The Aftermath (1982)

Country of Origin: USA
Year of Production: 1978
Running Times: 87 mins     95 mins     100 mins
Format: colour
Ratio:
Sound:

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Nautilus/Barkett
Producers: Steve Barkett, Ted V. Mikels

SCRIPT
Script: Steve Barkett
Story: Steve Barkett, Stanley Livingstone

DIRECTION
Director: Steve Barkett
Assistant Director: Scot Holton

PHOTOGRAPHY
Directors of Photography: Dennis Skotak, Thomas F. Denove

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: Steve Barkett

MUSIC
Music: John W. Morgan

SOUND
Sound: Maurice Allen, Lynne Barkett

SPECIAL MAKE UP EFFECTS
Special Make Up Effects: Robert Skotak

VISUAL EFFECTS
Visual Effects: The Skotaks
Additional Visual Effects: Jim Danforth
Laser Animation: John Wash
Opticals: CFI

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: Robert Skotak

CAST
Steve Barkett (Newman)
Lynne Margulies (Sarah)
Sid Haig (Cutter)
Forrest J Ackerman (museum curator)
Edwin Avedissian (Banks)
Christopher Barkett (Chris)
Eric Caidin
Jim Danforth (astronaut)
Alfie Martin
Dick Miller (voice)

A pair of astronauts return to Earth to find that civilisation has been blown away by nuclear and biological war. Los Angeles is haunted by mutants and ruled over by ruthless tyrant Cutter. Only the heroic astronaut Newman can save the day.

By turns ludicrous, embarrassing and mawkish, The Aftermath is turgid moralising at its very worst. The acting and dialogue are bad almost beyond belief as Barkett's attempts to promote himself as an avenging hero fall flat, if only because we simply don't want to identify with a man every bit as vicious and calculating as the villains he purports to oppose. Or maybe that was Barkett's point, that beneath it all, we're just as bad as each other and that the worst villain of them all is the self-proclaimed hero. However, this would credit Barkett with a degree of wit and intelligence, something that this film sorely lacks.

UK
Video Distributors: World of Video 2000/Trans-Global Pictures

USA
Video Distributors: Liberty Home Video; Prism Pictures; Starmaker; Tapes of Terror

Norway
Rating: 18

De Gjenlevende - Norwegian video title
Pelottomat - Finnish title
Tajemnicze ladowanie - Polish title
Zombie Aftermath - UK video re-release title

SEE ALSO
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Def-Con 4 (1985)
The Jupiter Menace (1981)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
The Omega Man (1971)
L'ultimo uomo della Terra (1964)

MAGAZINES

Halls of Horror 30 p.12 (UK)
note

BOOKS

The A-Z of Science Fiction and Fantasy Films p.12
credits, review

Creature Features Strikes Again p.13
credits, review

Elliot's Guide to Films on Video p.10
credits, review

Horror and Science Fiction Films Volume III pp.4-5
credits

Psychotronic Video Guide p.7
credits, review

Video Source Book (13th Edition) p.42
credits

KEYWORDS

post-apocalypse; mutations; astronauts; bikers; nuclear war; rape; mutants