Exterminators of the year 3000 (1983)

Here is a movie that is far more entertaining than it really is supposed to - an Italian Road warrior clone that is so low budget that you never get any sense of it being set in a postapocalyptic world, just the spanish desert with a burned out car or two. Everything in the movie is basically lifted straight out of the Australian original but you really cant hate a movie like this. I felt a strange enjoyment, even more than when I watched the other movies from the same era, all of which are more violent and full of exploitation. One of the reasons for that might be that the director, Giuliano Carnimeo, did a shitload of westerns back in the sixties and that is the general feel of Exterminators. Also, you have to love any movie by the director of the sleaze masterpiece Ratman. You have to.

We have the honour of following hardcore survivor Alien as he trudges to the remains of the world, has his car stolen (which he stole from the local evil gang himself) and is forced to help a young kid retrieve water. You see, it is lack of water instead of gasolin that separates this movie from Road warrior and the bad guys want it. Alien himself wants the water all for himself but you know he will have a heart in the end. Cheap battles straight out of Road warrior are fought, mutants are revealed and we get a Deus Ex Machina ending that is more idiotic than the ending of Star Crystal. But it only adds to the enjoyment. Oh, there is also a cyborg kid, played by the kid from City of the living dead. The first time I saw the poster of this movie I thought he was a woman.

Yes, Exterminators of the year 3000 is nothing more than an average movie, but it is still entertaining as hell if you are in the right mood. You get the standard electronic krautrock/synthdisco score, tons of bad dubbing, a bit of gratitous violence and lots of cars driving around in circles. You cant help but to love it.

Oh, do yourself a favour and buy the Code Red dvd. It is full frame (For some reason the distributor only had that print) but perfectly watchable. The coolest thing about it is a commentarytrack and a filmed interview from star Robert Iannucci who played Alien and if you want to get a good, entertaining look into how the italians made their exploitation ripoffs, this is good stuff indeed.