Neon City (1991)

 

Neon City

You can watch this one for free over on Tubi or, if you really feel like it, you can pick up the Blu-Ray over on Amazon. 

This foray into post apocalypse film is an interesting treat. Mainly just because of some of the cast we have here. We have the always dependable Michael Ironside, then there is Vanity who has never been in what we would call a ‘good’ movie, Juliet Landau in a post Buffy appearance, oh Richard Sanders is here so nice to see Les Nessman working, then finally we have the walking wall himself Lyle Azlado. I mean how could you not watch this film with this line up. Okay, you could very easily not watch this film which is what so many others have done. But here I am, watching it.

Now one interesting thing is they don’t use your normal run of the mill nuclear apocalypse in this one. As the move goes on you find out we are in an environmental apocalypse. A real 80’s/90’s one which involved the ozone lair and air pollution. Something a bit different there. Taking place in “North America, Western Federation 2053 A.D.” so at least we don’t have the problem of the current year having caught up to this tale of the future.

The film opens with the usual credits and somebody riding a bike across the flattest land that I’ve seen in a while. Is this Kansas? Did they film this in Kansas? All with that wonderful background music that you just know you’ve heard someplace else and the red filter on the lens.

Soon we get to meet all the characters. Harry Stark (Ironside) a gruff ex-ranger who has dark past filled with loss. Reno (Vanity) a gruff convict on the run who has a dark past filled with loss. Dickie Devine (Nessman, I mean Sanders) a comedian/magician who has a dark secret about what he sells on the side. Bulk (Azlado) a big lovable bear of a man who has a dark past with Stark. Twink (Landau) a spoiled rich girl with a shiny happy past filled with zero loss. Plus several others. Most with dark pasts of some sort. Except Twink, she is dark free, which is really opposite of the role Landau is most known for.

Basic plot is basic. They are traveling across Damnation Alley… I mean across post apocalypse USA from one city that is trash to another less trashed city called ‘Neon City’ in a big ole’ fancied up camper truck. Mostly driving across what looks like Kansas during the winter, until there are suddenly hills out of nowhere for them to do things near. Many times I’m wondering if they used the pile of trash sets left over from the background of Spacehunter. But Max… I mean Stark continues on leading his band of intrepid travelers onward.

We get a good dose of how terrible things are when you can get ‘bye bye bags’ which are just jars of poison so you can kill yourself to escape the terrible things that have happened to you. Killer environment effects called ‘brights’ that can pop up out of nowhere during the day and cook you. A gang of scumbags that kills everyone else. But the roads seem to be in decent shape under the snow as this fancied up Winnebago plows along. Going from location to location to either kill things or have an awkward sex scene right in the middle of whatever the hell is going on.

The dialogue in some spots is a bit cringe and just dumb. Early on they use a lot of drunk cam for action scenes so you can’t see what the hell is going on. Acting is decent enough but nothing to write home about. Ironsides, as usual, does more acting with his facial expressions and forehead than anything else. But all in all this does rate slightly above most 90’s scifi post apocalypse fare.

All in all it was a fun to watch bad movie. Nothing great to write your parents about. I just wish Les would have survived, but I guess a bullet was more deadly than the WKRP Turkey Drop. Do I recommend it? Well yes, but don’t pay to watch it and don’t make time in a busy schedule to watch it either. But if you’re bored and got some time to kill then this makes a great filler.

"Don't forget to get my most important acting asset into the shot, my forehead."