‘You want to run with the pack; you got to be one of the dogs.’
In the post-apocalyptic wasteland, a small farming community is threatened by marauders led by a power-crazed warlord. Just as things seem hopeless, a mysterious rider appears out of the desert…
Mash-up of ‘Mad Max’ and the Spaghetti Western from directors Jo Hart and Paul G. Volk, which parades its influences without apology. This week’s Road Warrior is American actor Joe Lara, and his nemesis is played by rent-a-villian Brion James.
The appropriately named community of New Hope is rising slowly from the ashes of the old world. Unfortunately, they’re soon targeted by the Death Riders, the shock troops of the United Regime. This new world order is headed by General Julius ‘J.W.’ Quantrell (James), who travels the wasteland collecting recruits, willing or otherwise. The takeover is complete in the blink of an eye, and James rides off into the sunset in search of new worlds to conquer. He leaves the town in the nominal charge of his weak-willed son, Junior (James C. Victor), under the watchful eye of weary colonel Roy Ackett (Bo Svenson).
Hard on their heels appears mysterious ‘gun gypsy’ Johnny Yuma (Lara), who is looking for James. Pretty blonde Sarah (Stacie Foster) and her young son Lake (Billy L. Sullivan) look to him for help, but he joins up with the Death Riders instead. However, when she attracts the attention of the thuggish Charlie Bacchas (Jim Cody Williams), Lara steps in, and it soon becomes clear that he’s playing off gang members against each other with a definite outcome in mind. As the gang’s numbers begin to dwindle, the townspeople start to organise and look to the stranger to lead them into battle.
Certain entries of the post-apocalyptic genre are Westerns by any other name, so it’s hardly a surprise that some filmmakers chose to acknowledge that fact. Lara is Clint Eastwood’s Man with No Name, a loner who needs a shave, speaks few words and can shoot a flea off a dog’s nose at 500 yards. He may ride a tricked-out motorcycle instead of a horse, but he still wears a cowboy hat and plays the harmonica. Sure, Lara looks a bit like he’s just stepped out of a hairdressing salon, but he has enough acting chops and presence to sell the look. Just about.
The outstanding quality of the film, though, is in the well-mounted, tightly edited action sequences. Yes, this was a film released to the straight-to-video market, so there’s not the budget of a high-end Hollywood blockbuster on display, but there is still a scale to the stunts and set pieces. It looks a lot like a film made by guys who loved to blow shit up and had enormous fun doing it. The fact that it’s done for real also gives it an impact and a tangible quality that still seems to elude technicians working with pixels and software. The absence of the quick-cutting that plagues modern action cinema also grounds the action and promotes a good level of audience investment.
The story hits all the predictable beats, but that’s quite obviously intended and part of the fun. Lara deals out pages from his ‘Fistful of Dollars’ playbook while Foster and her young child bring elements of ‘Shane’ (1953) and dozens of Westerns that came afterwards. There’s just enough emphasis on these personal relationships to make an audience invest in the characters without distracting from the bullets and body count. However, one principal who could have benefited from a little more development is Svenson’s jaded colonel. He’s plainly feeling ‘too old for this shit’ and has had more than enough of James’ posturing and his whiny, useless son. Unfortunately, he’s somewhat lost in the shuffle here, with more screen time given to the James’ gang members, including the two directors who appear in extended cameos.
James is also absent from the movie for far too long. After the actor makes his usual psychotic impression in the early stages, the character exits the action for the bulk of the film before returning at the climax. It was probably a result of the actor’s limited availability, but it does hurt the movie. The name of his character is a nod to the classic Western as historical figure General William Quantrill featured as a bad guy in many a Hollywood feature. The Confederate officer led a notorious band of guerilla fighters during the last days of the American Civil War, and he’s still a controversial figure today. Some historians have labelled him as a ‘pathological killer’ and a ‘bloody outlaw’, and there’s little doubt that his tactics inspired many a subsequent train robbery and bank heist.
The ‘Mad Max’ vibe is heightened by the presence of the demented Chickenboy (Brian Huckeba), whose fashion choices reference the psychotic Wez (Vernon Wells) from ‘Mad Max 2/The Road Warrior’ (1981). The character is much less threatening, though, being simply the hyperactive, personal echo chamber for menacing gang member Williams. His presence is more as twisted comedy relief and rather one-note, but fortunately, he’s not afforded enough screen time to become a distraction.
Regarding vehicular mayhem, the action is restricted to a couple of chases, but they contain some excellent stuntwork and fine helicopter shots, particularly at the big finish. Of course, the raiders’ cars are stripped down to their frames and souped up, but there’s no real design commitment to the steampunk aesthetic of the rest of the film. Lara has a few interesting gadgets, such as electronic binoculars and a laser rifle, which he uses to shoot mutated rats for his supper. He also has a neat little device for decontaminating water. It’s a superb piece of design as the audience instantly understands what it does and has no need to know how it works. Some more information about the economy of New Hope would have been helpful, though. It’s thriving because it has an almost unlimited supply of old tyres, which have somehow been turned into a ‘natural resource’ (*citation most definitely required!)
Lara is best remembered for his appearance as Edgar Rice Burroughs’ famous ape-man in the TV series ‘Tarzan: The Epic Adventures’ which ran during the 1996-97 season, and in a previous TV movie ‘Tarzan in Manhattan’ (1989). He also fronted several action movies, primarily for television and video release, such as ‘American Cyborg: Steel Warrior’ (1993) and ‘Doomsdayer’ (2000). His last screen credit was in 2018, the same year he married Christian pastor and diet guru Gwen Shamblin, founder of the controversial Remnant Fellowship Church of Brentwood. Lara was also an experienced pilot and was flying with his wife and senior church officials in their private Cessna on 29 May 2021 when it crashed into Percy Priest Lake in Tennessee. There were no survivors. As of writing, the cause of the crash is still under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
An efficient, well-executed production with some impact and scale in the delivery. It has a poor reputation for some reason, but fans of post-apocalyptic cinema should have fun.
Mark David Welsh 