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The Final Executioner (1984)

Dir: Romolo Guerrieri

Another entry in the short-lived ‘Euro Post Apocalyptic/Bleak Future’ boom of the 80’s, “The Final Executioner” takes place after a devastating nuclear conflict where we find that society has split into two factions; The uncontaminated live in sheltered comfort, while the contaminated are exiled to the wasteland to be used as sport for hunters, so as the possibility of newborn contaminated humans is kept under control.

Scientist Alan Tanner (William Mang) finds out that in fact the contamination has now gone, and that the new generations are clear. But such thoughts are not welcomed by the elite and he re-classified as ‘Expendable Material’ and is thrown out into the wasteland.
Here he too is tracked by a gang of hunters, led by Erasmus (Harrison Muller, from the much better “2020 Texas Gladiators”) who is all sinister goatee beard and bouffant  hair and likes to wear a black hood mask, black leather coat and trousers (with oh so fetching silver studs), black gauntlet gloves, a rather camp white scarf and a samurai sword. His weapon of choice is a customised sniper rifle.

After a near-fatal encounter with Erasmus and his group (who don’t get on and await any opportunity to get one over on each other, and who sport bad 80’s hair and cheesy fetish ‘future’ gear) Tanner is found, and taken care of , by ex-Cop Sam (veteran Woody Strode, sadly and badly dubbed over but at the ripe old age of 70 still able to throw a wicked right hand and deliver a hefty Karate chop and kick in the guts!).
Soon we have an extended sequence of that well used ‘Old School Martial Arts’ plot of the young pupil being ruthlessly trained up by the elder Sensei as Sam trains up Alan to take revenge on the hunters….

 

A stupendously dull title sequence (rare in these films) leads into a pretty fast paced film that could (and should) have been better than it ultimately turns out to be.
The opening is ‘graced’ with lots of meaningful looks from William Mang as doomy electronic music drones away and red lights flash on him to signify something a little bit Sci-Fi is meant to be happening.
As with all these ‘shot in a quarry’ Euro efforts they are at their best when not trying to convey anything too high tech, so luckily the rest of the movie then moves (until the mansion house based finale) into the oft used locales of disused factories, dirt roads and that aforementioned quarry we have come to know and, dare I say it, love.
As the locations change the music (by Carlo de Nonno) also thankfully follows suit to the fast electro noodling we have all become familiar with in Italian Post Apocalypse flicks.

The most fun here is to found in the group of hunters who sport names like Melvin (who in one hysterical scene admires himself in multiple mirrors wearing only a tiny towel) and Lewis.
Their attitude to ‘The Contaminated’ is nicely inhuman as well, as shown when one of the hunter’s, Edra (Marina Costa) who takes her little brother off on the hunts, warns them to be careful approaching their targets, “They’ll stampede”.
Other choice dialogue include such luminary lines as “You shit face”.
Euro trash fans will be pleased to see that Margit Evelyn Newton from “Hell of the Living Dead”, as one of the hunter’s, is as eager as ever to bare her breasts and some more nudity is supplied via a rather steamy sex scene as two of the other hunter’s exchange lubrications.
A rape/murder sequence (sadly censored in my print, but a later red tinted showing of the scene, in a twisted moment where Edra’s young brother is ’viewing’ it via a head set, seems to point to a suitably sleazy experience) ups the much needed ‘nastiness’ to proceedings as this is where the film falls down.
We have a high body count with lots of violent death throes, but very little (if any) blood, and even the guys sliced by Erasmus’s sword (in slow motion no less) don’t bleed.
A bit more blood is thrown in during the extended finale as the more epic apocalyptic possibilities are left behind (as is the entire ‘the contamination is over’ idea) and replaced with a personal, small scale revenge plot.

As always we have a large amount of vehicles on show ready to be trashed, lots of dirt bikes, lots of bashing of people off said dirt bikes (in sloooow motion), lots of cars being crashed and burnt and of course a lot of time spent in those handy post apocalyptic quarries which work perfectly when you need to smash up a bit of metal and tip something over the side to go boom!

Acting is all pretty average, with nothing really sticking out, but it’s always a pleasure to see Woody Strode and he has fun during his ‘Yoda’ moments with Alan, “Lesson number one , your head must command your body at all times”. Shame about that dub though.

Romolo Guerrieri (Uncle of the real master of ‘Post Apoc’/‘Bleak Future’ flicks, Enzo G. Castellari) keeps things moving along, but the full scale of the plot is ditched for a few mini-battles and Alan’s personal vendetta and the whole enterprise really looks and feels cheap and rushed.
Nothing special, but okay for a few (very) cheap thrills and for those wanting to see as many ‘Euro Apocalypse’ flicks as possible.