The Quiet Earth

At first I had no idea this movie was filmed in New Zealand, and as a resident of the country myself; I know all too well the kind of productions that are delivered. Most of them unfortunately are a crap-fest.

However, with The Quiet Earth, I was very pleasantly surprised. The plot is original, it has never (in my geeky, sci-fi junkie knowledge) been done before. The camera work is superb, the way the movie is set out on a striking background makes this film all the more beautiful.

The plot is surprisingly simple, it does not involve a lot of consideration, which in my particular case, allowed me to enjoy what was happening visually. A man wakes up only to find civilization has vanished, and he is the sole remaining species.

I'm sure we have all fantasized about this, and what we would do. The main character relates to his imagination, and to ours, he takes a small advantage and delivers it with such passion and comedic structure. Of course however, this would drive anyone insane if they weren't used to living a life of recluse and complete solitude, and he eventually does dance along the rope of reality, slipping momentarily until the plot drives forward.

It is an entertaining movie, it has it's thrills, it certainly has a tad suspense and a slight nudge of bad acting, however in saying that; the movie makes up for this tedious flaw with a terrific script, and a most peculiar story-line which will leave the viewers wondering what on Earth will happen (ignore the pun).

I enjoyed this movie a great deal, it was a fun way to spend an evening watching the well adapted characters explore the possibilities of their flawed world.

I love films with an apocalyptic theme. And this is definitely one of the better ones. Even though the basic story has been around quite a few times, e.g. "Omega Man, The (1971)", it is always interesting to see what has happened before and how it ends. Here, the emphasis is put on human relations, not so much on action. The scientific explanation for the "effect" is also somewhat implausible, but due to that rather authentic scientist Hobson I believed it anyways. And fortunately, the authors chose a non Hollywood-style ending for the movie!

This film is a lost gem.

Not many (or not nearly enough) have seen it and those who have mostly love it. Director Geoff Murphy's film career has gone right into the proverbial john since making this. Oh, he's still working, sure, but his later works (some of them) can't compare to this masterwork.

But if you like Last Man On Earth type movies this celluloid slice of sci-fi cherry pie is for you! It has one of those endings that will leave you dazzled and puzzled. It doesn't try and tie up all the loose ends and questions like a lot of films do. Its much like a Kubrick film in that respect.

Hopefully The Talented Mr. Murphy will make a film as good as this again someday. Here's hoping! And I loved the ass shot of the beautiful, milky skinned redhead (Alison Routledge) as well. Talk about cherry pie. Yum.

You will like the aforementioned shot too. If you swing that way.

If you're looking for a science fiction flick that has nothing to do with little green aliens or intergalactic civil war, check out this film. A terrific story about a man waking up to find out that everybody in the world is gone. Vanished! He is the only one on Earth. A great part of the film deals with the struggle of having to be alone. Very original, very interesting, and very entertaining. Check it out.

An engaging sci-fi drama about a man who awakens to find himself, seemingly, the last person alive on earth. What does he do? What would you do? Everything's free. You could drive what you want. Wear what you want. Live in the fanciest hotel or simply pick a house to move in to. No laws to obey except those imposed by reality.

But might it not get lonely? And what if you did find someone else?

I plucked this movie off the rental rack on a whim, not expecting much really, but I was pleasantly surprised. By no means was it a 'great' movie, but I think virtually anyone would find it interesting--certainly more so than the claptrap currently being churned out by Hollywood.