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Rating: Country: New Zealand Release Date: June 13, 2006 Distributor: Anchor Bay Director: · Geoff Murphy Cast: · Bruno Lawrence · Alison Routledge · Pete Smith Related Sites: · IMDb Grade: A

First released in 1985, the scenery and effects are, of course, a bit dated given how much things have changed in the last twenty years. Even with this dated look, though, the movie is well worth watching, as there is plenty of good acting and dramatic tension between characters. The movie was directed by Geoff Murphy out of New Zealand, hence the lack of knowledge about it in the states.

The movie opens with a long sunrise and eventually we are introduced to a middle aged man by the name of Zac Hobson (Bruno Lawrence), a technical engineer who was part of “Project Flashlight”, a massive energy grid that would allow planes to crisscross the entire planet without ever needing to refuel. Zac awakens to find out that a malfunction has occurred (which is called “the Effect” from there on out), and soon discovers he is apparently the last living being on the planet. Zac is rightfully freaked out by the thought of it, and gradually starts to go insane, at one point wearing nothing but a woman’s slip and addressing a crowd of cardboard stand-ups (ranging from people like Bob Marley to Hitler) and declaring himself ruler of this quiet Earth. He soon hunts down a firearm and is contemplating suicide, going as far as stuffing the barrel in his mouth.

Soon after that Zac finds out he is indeed not the only survivor after all, when a young woman by the name of Joanne (Alison Routledge) finds him. Things start to look up for Zac, as finding at least one other person eases boredom by quite a bit, not to mention she is good-looking to boot. They soon start to scour the country for other survivors, choosing a couple of cars to use for scouting and supply runs. Eventually Zac is herded into a back alley and a third person subdues him. The man leads him to a meeting with Joanne and reveals he is a truck driver named Api (Pete Smith). Joanne eventually takes a liking to Api, much to Zac’s disappointment, and the tension continues to grow.

The ending leaves something to desire for many, but works fine for some people as well. The movie can be a bit slow at points, and if your expecting flashy aliens or other special effects then this is not the place to be, as the movie has almost no effects and definitely no monsters or aliens. The “Effect” also was never shown, just the aftermath of it -- planes falling from the sky and such. It is a bit confusing and does take some intelligent thought to really enjoy the movie, but overall I find it to be a worthy watch and would recommend it to sci-fi fans.

It comes packaged in a nice tin with a neat-looking planetary design on it, with an eight-page booklet insert with a bit of history of the “last man on Earth” subgenre. The picture quality is good, presented in widescreen format with Dolby Digital Surround 2.0 audio. Extras are light, represented by an audio commentary track by co-writer/producer Sam Pillsbury and a theatrical trailer.