Runtime: 97 minutes
Directed by: Joe D'Amato
Starring: Al Cliver, Laura Gemser, George Eastman, Dino Conti, Hal Yamanouchi
From: Filmirage
No, not the big movie event of the year that most people will have seen by the end of the weekend. I have mentioned before how most superhero/comic book movies of the 21st century just aren't for me... it's not a Marvel vs. DC thing either, that is how I feel in general. Of course I don't care if the rest of the world loves that genre or goes bananas for it; I'll just be content watching a random early 80's Italian post-apocalyptic film and this was the perfect time to check it out.
Boy, did this exemplify the old Italian mindset of “everything PLUS the kitchen sink” when it came to the plot. It starts off as a riff on The Running Man; as the Stephe... excuse me, “Richard Bachman” book came out the previous year, this couldn't have been a coincidence. In 2025, a game of Not The Running Man is taking place, and Ron Shannon is hunted by three people, including the guy who played Tony the Pimp in Demons and George Eastman w/ the hilarious name KURT KARNAK. During the game, a mutant meets up with Shannon and she wants him to transport her fellow mutants out of the area as they are being persecuted; note that the government has a “Security Squad” who are adorned in gas masks but their logo is the SS lightning bolts, so... supremely subtle, that wasn't.
Note that only the first half hour is The Running Man; the next fifteen minutes is Ron rounding up some pals to help him out (Escape From New York) and the rest is The Road Warrior, except that the landscape is more barren forest than barren desert. When I mention the kitchen sink approach, this is because Endgame has everything from satire and ninjas to blind people (not a surprise as this is an old European genre movie), telepathy, bloody moments and a rather daffy finale. Of course it's sleazy, there are some gaping plot holes and it is massively derivative of better movies. Plus, there is no Thanos.
All that said, this was at least entertaining sleaze & trash. I understand there are plenty of Italian post-apocalyptic flicks that are even better than this-I am sure I'll enjoy those. If you are more familiar with the genre then you'll probably at least be amused. There's a wacky synth score and I know people these days still dig that sort of thing... as do I.
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