DIRECTOR: MARTIN GOOCH / SCREENPLAY: MARTIN GOOCH / STARRING: KRISTA DEMILLE, ANDREA SWEENEY BLANCO, JESUS LLOVERAS, WILLIAM MARK MCCULLOUGH, RON ROGGE / RELEASE DATE: TBC
After the world is plunged into a post-apocalyptic wasteland, one family must fight for survival in Atomic Apocalypse.
Post-apocalyptic films are a powerhouse of a sub-genre on their own – with the likes of Mad Max and 28 Days Later being some key prime examples of phenomenal films – however, in the case of this particular effort, a strong start quickly loses its steam with lacklustre dialogue and a distinct absence of a clear path to its conclusion.
Kate (DeMille), her husband Sam (Rogge) and daughter Suzy (Blanco) have survived the wasteland for over 600 days before they meet Joe (Lloveras) who might not be the nice guy he pretends to be. Along their journey of finding supplies, they encounter a whole host of wacky characters (which one might expect in these kinds of stories) that in any other post-apocalyptic tale would probably fit in but in terms of Atomic Apocalypse which starts off fairly serious in tone, these characters just feel too cartoony.
The two main aspects that this film can be praised is its ability on a low budget to present sets that feel like abandoned buildings (probably because they are) and Kate DeMille’s solid performance as a normal mother who has to adapt to this new world in order to keep her family safe.
However, those two points alone couldn’t save the film ultimately being poorly paced and wayward as, on the other end of the spectrum, ridiculous character choices and a sudden bemusing ending that didn’t fit the tone of the beginning of the film (which kind of felt like a “happily ever after” setpiece) fails to engage the audience in this world or trepidations that these characters are experiencing.
