Mad Max ushered in a new era of film with the advent of the post-apocalyptic sub-genre. During the ’80s and early ’90s, these things were popping up everywhere. Movies like 2019: After the Fall of New York, Equalizer 2000, Wheels of Fire, and lots more. There’s even a pretty solid book on the subject called World Gone Wild: A Survivor’s Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Movies written by my friend David J. Moore. It goes in-depth with interviews with actors and filmmakers, giving the reader a comprehensive look into the genre. It even includes a bit on the film Land of Doom (1986), directed by Peter Maris.
The film is set in the 21st century after the Final War left the Earth in disrepair. Pollution and disease run rampant and human life is a rarity. Food is hard to find and usually stolen by raiders on orders from a maniac setting out to destroy what’s left of the human race. Harmony (Deborah Rennard) is a rogue warrior who is fed up with what the world has come to and decides it’s time to fight back. She teams up with Anderson (Garrick Dowhen), who helps to lead her to the madman so she can destroy him before the rest of the world falls victim to his reign.
Land of Doom isn’t a complete disaster nor the worst entry into the genre. It’s apparent from the first frame there wasn’t much of a budget in place to properly execute the concept. Some of the acting is a bit awkward, but I enjoy watching Deborah Rennard, who steps up in the film.
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Fans of martial arts action pictures might remember Rennard as the head of the underground fight club in the Jean-Claude Van Damme classic Lionheart. She and Dowhen lack chemistry, but they make it work. While the film lacks a bit in action, the set pieces Maris pulls off are decent. A movie like this can be elevated by the music, and Mark Governor’s score does exactly what it should. With little to spend on production design, at least some of that cash went to the motorcycles, which turned out pretty slick.
There’s only so much that can be done to save a disaster of a film, and Peter Maris did all he could to save Land of Doom. While I don’t think he made a particularly good film, it does have some merit, including the score, production design, and memorable cover art. The disc from Scorpion Releasing features a beautiful transfer, a new interview with star Deborah Rennard, and the original trailer. It is a bit light on the special features, but it’s a miracle a film like this is even given the opportunity to be released on a next-gen platform, so it’s not worth being fickle over it.
