Survivor (1987)

Dir: Michael Shackleton

The NASA Challenger 2 mission promised peace in turbulent times by deploying a satellite based laser anti-missile system (SDI). Instead it brought about WWIII and a nuclear holocaust that nearly wiped man from the face of the earth, destroyed the ozone and polluted the ecosystem. The astronaut on that mission, given the name Survivor (Christopher DUKES OF HAZARD Mayer) in the end credits, travels the wasteland on rail lines via a solar powered converted hand car.

Survivor met an old man who spoke of seeing paradise but was ambushed and run off by its inhabitants. A place of water and electricity. A place to start anew without the dangers of every day life found in the nearly uninhabitable desert environment. For years Survivor has travelled to find that paradise. With each passing day, week, month he's had to kill in self defense those he has come across as there are no friendly strangers, only those who want to steal a few gulps of water and a handful of scraps to eat. Crashing his hand cart Survivor continues on foot through the desert. After days of walking, his thirst all consuming, he enters the camp of two Bedouins (one portrayed by the film's writer Bima Stagg) busily guzzling water and not caring if they spill any. Pleading for water the Bedouins at first appear compassionate but it's only a ruse to get close to Survivor and drive a blade into his gut. Survival instinct kicking in, Survivor pulls his pistol and guns down the two Bedouins before passing out from his wound. A prisoner of the Bedouins, hiding under a blanket, stirs, stands up and assess the situation.

Kragg and Survivor debate who has the baddest name

The Prisoner, The Woman (Sue REPO MAN Kiel), tends to Survivor's wounds. After some time she starts to trust him and allows him to wander her home, a ship off the coast in fish rich waters, freely. In time they become lovers (the 80's cliche sex scene is only surpassed by the one in MADMAN). The paradise that Survivor is looking for? It's no paradise. The Woman escaped from that dystopian society. And on cue, The Woman is kidnapped by one of the leaders of that society, Kragg (Richard THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER Moll).

Following the kidnapper's trail, Survivor discovers that his dream utopia is a former power plant buried under sand. Infiltrating the base he is captured by Kragg's thugs and brought to the community's leaders. Realizing his abilities they offer him haven in exchange for killing Kragg.

First, and only time if IMDB is to be believed, director Michael Shackleton helms a mess of a film. It seems inspired by other post apocalyptic films; the desert environment and underground society reminded me of A BOY AND HIS DOG while the plot of one leader hiring an outsider to kill another leader is a device used in MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME (Survivor also looks similar to Max). Sound recording seemingly was done by a child of Doris Wishman as there is oddly constructed narration throughout the entire running time and none of the dialogue sounds like it was shot sync. On the plus side the destroyed Earth is conveyed well for a low budget film and Richard Moll flexes his acting chops by channeling Brando's Col Kurtz as he tempts Survivor to join him in propagating a new race to take back the Earth.

This South African production does try to be different from other post apocalyptic films of the period. I wasn't expecting the flash back and forward narrative or the contemplative nature of the protagonist. But it doesn't work. The quirkiness with the sound, narration, and flash forwards distract from the story telling instead of propelling what ever novel ideas the writer and director thought they were conveying to the audience.

** out of ****