after another of his gang punches a nun to death, but it goes very quiet after that and never picks up.

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.