Edge of Extinction

I like sci-fi and checking out indie movies so this post-apocalyptic movie was something I simply had to see for myself. It reminded me of The Day (2011) and The Road (2009) at times, but it wasn't so depressing, although it featured most of the same themes. With a runtime of over 2 hours it managed to keep me interested and if you take into account the budget it was made with, you can't help but be impressed with the result. Compliments for the special effects team, they did a bang up job. The acting was better than community theater but do not expect Academy quality acting either. The weak point of this flick is the writing, our "heroes" make tactical mistakes by the dozens. At a certain point you start to wonder how they managed to survive for so long. I realize if we only saw smart moves in these kind of movies most of them would be over in 20 minutes or less, but there are some real facepalm moments here. Andrew Gilbert (writer/director) true talent is in directing because he managed to show gruesome violence, cannibalism and sexual violence without crossing the line into exploitation or even resort to nudity. I wouldn't mind a sequel to this and I hope Netflix or one of the three future streaming giants will get this team a budget they deserve for their next project. Mind the plot holes, enjoy the ride.

TL:DR Captivating from start to finish. Run time a bit long but totally worth it.

This is more or less a typical post-apocalyptic scenario where some event (in this case nuclear war) causes the collapse of society and tribes, gangs etc. start to form to survive killing, stealing, pillaging. Of course, there are those that also kidnap women and rape them. All this features prominently in the movie. In this film the protagonist is a loner who has managed to do quite well for himself living in relative safety in rural England and is able to horde away a lot of food and supplies. His life is suddenly turned upside down when he violates his own self-imposed rules to help a starving woman, then it all starts to come unraveled. Next we have a lot of brutality, medieval style fights, blood, rape rooms, heads getting bashed in, stabbings armed cannibalistic gangs... a lot of this kind of thing until the conflicts are all resolved. What I liked most about it that it never ever got too bogged down like a lot of movies do. The pacing was good. Just enough backstory. It was sufficiently nerve-wracking, sufficiently violent but not oo much and I liked the main characters. Mostly I like that it was incredibly unique take on post-apocalyptic world but form a very English point of view.

Considering the budget for the entire film was half a milkshake & stale bag of chips, the producer, actors, wardrobe, sets....hell the whole team did quite well. Yes it did carry on a little too long in parts, but overall what I liked about it was that it was as close to realistic as you could imagine it to be. Good effort team!

The idea on paper for this film, whilst not exactly original, is pretty sound. Loner in post apocalyptic world teams up with people to fight violent cannibalistic and women raping gangs. The problem is that it's just far too long and the end doesn't really give any satisfaction, it just sort of turns up.

Made on a shoestring budget using real-life abandoned locations in the main works brilliantly so kudos to the production team.

The acting by the main players is pretty competent, but felt often too understated given the world they're inhabiting. The script didn't help with some monologues that did sound way too scripted if you all get what I mean. Almost like a play, where one character says their thing then stops and then the next character says their bit. All too theatrical sounding. However I do think a few of the cast probably deserve and will go on to bigger things.

Other issues for me included considering this is a world without any of the things we are all used to - running water, plentiful food, proper healthcare etc. Everyone looks far too healthy - all perfect teeth, nobody particularly malnourished, and well groomed. The women in this film clearly have either a supply of razors and depilatory cream, or there's a post apocalyptic waxing salon somewhere in Bedfordshire! The character The Wife is even more groomed with perfect corkscrew curls in her hair.. Did she raid a branch of Boots for styling products before the world fell apart?!

I do think for a low budget Sci fi movie this isn't totally awful but probably could have done with shaving about 30 minutes off the whole thing to make it tighter. If they'd have done that, even with all the other limitations I'd have said this film is good-ish rather than mediocre.

It's not often that I consciously break out of my blissful state of streaming service choice paralysis to pay for a movie, but found myself on this occasion, grateful that I had.

I approached this film with a sense of wariness, knowing that too often indie films ignore the constraints of their often modest budgets and go bonkers with CGI that's about as enjoyable to watch as the later seasons of The Walking Dead. But after the first poor chap gets bludgeoned to death very realistically (I can only assume, having never been party to a group bludgeoning first hand), I was reassured this wasn't going to fall into the same trap.

With a magnificent use of derelict and abandoned locations, great character development and a gripping tension maintained throughout, we are given a glimpse into a post apocalyptic future where extreme feminist theory that all men are total ball sacks except perhaps the odd few, is proven totally accurate.

Although the film could perhaps have benefitted from being 20-30 mins shorter, the story, plot and character personalities develop naturally and we are treated to a few fantastically poignant scenes designed to stop and make you think about the things that we carelessly take for granted.

Throughly recommend.