I read more about this film after I found it listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, movies like The Omega Man had already succeeded with the "last man on earth" plot, so it was not an original concept, but it didn't stop this film from New Zealand being made. Basically on a normal winter morning in July in Hamilton, New Zealand the sky is darkened for a moment, and a sudden red light surrounded by darkness is seen. Scientist Zac Hobson (Bruno Lawrence) works for Delenco, part of an international consortium working on "Project Flashlight", an experiment to create a global energy grid. He wakes to find no radio broadcasts, and getting dressed and driving around, he finds the city is completely deserted, and a plane crash wreckage with no bodies. Zac investigates his underground laboratory at Delenco, a monitor displays the message "Project Flashlight Complete", the disappearance of humanity coincides with the moment Flashlight was activated, he is lucky to escape the lab as a security breaks causes a fire. Zac broadcasts a repeating radio broadcast, referring to the crucial malfunction as "The Effect", he is asking for any survivors to contact him, first at his home, then at a large millionaire's mansion. As the days pass, his state deteriorates, he at first embraces the fact that he is the only man in the world, feeling exhilaration as he does whatever he wants, including causing his own mischief and havoc, but slowly he returns to despair. Eventually he breaks down altogether, assembling cardboard cut-outs of famous people (including Adolf Hitler, Elizabeth II, and Pope John Paul II) and declaring himself as "President of this Quiet Earth", and shooting up a church, he contemplates suicide with a shotgun, but changes his mind witnessing an explosion caused by his own destructiveness. Zac settles into a more normal routine, but he is surprised when a woman named Joanne (Alison Routledge) suddenly turns up at his doorstep, he is relieved to have company, he is attracted to her, and after a few days they do have sex. They decide to scour the countryside together to find other survivors, and on the outskirts of the city, they find a third survivor, a large Maori man named Api (Pete Smith). The three determine why they survived: at the instant of The Effect, they were all at the moment of death - Api was drowning, Joanne was electrocuted by a faulty hairdryer, and Zac had overdosed on pills attempting suicide, Zac feels guilty as he knew the experiment carried serious dangers. A love triangle develops, but Zac is more concerned about his observations about the Earth, the Sun's output is fluctuating, Zac fears the Effect will occur again, and decides to destroy the Deleco facility in an attempt to stop it. The three put their differences aside to drive a truck full of explosives to the installation, only stopped when Zac determines there is high radiation emanating from the plant. Zac goes to town to retrieve a remote control device that can send the truck into the facility, while he is gone, Api and Joanne have sex, Api doubts that Zac's device will work and says he will sacrifice himself and drive the truck. But then Zac reappears in the truck, he drives the truck onto the weakened roof of the underground laboratory, it collapses, as the effect is reaching a maximum, he triggers the explosives. Once again, a red light is seen surrounded by the dark tunnel, Zac finds himself lying face down on a beach, strange cloud formations, resembling waterspouts, rise out of the ocean, as he walks to the water's edge, an enormous ringed planet slowly appears over the horizon. Lawrence carries the first third of the film alone with a beguiling performance, Routledge and Smith are average, so it is a scientific error that caused everyone to be wiped out, it is faultless in capturing the feel of loneliness and eerie dystopia in the early scenes, and the solo man enjoying himself without guilt and interference is interesting to watch, it is when the other two appear it gets a bit predictable, but it is a really worthwhile science-fiction thriller. Good!

The movie starts with an amazing sunrise. The magical beauty of this title scene provides the whole curiosity to watch the entire movie.Zac Hobson wakes up in the morning. He felt something strange about that day. Soon, he discovers that the Earth was deserted; the whole population was vanished. He goes crazy being alone. Then, he tries to live like a king. He gets a female company and they are trying to solve this mystery. Soon, they find the third survivor. The presence of the third man, of course brings jealousy and suspicion.A cool SciFi movie with a limited number of actors. A very well made movie. It bagged all the 8 awards nominated for the movie at the New Zealand Film and TV Awards. This was the first ever science fiction movie made and produced by the country of New Zealand.Do not miss this awesome movie.A must watch.#KiduMovie

Nice and original sci-fi, and weird too.The movie has an atmosphere of strangeness all around it, and the protagonist question himself if he is alive, and that's a logic question, because the earth without people it's just another thing, some unknown piece of land. And above that, what we are It's a LOT based on what people think and judge about what we are, so without the "judges", we have to face the question to discover that we just don't know the answer.For me I felt the protagonist's loneness, specially when he finds another "survivor", a very attractive woman (for a 80's perspective) and he starts feeling attracted by her when he finds another survivor, and the girl fall in love with this other guy and they stay together.Besides, the protagonist do what is right in the end, forgetting about himself in the name of humanity. Good movie!

This is a great little Sci-Fi from the eighties. A guy wakes up one day and it appears every other human on the planet has disappeared.In some ways it is a little bit dated with its 80's obligatory dream sequence and dodgy sound track; but coming from a time when censors actually censored stuff there is hardly any gore and sex. So unlike its modern counterparts it has to rely quite a lot on character, story, and setting.It hits all these areas easily. The 'quiet' sequences are very well done.The story is fairly linear compared to modern films so if you are used to things exploding every few seconds or expect a deviously clever twist at the end you may be disappointed.Otherwise this is a great movie and I am sure movie fans will be watching it 50 years from now.