ShillingSide I saw this in passing and thought "How did I miss THAT one?" I've seen great movies on the topic - Threads (amazing), Testament, even the cliche The Day After... so it seemed a treat to find this.Boy was I wrong. After "meeting" all the characters, I wanted the bombs or the radiation to win. Every single character - kids included - is repellent and detestable. Seriously, I wished I had pompoms and a "Go Nukes Go!" T-shirt on.The beginning is a lot of unlikable people all hearing news about an impending war with the Soviet Union in the Gulf. SUPPOSEDLY they're all in some sort of "Nuclear War Survival Club" or something, but it's clear from the get-go none of them have a clue what that means. They actually think that "KEEP OUT" signs are a good first defense. Then they have their entire system based on a computer (apparently EMPs were unknown then and TRS-80s with thousands of disks were thought to be Pentagon-esque). Cliches galore. Rednecks, non-veteran leader with delusions he's a general... at the first news report of explosions in the gulf - DAYS before the EBS goes on - the rednecks start to rape & pillage. News reports talk about "random looting" but everyone is evacuating in an orderly, nonchalant manner.I won't go into every sordid detail. it's just drekscheisse. THREE OUTSTANDINGLY AWFUL THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR: The "comic relief" buddy. Bobcat Goldthwaite. The kids at the end holding hands & surrounding a dead man after saying how much they hate war. Yes, it's THAT excrementally bad.Get some drinks, snacks, and snarky friends & have a Riff Party for this dog.

EyeAskance A group of survivalists hole-up in a backwoods cabin, braced for an impending nuclear attack. Meanwhile, their children are trying desperately to join them, facing car troubles along the way.There are plenty of nuclear war films out there...put this one at the bottom of your "see list". This poorly written low-budget film strives for the same subdued bleakness that made TESTAMENT a powerful experience...the result is a dull soap opera of tawdry interpersonal dilemmas with a World War III back-story. With subject matter as serious as this, MASSIVE RETALIATION should be a rough punch in the gut...sadly, it just tickles your ass with a feather.3.5/10 - not recommended.

revsolly When I saw this movie, I couldn't believe that any self-respecting producer would waste the money. The action is silly. The youth of the movie are portrayed as smart-mouth and not worth the saving (an outgrowth of the scriptwriter's own view of children). The cast list tells you all you need to know when you see Peter Donat, Jason Gedrick and Bob Goldthwait all in the same movie.I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the portrayal of the survivalists. It is typical of Hollywood's view of people other than those in their own inner circle.If you must see a nuclear disaster movie, this is not it. You'd be much better off seeing "Miracle Mile" with Anthony Edwards, or "On the Beach".

binnione *(SOME SPOILERS!)*This film is one of the slew of nuclear films which seemed to be regular staples at the video shop in the 80s. It's nowhere near as bad as drivel like Legend of the Rollerblade 7 or Hell Comes to Frogtown, but it's still doesn't come close to the quality of films like Miracle Mile or the very serious films Threads and The Day After.Avoiding the common 'fight for survival after the bomb' trap it starts in a reasonably promising fashion. A group of neighbours plan a weekend away at their rural retreat, but just before they're due to set off an international crisis sparks fears of a full scale nuclear war. Lucky for them they are survivalists and their holiday home contains enough supplies and firepower to get them through the crisis. For about 40 minutes the tension is built up reasonably well and all the hints about which characters are going to turn into cliched survivalist nuts are done pretty well. Then suddenly it all starts to descend into cliche and platitudes - the final scene is a terrible cliche and anti-climax: The war is averted, but the groups of armed nuts won't believe it and continue to fight - this is only halted by a group of children linking arms to surround one group of adults and bring the shooting to an end. It's a pretty awful ending after a vaguely promising start. That said, they are numerous worse nuclear films than this one. If you want to see this done better and much earlier, check out Ray Milland's 1962 film 'Panic in the Year Zero' which has an almost identical plot but is so so much better.