AKA: After Crisis

Tag line : Not Everyone Will Make It!

A junior Govt Minister (Jonathan Moore) gets wind of a terrorist bomb plot, so high tails it out of London and heads over to this old Govt Nuclear Bunker which has just been re-commissioned by the military. Having grabbed some female American diplomat on the way (Claire Spence), they arrive just as the bomb goes off and levels half of London. Sealing themselves inside, the survivors, which includes a small group of soldiers and the family members of some other politician, resign themselves to a lengthy wait, hoping that help comes before the supplies and the generator runs out.

But it seems there's something nasty lurking outside in the fallout. A couple of soldiers go outside to check the radio mast, only to get viciously attacked. Also, something rather large seems to be banging against the internal blast doors and it seems that something else may have come down the ventilation shaft and is now in the bunker with them. Realising that there is more to worry about than just radiation, the group are forced to band together to fend off whatever it is that's trying to get in.

Filmed at a genuine former Govt Nuclear Bunker, whilst the film had a lot of potential, sadly it turns out to be a prime example of a good idea poorly done. It starts off as a kind-of post apocalyptic thriller about a small group of survivors coming to terms with their situation, but then descends into like a toxic zombie/slasher film towards the end. Both concepts are fine if properly done, but the script seemed to suffer terribly, both from plot holes and huge gaps in logic.

For example, if there's something nasty outside that's just wiped out several heavily armed soldiers, what use is sending an unarmed woman out there to try and find help? Even if she does manage to avoid whatever's out there, where's she going to go? Nearby London is a nuclear wasteland, and she's in the middle of nowhere. It's not like she can just pop to the nearby phone box and dial 999.  Also, for a cast that appears to be largely made up of working TV actors, hardly anyone seems to know how to act.

Plus there's the somewhat abrupt ending, which looked like there should have been at least a couple more scenes beforehand, as it leaves a quite a few questions unanswered about what had been going on outside. Though I really can't go into more details without spoiling the plot. The film was by Jonathan Glendening, who also directed "Strippers Vs Werewolves", which suffered from similar problems. Overall, I'd say this was a bit of a disappointment, which is a great pity as this could have been a really interesting movie. Worth a watch perhaps if you like post-apocalyptic films.

Overall Marks : 3.5/10.

Terrifying Trivia.

• The film was shot in just 2 weeks.

• First European feature film to be shot on the Sony EX 1 HD Camera.

• The film's budget was a mere £400,000.

• Gary Mavers, who played Flight Lt Sweeney, previously starred in the British TV series "Casualty" and "Peak Practice".

• The movie was shot almost entirely at the former Nuclear Bunker at Kelvedon Hatch in Essex, which was one of many former Govt Bunkers decommissioned at the end of the cold war in the mid 90's. This particular one is open to the public as a museum and can be viewed most days.

• The film was retitled "After Crisis" for its Japanese release.

• The "check point" at the approach road to the bunker was actually filmed outside the nearby paintball centre, which is located on the same entrance road.

• Tom Cotcher, who plays Sgt Jones the engineer, used to play DC Woods in "The Bill".

Cast & Crew.

Buy the UK DVD

Buy the US DVD [not available]

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