Subtitled Behind the Apocalypse Film, in this book, author Danny Stewart focuses on the 1989 cult film The Blood of Heroes (known as The Salute of the Jugger here in the UK). However, rather than taking a deep dive into that one title as he did with his previous work, Soldier: From Script to Screen, here he places the picture in the greater pantheon of dystopian movies.
The book opens with an outline of the apocalypse and post-apocalyptic genre in all its art forms. Stewart points to the likes of John W. Campbell Jr’s novella Who Goes There? (which provided the basis for a number of films, including John Carpenter’s 1982 classic The Thing), Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend (brought to the screen several times, too) and Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds (1963) as diverse examples of the genre. Moving to the staples such as the Mad Max sequels and The Road. Healthy nods are given to the importance of art and fiction publications to popularise the idea of a world after everything’s gone wrong.
We’re nearly 70 pages in before the spotlight truly shines on The Blood of Heroes. When it does, it’s with an impressive and enlightening interview with director and screenwriter David Webb Peoples (also known for writing Twelve Monkeys and co-writer of Blade Runner). This chat goes in-depth about working with the actors and developing the story and is well worth a read.
A bulk of the book is dedicated to reviews of seminal movies in the genre by writer John Kenneth Muir (and a throwaway ‘revisiting’ by Eion Friel). Then, most of the remaining page count covers other titles such as Twelve Monkeys (Janet and David Peebles providing their memories), and The Postman (first assistant director Dennis Maquire being interviewed), which is a welcome surprise inclusion. When was the last time anyone thought of that film?
Including adjacent titles to the main focus allows Stewart to look at the bigger picture beyond The Blood of Heroes, making the book more appealing to fans who may not be as familiar with that particular film.
