The Aftermath - Nach der Stunde Null

This is my favorite bad movie of all times. When the video store was selling off it's stock of movies that were not renting, I bought it. I had rented it two or three times previously.

I love Sci Fi, having grown up in the 50's and 60's where things like a nuclear attack were more apt to happen, so watching this was a combination of relief that we avoided this, and laughing at the seriousness of the production.

Over all, this is the yardstick by which all other good creative "Bad" movies MUST be measured against.

If you can find it, watch it.

If you pick this up to watch a serious movie about life after a nuclear war, you'll give up on this in about 5 minutes. But if you like watching a movie that you can make fun of and groan at, then this is the movie for you.

As I was watching this I was thinking just how bad this movie was, but I kept watching to see what goof, inconsistency, bad line, etc. would come up next. And I was not disappointed.

You've got stupid people running around in the desert and guns that never run out (almost never) of ammunition. You've also got the chance of running into a radioactive rain storm, but only drive cars with no roofs. And much, much more.

This is a prime example that if you make the movie bad enough, but still entertaining, it will hang around for a long time.

In the UK this was originally released as The Aftermath, but a few years later it was re-released on VHS under the title Zombie Aftermath, however this is NOT a zombie movie. Two astronauts land back on Earth in their cheap looking spacecraft only to find themselves in a post nuclear aftermath. There are only a few survivors, these are comprised of a few good people, a gang of vicious thugs (led by Sid Haig, who excels in the role) and some mutants, who eat human flesh. Aftermath is a very violent movie, it did find itself on Section 3 of the Video Nasties list in Britain, though it was never prosecuted. It is also a very cheap looking movie, add to that a bad script and some very far fetched fight sequences, I did find it quite comical at times. So bad it's good. Well sort of. Certainly recommended for Sid Haig and post apocalyptic movie fans.

I remember seeing this low quality cheese production several years ago. It was repackaged in the UK as 'Zombie Aftermath', but 10 minutes into this extravaganza, it became apparent that the only zombie on view would be 'versatile' 'actor' Steve Barkett.

Steve's the kind of guy who was always picked last in a line up to play school sports, an out-of-shape middle aged trainspotter who you would certainly not cast as the lead. At first you wonder how he landed this role, until a cursory glance at the video box reveals that he wrote and directed it.

There certainly are some laughs to be had, as Steve comes to terms with the horror of a post apolcalyptic Earth (and viewers come to terms with the horror Steve's limited abilities, both in front of and behind the camera) and if you're prepared to pan a river of boredom in search of a piece of cheese gold (as I always am) then get prospecting.

A fabulous music score evocative of the Great Bernard Herrman films. It has a full symphonic original music score on a low budget movie!Landmark effects by the soon to be famous Skotak Brothers(3 time Academy Award Winners for ALIENS, ABYSS and TERMINATOR 2). This low budget film transcends the usual genre limitations, and deals with its subject matter on an emotional as well as visual level. That may be one of the reasons it is so disturbing to some, and so misunderstood by others. At a recent international sci fi convention it was voted among the best "end of the world movies" ever made. I saw it on laser and highly recommend it.