The Quiet Earth (1985)

The movie starts off with a seemingly hot sunrise, and to a naked man asleep on his bed. The bedside clock reads 6:11, and for a brief moment there's a flash and weird shift to time and space. At 6:12, the man awakes somewhat confused and bewildered, but gets ready to begin his day. On his way to work, he notices there is nary a soul around. Vehicles are abandoned in the middle of the street, and a fiery plane crash with no one on the scene in way of survivors or rescuers. He makes his way to his work at a research facility with a large satellite dish, only to find in it's emptiness that the computers confirm that 'Operation Flashlight' has been initiated. So how did it go so wrong? And why was this man named Zack the sole survivor? On the surface, the movie deals with Zack's attempts to find other humans that may have survived, while enjoying the wealth and recklessness he can experience by having everything to himself. After brief insanity over his isolation, Zack straightens himself out to study where this project went wrong, and study the effects it may still be causing to time and space on the planet, if not the whole universe. And then a young woman appears. Happy to find another living being, the two set out to find more. And come across a macho native Mari. Needless to say, jealousy and contempt soon follow for the three, while at the same time effects from this mass project may eradicate them and the rest of the universe as well. As a romantic drama, with a little bit of sci-fi thrown in, it's not a bad movie. But on a deeper level dealing with psychological fantasy and/or insanity, the movie is more lasting. Are any of these characters really 'alive', or did they bring the others into the fold due to desperation and atonement? Is 'purity' that pure? Is 'savage' that savage? Can we ever live by ourselves with the choices we make and God's will around us? On that level, the movie bodes much better. It doesn't answer things any clearer, but makes the viewer think more for longer after. And I think that's why it has such staying power to this day.

Top Kiwi actor Bruno Lawrence ("Smash Palace", "Utu") stars in this post-apocalypse drama as Zac Hobson, a government scientist who awakens early one morning to find an utterly decimated New Zealand. This may have something to do with the multinational project on which he was working. He seems to be the last human standing, and for months he deals with loneliness by doing anything he takes a notion to do. I mean, what the Hell? He's now got tons of freedom. His existence is then thrown for a loop when he encounters two survivors: first, a beautiful young woman named Joanne (Alison Routledge), and later, an intense Maori trucker named Api (Pete Smith).This addition by New Zealand to the entire post-apocalypse genre is not all that satisfying at the end, but if it's true that the writers didn't quite know how to end this thing, it only adds a level of interest by not providing neat and easy answers. Viewers can interpret it how they will. And getting there is an entertaining journey. For about 36 minutes, Lawrence is the only living human on screen, and he makes Zac an easy character to root for. You can't blame him for the various wacky things he does in order to keep his sanity. And when he meets Joanne, and then Api, it does complicate things in believable enough ways.Give credit to director Geoff Murphy and company for their creations of the deserted and forlorn environments. They really do master the illusion of a world without individuals. The pace is deliberate, and for the most part their film lives up to the word "quiet". This is subtle, character-driven stuff, not for folks who'd prefer the thrills of something like "Mad Max".Our three main actors are engaging, especially Lawrence, who keeps you watching through the opening third. Lawrence also scripted (with producer Sam Pillsbury, and Bill Baer), based on the novel by Craig Harrison.This is worth a look-see if you're a fan of this genre and are searching for its less well known entries.Seven out of 10.

I cant believe I'd never heard of this before, and it took so much digging around to find! A nice, original, apocalypse movie, about the last man on earth. It captures the loneliness so well, but doesn't overdo it. My only complaint might be its management of time. It feels like the time it takes for things to get a little odd might be a bit short, and so, while in hindsight I realise there probably was a gap, while watching it I felt a little like it just tried to skip the slow progression to it. To avoid spoilers, I'll tell that that by a little odd, I don't mean a shift in the plot. I mean for the affects of loneliness to take its toll. And to top it all off, an amazing OST to match. I really cannot recommend this movie more, and it is terribly underrated.

I believe I'm now the third reviewer (here on IMDb) who caught this film at the old, wonderful Balboa Theater back in 1985. I haven't viewed the film since and, not being a sci-fi fan, I don't believe that I'm qualified to say if it's among the best of the genre; however, I still have strong memories of enjoying this production and of it being very entertaining. In other words, it grabbed my attention quickly and kept it throughout via an intriguing and beguiling storyline. Too bad that old theater is long gone--they showed so many terrific art-house and classic films (but that's another story for another time). "The Quiet Earth" is definitely worth a look-see.