Toxic Apocalypse

TOXIC APOCALYPSE is a independent British film made by a couple of brothers from Leicester, of all places. That makes it a local-to-me film with recognisable locations and a plot that variously riffs on the likes of STREET TRASH with a little Guy Ritchie-style gangster action thrown into the mix.

The biggest surprise about this entirely cheap production (the budget was just £5000) is just how much fun it is. You know I've sat through dozens of recent amateur films, many of them American, and they've been absolute trash; BOSTON GIRLS and BENEATH THE MISSISSIPPI were just two recent duds I had the misfortune to see. By comparison, this film is a real riot. It's professional looking, funny, and with a proper storyline to propel it along. Sure, it has the usual problems associated with amateur film-making, including awful acting and rubbish effects, but those things just don't matter.

The thing that shines through about TOXIC APOCALYPSE is that the guys making it are both enthusiastic and know what they are doing. Enthusiasm counts for a heck of a lot and it makes this film fun and well-paced; I was laughing with it rather than at it. In addition, it looks and feels like a proper movie, with a musical soundtrack and numerous locations, some abroad. Film reviewer M.J. Simpson's role as an evil scientific mastermind is a real hoot. More from this team, please!

When I sat down here in 2024 to watch the 2016 movie "Toxic Apocalypse", I have to admit that I harbored zero expectations to the movie. The movie was just oozing with a low budget feel, yet I still opted to sit down and watch it, as it was a movie that I hadn't already seen, nor actually heard about.

Initially I was lured into watching "Toxic Apocalypse" given it's cover. I believed that I would be in for a zombie movie. But it turns out that writer and director Marc Hamill delivered quite something else. Good or bad else? Bad. I wasn't the least bit impressed with what I sat through.

The storyline in the movie was rubbish. Sure, it made somewhat sense, but it wasn't an entertaining script or storyline. And the pacing of the narrative was sluggish and just didn't have enough interesting contents or thrilling contents to it to make it entertaining to sit through. And truth be told, I tossed the towel in the ring 48 minutes into the 87 minute runtime. By then I was just bored senseless.

The acting performances in the movie were a mixed bag of nuts. Some of the performances were fair enough, while others were wooden and cringeworthy to witness. Needless to say that I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list. Now, that is usually something I enjoy when I sit down to watch a movie, but I just wasn't won over while watching "Toxic Apocalypse".

Visually then this movie wasn't great. There wasn't a lot of special effects in the movie. And whatever effects were there, were pretty low key and crude.

I am not returning to attempt to finish watching Marc Hamill's 2016 movie. Not is it a movie that I would recommend you to waste your time on.

My rating of "Toxic Apocalypse" lands on a generous two out of ten stars.

Low budget indie film that really delivers!! OK, so cast talent is a little lacking, but a great performance by Ron Hamill as 'Mr. Marcais', with a few fabulous characters dotted throughout.

Hilarious concept, fast paced, lots of action and a decent script. If you just go into it wanting a laugh, and you appreciate their limitations, you'll enjoy this gem.

Was it Oscar worthy? No, but don't forget that even Peter Jackson started out with low budget films like 'Bad Taste'. 10 out of 10 for effort, and 9 out of 10 overall for me.

Looking forward to more from the Hamill's!!

Toxic Apocalypse is a fun flick! Its campy in the best way. You'll be laughing with it as you go on an adventure that reminded me of some those great 80's horror films. You can tell the filmmakers have a ton of passion and enjoyed making this movie. It's that passion that drives it and makes the perfect movie to just sit back and a have a few brews.

The camera work is very good, the audio is clean and crisp plus the editing is really sharp and helps the pacing. It's really well done for a movie like this. So filmmakers seem to think production doesn't matter but that's not the case here. Sure it's low budget but very well done. I recommend giving it a watch. I'll definitely be giving it a rewatch myself.

I'm a sucker for small budget films but "The Wrong Floor" takes it to a whole new level. I have heard that the budget for this film was only $5,000 but I have no way to know if that is true. First thing first, no matter what the actual budget was the Hamill brothers (Marc and Carl) produced a great, campy action/thriller, sci-fi/exploitation film that surprised me.

The film reminds me of those sci-fi/horror flicks of the 80's and early 90's. This film has it all; an experimental drug that threatens all humanity, mad scientists, killer clowns and so much more. Danny Green's (played by Carl Hamill) father is missing. It just so happens that his father is a scientist and Danny is determined to find him so he goes undercover as a security guard at the lab where his father worked.

Once inside he discovers that the lab is manufacturing a street drug called "Haze" and that is when all hell breaks loose. I don't want to give too much of the plot away but I'm sure you have an idea of what happens next.

While the special effects leave a lot to be desired the movie really shines in its camp factor. I found myself laughing a lot throughout the film. The whole vibe of the film reminded me of "The Toxic Avenger" or "Class Of Nuke Em High." This film was made for a very specific audience. If you are looking for Star Wars level effects then this is not for you. However, if you love low budget, campy horror films then this could be right up your alley.