You wake up and find that everyone has disappeared, that’s the premise of this New Zealand science fiction classic. Bruno Lawrence is Zac Hobson, the man who finds himself seemingly alone, is he the only man on the planet and is the Project Flashlight he was working on somehow responsible?
The answer to the first part of that question is no, as he finds first a woman, played by Alison Routledge, and then a Maori man, portrayed by Pete Smith. The answer to the rest of the question depends on your interpretation of the film. One thing is abundantly clear and that’s the moral of the film. This is a parable for the dangers of nuclear war, of playing god with nature and of the individual’s responsibility for his actions. It’s also interesting to note that it’s the American’s, the country really behind project Flashlight, who are the bad guys, withholding information on the nature of the experiment. You almost expect the USA to be the bogeyman in modern movies (particularly foreign ones) due to there questionable foreign policy but to see them as the bad guys in a film that’s over twenty years old, at a time when the Soviet Union were still the villains of choice, is a tad surprising.
For all it’s moralising though this is a small scale drama with an epic background. At its heart is a love triangle between these three survivors with the film building up the characters gradually. For the first third we have Lawrence going off his head as he not only thinks he’s alone, but that he’s partly responsible for the end of the human race. It’s this one man show section that’s the strongest part of the film, Lawrence giving a powerful performance that’s at times very funny but also deeply moving.
The second act deals with his relationship with Joanne (Routledge) and their search for other survivors. The film loses some of its power here, with the sense of isolation, so strong in the first part, now far less prominent. There’s a big difference between being completely alone and being alone with an attractive woman. Things hot up in the final third with the introduction of Api (Smith) with the two men in competition for the lone woman’s affections. Will she choose the intellectual Zac or the physical Api?
The film’s conclusion solves that problem and leaves the viewer with more questions than answers, but then the best science fiction usually does. It’s the kind of film that rewards repeat viewings and it’s “don’t fuck with nature” message is as relevant today as it’s ever been.
Deserving special mention is John Charles, who’s score really helps add an epic quality to the film, never more evident than in the final scene.
Horror and Western film buff, Marvel comic geek, music lover and occasional gamer. 