Desert Warrior

I like really bad movies, if you do too this movie is a great movie to watch with a bunch of obnoxious friends and a twelve pack of beer. When you go to the movie store and look for a really bad movie to watch with those obnoxious friends, you see TV's The Hulk and you think "this has GOT to be good". And Lou Ferrigno does not disappoint, part Conan part Terminator; all Ferrigno.

On top of Lou's real bad acting, and a canned post-apocalyptic plot, this movie offers a bountiful supply of bad special effects that would make Ed Wood proud.

Even the Rookie Director Jim Goldman could figure out that a Beautiful leading lady Shari Shattuck (Racela) combined with a handsome leading man Lou Ferrigno (Zerak), and a fun screenplay adds up to a winner. Director Jim's Post-Apocalypse (PA) low Budget effort has the look and feels of an Italian PA however it's another in a long and distinguished line of Filipino PA films. Veteran low budget movie stalwart Mike Monty gets a solid "B" for the part of the compassionate Dr. Creo while veteran Mike Cohen ( For Your Height Only) as the head of the Governing Commission (Pres. Antarius) is his usual commanding self. Big Lew is tactfully low key in this one which is great as it gives very sexy Shari room to contribute the emotional tenner and carry the film with her obvious acting talent. I really enjoyed Desert Warrior.

My review was written in March 1989 after watching the movie on Prism video cassette.

This Filipino-lensed action pic is something of a fiasco, providing unintentional humor and inept filmmaking technique to video fans.

Shot in 1987 under the title "Sand Wars", pic has been retitled "Desert Warrior", but is unrelated to Cirio Santiago's 1985 Filipino film of that name.

Lou Ferrigno plays the beefy hero of a post-nuclear war society whose corrupt bossman (Kenneth Peer) needs uncontaminated women for mating purposes. Shari Shattuck is just the ticket, and most of the pic consists of Lou, clad in a Roman gladiator outfit, trying to help her escape from the bad guys' clutches.

Film unfolds like a bad parody of this overworked genre, with a very poor sound mix and ridiculously cheap-looking vehicles for the "Mad Max" fans to ogle. Poor Ferrigno, dubbed in his "Hercules" epics, uses his own voice here with embarrassing results.

Lou Ferrigno fans will not be disappointed--he is the best part of this dismal production. Lou is far from being in his best physical condition (similar to the way he looked in the movie Cage). He wears a Hercules-type outfit throughout, but does not show off in any muscle-flexing events. Even when he runs (and this happens surprisingly often) there are no close-ups or slow motions. Obviously he was not selected for his pulchritude. Perhaps the director was trying to showcase Lou's acting ability instead. Lou is fairly good at pretending to be sad and not so good at acting angry (also similar to Cage). Yet his acting is better than anything in the rest of this movie. It is even better than that of most of the other players (or were they customers selected at random from a Walmart parking lot?)--one could not enunciate his lines enough to be heard and another's slight accent undermined the authority of his character. The sets are truly cheap without any redeeming innovations. The equipment is pathetic and contributes to the farce. And there is barely any continuity or logic to the story line--a pity because the basic premise is decent sci-fi and the ending both uplifting and conclusive of the opening scene.

Low budget sci fi that could had been a good movie if they had simplified its script. Like many low budget films it does not have many choices or virtues to capitalize on. A good script can help almost any film including this one regardless of budget.