Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Aftermath; here's the breakdown of my ratings:
Story: 0.75 Direction: 1.00 Pace: 1.00 Acting: 1.00 Enjoyment: 1.25
TOTAL: 5.00 out of 10.00
Aftermath, for me, didn't quite make it into the B-Movie Cult Film Hall Of Fame for a few reasons. 1 - It's not bad enough (in the right ways). 2 - The story, characters, and cinematography are average. 3 - It's not cheesy enough. It's no Plan 9 From Outer Space, but what it is is entertaining.
Steve Barkett and Stanley Livingstone are regurgitating the old favourite of Sci-Fi flicks - astronauts return to Earth and find it terribly transfigured. In this case, the nutters in charge have all pressed their big red buttons, unleashing a nuclear armageddon across the planet. The plant life and wildlife are blighted, the cities have fallen, and the remaining humans are in turmoil. It's a good job that Newman and his team have returned to save the day...well, at least a couple of damsels in distress and a kid - well, you can't save 'em all. Though the narrative appears to be borrowed from a few pictures and stitched together, there are a few respectable ideas. One of the best is the narration. For most of the film, it's a nice feature to drive the story forward. But the ingenious bit comes when the narrator's voice changes, and we have a passing of the gauntlet moment. What lets the story down is its characters. The only two individuals who get fatted up are Newman and the boy Christopher. It could be because Barkett and his son play the roles - there's nowt like nepotism - or it could be that he made changes to the script on the hoof. Unfortunately, the rest of the people in the narrative are flat and dull. Even the miscreant Cutter, played by Sid Haig, is vapid. The scumbag laughs while his men rape and kill. It would have only been right to show this man for what he is and for what he stands for, but he's mediocrity personified. Regrettably, the rest of the story's population fares just as terribly.
Barkett tries to do better behind the camera, and to point, he succeeds. Though he repeats a couple of segments of footage, he appears to push himself to add interest and enthusiasm. There is a strange kind of joyful heartwarming sentiment throughout the picture. It's like you can feel Barkett's delight in making the movie. It's this emotional hook that, in part, kept me watching. I have to give credit to the FX crew for the devastated cityscapes and the atomic storms. Though you can discern their illusory content, it doesn't hinder the film much. In truth, they sent a cold shiver or three down my spine. Sadly though, the budget didn't stretch to the radiation zombies. The movie needed a faster tempo overall; it's a tad too slow, especially during the action sequences and the revelation of Cutter's revenge.
The cast is okay but not too dazzling, which I contribute to the script and direction, and not the actors or actresses. It's no surprise that Barkett senior and junior are the outstanding members, even though you have Sid Haig in the movie.
Aftermath could have been a fantastic Cult B-Movie Classic had they stuffed the story with credible individuals and allowed the cast to fill their boots. As it stands, it's a passable Dark Thriller of a Science Fiction flick that I'd recommend for an evening viewing on a cold and dark winter night when there's nothing else to watch.
So now you've crash-landed the spaceship back on Earth, please visit my Killer Thriller Chillers and The Final Frontier lists to see where I ranked Aftermath.
Take Care & Stay Well.
Story: 0.75 Direction: 1.00 Pace: 1.00 Acting: 1.00 Enjoyment: 1.25
TOTAL: 5.00 out of 10.00
Aftermath, for me, didn't quite make it into the B-Movie Cult Film Hall Of Fame for a few reasons. 1 - It's not bad enough (in the right ways). 2 - The story, characters, and cinematography are average. 3 - It's not cheesy enough. It's no Plan 9 From Outer Space, but what it is is entertaining.
Steve Barkett and Stanley Livingstone are regurgitating the old favourite of Sci-Fi flicks - astronauts return to Earth and find it terribly transfigured. In this case, the nutters in charge have all pressed their big red buttons, unleashing a nuclear armageddon across the planet. The plant life and wildlife are blighted, the cities have fallen, and the remaining humans are in turmoil. It's a good job that Newman and his team have returned to save the day...well, at least a couple of damsels in distress and a kid - well, you can't save 'em all. Though the narrative appears to be borrowed from a few pictures and stitched together, there are a few respectable ideas. One of the best is the narration. For most of the film, it's a nice feature to drive the story forward. But the ingenious bit comes when the narrator's voice changes, and we have a passing of the gauntlet moment. What lets the story down is its characters. The only two individuals who get fatted up are Newman and the boy Christopher. It could be because Barkett and his son play the roles - there's nowt like nepotism - or it could be that he made changes to the script on the hoof. Unfortunately, the rest of the people in the narrative are flat and dull. Even the miscreant Cutter, played by Sid Haig, is vapid. The scumbag laughs while his men rape and kill. It would have only been right to show this man for what he is and for what he stands for, but he's mediocrity personified. Regrettably, the rest of the story's population fares just as terribly.
Barkett tries to do better behind the camera, and to point, he succeeds. Though he repeats a couple of segments of footage, he appears to push himself to add interest and enthusiasm. There is a strange kind of joyful heartwarming sentiment throughout the picture. It's like you can feel Barkett's delight in making the movie. It's this emotional hook that, in part, kept me watching. I have to give credit to the FX crew for the devastated cityscapes and the atomic storms. Though you can discern their illusory content, it doesn't hinder the film much. In truth, they sent a cold shiver or three down my spine. Sadly though, the budget didn't stretch to the radiation zombies. The movie needed a faster tempo overall; it's a tad too slow, especially during the action sequences and the revelation of Cutter's revenge.
The cast is okay but not too dazzling, which I contribute to the script and direction, and not the actors or actresses. It's no surprise that Barkett senior and junior are the outstanding members, even though you have Sid Haig in the movie.
Aftermath could have been a fantastic Cult B-Movie Classic had they stuffed the story with credible individuals and allowed the cast to fill their boots. As it stands, it's a passable Dark Thriller of a Science Fiction flick that I'd recommend for an evening viewing on a cold and dark winter night when there's nothing else to watch.
So now you've crash-landed the spaceship back on Earth, please visit my Killer Thriller Chillers and The Final Frontier lists to see where I ranked Aftermath.
Take Care & Stay Well.