THE STORY: This movie is a giant rip-off of Escape from New York. Really. As long as you can accept that fact its a relatively painless experience. Hell, most b-movie lovers won't flinch knowing that. Even as I watched it and thought to myself "This movie is kind of like Escape From New York." another thought...nay, a question was alive in my mind, concerning the actor that played the hero...it was "Where the hell have I seen this dude before?".

Its the future....the year 2020 and we're in Los Angeles. Former cop Anthony Ricks is being executed. Don't ask me why, the most I can garner is that he "let some wetbacks escape" as his former boss, Wynorski explains. For some reason Wynorski has a Russian accent. I must have missed the part where they explain that the Russians have taken over LA or that LA in the future is recruiting Russian military guys to run the city. But the execution is faked. Wynorski has other plans for Ricks.

Just like EFNY the powers that be have herded all of the criminals and undesirables into a section of the city called "The Crime Zone". (Zone for short) But Ironhead, a criminal madman in the zone has taken power and with the help of another prisoner called the Wizard, he's developed a biological weapon. Naturally he threatens to unleash the weapon on the populace of LA if he demands aren't met. (I can't even remember what he wanted, and I didn't write it down...trust me its immaterial to the rest of the movie) If the police try to come into the zone, Ironhead will use the virus on the city. Wynorski arranges for Ricks to be sent to zone and dispose of the weapon so the authorities can storm the place. Ricks is also given a timer thingie tied to his ankle...he has 48 hours to accomplish this mission and receive a full pardon. If he fails Wynorski will nuke the place. (Damn!)

Ricks gets into the zone and hooks up with plucky female inmate, Darla. Darla is first seen wearing a top that lets you just know that you're gonna see her boobs somewhere in the film. Then they have a lot adventures with other criminal strongmen in the zone before ultimately getting to Ironhead; notably a guy called Juice because he likes to electrocute his prisoners and a religious sect that practices cannibalism. When they finally get to Ironhead and the Wizard I was praying for the movie to end. Ironhead was actually annoying. I know they wanted to make it look like he was a crazy man with few if any scruples, but he was so insane I can't see how he could have gained power. Anyone with a few brain cells could have usurped power from him. As it turns out Ironhead kills himself by accidentally drinking a vial of the virus when he thought it was the antidote. Which is precisely the same way that Ricks kills Wynorski. Yeah, Wynorski planned to kill him and when he arrives on the scene Ricks fires the biological weapon missile into LA and tells Wynorski he'd better start handing out the antidote or lotsa people will die. He then gives him a vial which Wynorski drinks and then dies because it was actually the virus. Some hero....what happened to the millions of people in LA that are going to die?

I don't know...maybe Ricks tricked him and the missile didn't have any virus payload. I don't know and it wasn't explained clearly....and I watched this TWICE, which was about all I could take. Then again, Ricks action seems like something Snake Plissken would have done and this movie does rip of EFNY.

While I'm pretty tolerant of cheap Post apocalypse b-movies...even really bad ones...this one got under my skin. It had some interesting moments but in the end I was a little put off. I guess its because the ending was so anti-exciting it negated anything else in the movie that was interesting (and there wasn't a lot of that) or worthy of note. Oh, and Ricks...it was actor Ross Rossovich...and I recognized him as the slimy lawyer cum coven leader in Spellbinder. Darla was Sherrie Rose...and yes, you will see her tits for a second or so. Wynorski was Stacey Keach.

Best Lines: "Why, because you [unwrite]ed me?"-  Darla's response to Ricks when he tells her things will changed right after they have sex.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? :

1.) Since I'm watching this movie before the Election 2000 conundrum has been solved I'm making a prediction....BUSH WINS! (I'll be as shocked as you if this prediction proves wrong!) Because the laws in 2020 are pretty [unwrite]ed up when it comes to execution! Keach comes in to the execution chamber and taunts him about his impending death! Geez! And the gas chamber is huge! Huge, I tells ya! Wouldn't a smaller room be better? It would take less gas to kill a guy!

2.) Wait a damn minute...Wynorski sounds Russian or like he's Dracula's little brother. Now, I don't have a problem with that. But why does he sound Russian? Is there a reason? Since he's played by Stacey Keach I was waiting for an answer to that question but none was forthcoming. I guess Keach was just practicing his accents.

3.) Darla tells Ricks that the authorities routinely drop guns and ammo into the zone hoping that the inhabitants will just kill each other. Why not just execute them? Obviously laws are super draconian in this twisted future! A woman and a baby are thrown into the zone! It makes no sense! Didn't anyone think that putting a bunch of hardened criminals into a sectioned off part of the city would be inviting trouble? If they're willing to throw a woman with a BABY in there why not just execute criminals and save themselves the trouble. (and what the hell could the baby have done wrong?)

4.) No one said they dropped food into the zone routinely. Hell, there's a sect of cannibals! So what does everyone else eat? If anyone knows the answer please email me...how long do canned goods stay good?

5.) So they have cars, drugs and gasoline in the zone, but no electricity? (Juice apparently owns the only generator) And no laws? Where are they getting the gasoline? Do the cops drop fuel in also?

NUDITY AND SEX:  Ricks and Darla have sex. Naturally you see Darla's gazongas.

HUH? : At one point Darla has a...thing...on that's so tight you can see her buttcheeks as she walks. Yeah, I'd wear that if I was a woman trapped in a zone of crazy pyscho criminals.

The authorities are willing to NUKE the zone if Ricks doesn't succeed? NUKE it? Holey Shmoley! Wouldn't a nuke be as bad as the virus? Were they planning on using a small nuke or something? Who authorized that? Nuking an American city just to stop one crazy man?

Why are all futuristic crimelords psycho guys? Why? I don't get it. I can see how a psycho guy with brains and charisma could be a leader, but most of the ones you see in the movies are so completely crazy there no way you can buy it. Ironhead is a nut. Straight up. He acts nutty, talks gibberish and shows absolutely no skills in leadership or anything else. Take Odin from the movie Jungleground...he wasn't as crazy, but he was a wimp! My wife could have beat him up! Or Kay from Solar Force! He was a nut, not too smart and he damn sure didn't look all that tough. At least the villains in the Postman and The Road Warrior seemed intelligent enough to have seized power.

THE FINAL JUDGMENT: If you're not a big fan of post apocalypse movies stay away...for that matter if you're a big fan of Escape From New York and hate to see it ripped off, stay away. This movie is really only fit for fans of B-movies that can withstand travesties like this one. As for the Inferno, we award it two devils. Ok enough for a diversion or a laugh, but not much more than that...and only if you really like apocalyptic b-movies.