Oct 051967
 
toxic

After a nuclear war, two brothers, an alcoholic rancher, a criminal, and a stripper, stumble upon the home of a survivalist and his daughter in a valley that’s been protected from radiation by “an updraft.”  One of the brothers, a heroic geologist (Paul Petersen), is romantically drawn to the daughter and frightened that his brother is becoming one of the mutants that live in the mists.

The effects of radiation are severe and difficult for us pre-apocalyptic types to comprehend.  For instance, did you have any idea that it would force someone to put on a rubber mask and run around in the woods?  Apparently it does.  It also causes people to believe it is 2889 when it is obviously 1967.  On the plus side, it keeps white pants sparkling clean, even after months of unwashed wear.

But we can learn all these things and more by watching In the Year 2889, a remake of Roger Corman’s 1956 Day the World Ended.  Now take a minute to dwell on this: AIP and schlockmeister Larry Buchanan made a lower budget version of a low budget Roger Corman film.  Corman’s claim to fame is his ability to make movies with very little cash, and in ’56, he didn’t have enough funds for even his financial wand-waving to make much of a film.  Less money in the hands of a less talented filmmaker was hardly the way to go.  But then Buchanan, whose oeuvre includes The Eye Creatures and Mars Needs Women, would only have been confused by an adequate budget.

So, cheaply shot, with minimal camera movement and echoing sound recording, In the Year 2889 isn’t going to thrill with its professionalism.  How about its exciting story?  Well, it sets up potential threats in the form of radiation poisoning and mutants, and then follows through with neither.  Apparently the environment cleans up after a few months, which is helpful as the survivalist ex-captain didn’t see fit to horde food.  The mutants run around hunting rabbits, but otherwise bother our survivors only by telepathically calling out to one babe, and innocently carrying her around for a minute.

So, where does the conflict come from in this talkathon?  Well, primarily it doesn’t.  The criminal keeps trying to get into the store room and molest the daughter (in that order), but he doesn’t try very hard, and no one is all that upset about it.

The real problem for these few remaining humans is where to find quality hair products.  The heroic Steve, played cheerfully by ex-mousketeer Paul Petersen, uses a lot of hair gel to keep that wet look, and that’s got to be a drain after the world has been destroyed.  Owning only one outfit (he never changes from his always-gleaming white slacks and burgundy shirt) saves some room for hair accessories, but without some definite plan, eventually, he will reach a state where his hair might move.  That will be a dark day indeed.

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