I think it's fair to say that after the first two MAD MAX films, every producer in the world decided to jump on the bandwagon and release at least one or more rip-offs. This was the glorious era when the "post-apocalypse" film ruled the box office and Italy kept churning out more nuclear adventures than everyone else, until the Philippines took over later in the decade. SURVIVAL ZONE is yet another cheap and cheesy genre offering, with the notable difference in that it's a South African film! Otherwise the formula is pretty much standard: a motorbike gang (led by BIG MAN, who wears a doll's head on his helmet!) terrorise and kill people; members chain-whip each other to death, and a nun gets her face broken by a well-aimed punch. Well, it starts off good anyway, especially the big guy playing BIG MAN, who is awash (and unwashed) with homoerotic undertones.Meanwhile, we meet a diverse farm family (family members are British, American, and South African, at least judging by their accents!) who you just know is going to get caught up in the violence. First of all a stupid old guy goes to feed his horses whilst the farm is under siege (talk about priorities) and ends up getting knifed, then the characters do lots of stupid and unbelievable things that makes you, the viewer, cry out in exasperation. After lots of waffle and non-activity, the father finally takes it on himself to battle the motorbike gang, so he sets up a wicked bomb and then undergoes a massive shoot-out (well as far as they can stretch to on the budget, that is). The finale involves a young, blond heroic guy who turns up taking on BIG MAN in a duel in the desert, which is as cheesy as it is genuinely entertaining.As you can imagine, production values for this film are non-existent. There's no room for special effects and only a couple of semi-decent performances; nobody is a real professional here and there are no familiar faces. Despite brief references to cannibalism there is little gore and the blood we do see looks like red paint; the atmosphere does simmer with violence though and the suspense is actually pretty good for a little low-budget movie like this. It's not the greatest post-nuke flick in the world and neither is it the worst; fans of this genre would be wise to give it a look before dismissing it with all the others. Characterisation and realism are pretty rare in these kinds of films but they exist in abundance with this one.

And with those words, our ubiquitous couple walk off into the sunset together, having just survived a spade/knife fight and an attempt on their lives with a land rover. Warms the cockles doesn't it? Except in this film it doesn't. You'll have been too busy laughing at one of the most hilarious decapitations ever seen on film and wondering what the hell happened to the little boy who vanished from the cast twenty minutes ago with no explanation. Not to mention the strange case of the American dad who has a South African accented wife and daughter, but a USA sounding son. And then there's the..But I digress, let's get to the plot.. for what it is. Another nuclear bomb, another bunch of mutated survivors on motorbikes, and yep, you guessed it.. plenty of leather and shades to go around. They are led by the typical bearded bloke with a rasping voice and a toy doll's head on his helmet(?) We knows he's in charge because he has the word BIGMAN engraved on the back of his jacket. During the opening, him and his crew of ruffians ransack a nunnery. (Oh the beasts!!) Turns out they're cannibals who roam around munching their way through the survivors of the holocaust. But have they met their match when they try to take over a farm presided over by a resourceful farmer and his feisty family? Let battle commence!! All thumbs and no fingers sums up this little flick. Every single scene seems to be have been handled in the most clumsy way imaginable, so you get random camera angles and abrupt sudden cuts galore. You know from the budget that the acting isn't going to be the best and the dialogue won't win the screenwriter any Oscars, but it would be nice to have a few surprises along the way. Nothing in this film is anything less than predictable, from who will be the first to die (always the old guy) to the fact that the stereotypical young blonde hero who arrives on the scene in the middle will be the one to save the day. From a purely artistic point of view I've seen much worse even in the last month, but why waste time on this when there are so many other superior movies out there calling for your attention? In fact, some of them are probably on television right now. Go and take a look.. 3/10

I was thirteen when I saw this film. Some friends of mine were big fans of horror films. I wasn't particularly a fan but I knew what to expect. "Survival Zone" wasn't at all what I expected. I have a soft spot for this movie and would love the opportunity to see it again. But I'm afraid to say that is because I distinctly recall it as being the worst film I ever saw. I mean....the doll's head on top of the motorcycle...is that supposed to be scary? Evidently it was supposed to be. It wasn't.

This movie is not too shabby. The scenery is magnificent. Zoli Marki turns in another one of her brilliant, brown-eyed performances (she could have been the South African Lara Flynn Boyle). The rest of the cast is okay, but as things go with these "international" productions you can't pay too close attention to the accents (you might ask why, for instance, is the dad American, the mother English, and the two children South African). The main villain looks like a lost member of the Village People and wears a tight leather outfit with "Big Man" spelled out in studs across his back. As in THE DEMON (another film made by the same director and crew), the blood is orange.