Prolific director Ruggero Deodato followed up his 1980 slice of cinematic horror sadism House on the Edge of the Park with this multi-genre hodge podge in 1983 - The Raiders of Atlantis aka The Atlantis Interceptors, I Predatori di Atlantide and Atlantis Inferno.
Copping ideas from films such as Escape From NY, The Road Warrior, First Blood, Raiders of the Lost Ark, etc.; this film exudes a beautifully watchable cheese factor. Along with the oddly infectious disco theme song, the gaping plot holes also add to the viewing fun as do the threadbare special effects and miniatures.
Christopher Connelly (Manhattan Baby, 1990: The Bronx Warriors) stars alongside some other actors familiar to Italian lensed exploitation films such as: Tony King (Tiger Joe, The Last Hunter, Cannibal Apocalypse), Ivan Rassimov (Jungle Holocaust, Emanuelle Around the World), George Hilton (The Case of the Bloody Iris, A Bullet for Sandoval) as well as esteemed director/actor Michele Soavi. After the initial sci-fi set up enabling the attack of the Atlantean bad guys (lead by the surrealistically attired Crystal Skull) our band of survivors put on a Rio Bravo style series of last stands, out numbered and out gunned.
Unavailable on dvd, I've enjoyed many viewings of my trusty vhs copy. A search of the web illuminated CyprusCorners posting of the film on Youtube in multiple parts. My thanks for this and I've included the following for curious fans of the bizarre in the world of movies.
12" single for the opening track
Guido & Maurizio De Angelis - Black Inferno (1983)
alternate opening
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Cool, man. I'll be doing a review of this for Cinema de Bizarre in the very near future.
ReplyDeleteNice, I'll def. check out your review. Always enjoyed this out there action flick with an identity crisis.
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