April 16: Filmirage — Give in to the sleaze and write about a Joe D’Amato produced movie. There’s a list here.
Panasonic (Kiro Wehara, Thong from The Blade Master) has been sent by his master, General Electric, on a mission to protect the last place left on Earth that can create life, the Interzone. He soon meets Swan (Bruce Abbott, Re-Animator), the Max Rockatansky of this rip-off, and a slave girl named Tera (Beatrice Ring, Zombi 3). But this wouldn’t be an end of the world pastarmageddon movie without bad guys, who are led by Mantis (Teagan Clive, another obsession of mine, the bodybuilding blonde star who was also in Vice Academy Part 2, Alienator, Sinbad, Mob Boss, Obsession: A Taste for Fear, Jumpin’ Jack Flash and Armed and Dangerous. She also wrote the “Power Café” articles in Iron Man magazine, as well as episodes of Acapulco H.E.A.T. and Conan the Adventurer, plus she’s in the video for “California Girls” by David Lee Roth) and Balzaka (John Armstead, Error Fatale).
Is there a treasure to be found? Will it explain to Panasonic the truth of his name? You know it.
This was directed by Deran Sarafian, who also made The Falling, To Die For, Death Warrant, Gunmen and Terminal Velocity. A year after this, he’d be in Zombi 3. It was written by James L. Anderson and Clyde Anderson, so you may think this is an American movie. But then, there it was, produced by David Hills, who is Joe D’Amato, who is Aristide Massaccesi. And who is Clyde Anderson? Claudio Fragasso and Rossella Drudi. And is that Laura Gemser as Panasonic’s sister-in-law?
Shot outside of Rome, I learned from Matty at The Shlock Pit that Sarafian and Ring were engaged, which explains them being in Zombi 3.
This is not the best Road Warrior movie you’ll see, but you know, Teagen Clive’s interpretative dancing is all I need. I’m so easy.
Thanks for the shout out; always appreciated, coming from a fellow devotee of such fine B-movie fare!
As an aside, since writing my review of Interzone I’ve learnt that Fred Olen Ray – then on the Trans World books thanks to Commando Squad, Deep Space, and Moon in Scorpio et al – was brought in to “save” the film during editing. According to Fred himself, he details the whole shebang in his book (which, shockingly, I still haven’t picked up yet).
Anyway, all the best, pal!
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