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Blu-Ray : Recommended
Ranking:
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Release Date: March 3rd, 2015 Movie Release Year: 1983

Exterminators of the Year 3000

Overview -

In a post-apocalyptic future where the earth is a desert and water is the most precious substance of all, a band of survivors must turn to a mysterious stranger to battle a ruthless gang of motorcycle psychos for control of the wasteland and the water. A glorious crash of guns, nuclear fallout, and synthesizers make this a must-see for anyone who’s been longing for the day in which they can finally get beyond Thunderdome.

OVERALL:
Recommended
Rating Breakdown
STORY
VIDEO
AUDIO
SPECIAL FEATURES
Tech Specs & Release Details
Technical Specs:
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Video Resolution/Codec:
1080p MPEG-4 AVC
Length:
103
Aspect Ratio(s):
1.85:1
Audio Formats:
English 1.0 DTS-HD MA
Subtitles/Captions:
English
Special Features:
TV Spots
Release Date:
March 3rd, 2015

Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take

Ranking:

It's movies like 'Exterminators of the Year 300' that make watching films at midnight with your friends worth while. You're able to bask in the cheese, laugh, drink, and enjoy all the cheap stunts, bad acting, and cheesy story lines that come with this film. The poster art alone shows just how awesome this movie can be with big guns, a futuristic cityscape in the background, and the title that says it's the year 3000. Everything about that description makes me want to watch this movie again, so I can have a good laugh, because this film doesn't really feature any of that.

'Exterminators of the Year 3000' is an Italian film that is basically the same movie as 'The Road Warrior'. I could definitely see the Italian director Giuliano Carnimeo or as he's billed here as Jules Harrison, watched 'Mad Max 2' and it blew his mind. Following his mind being blown, he probably called his friend, drew a picture of what he saw with a piece of dialogue and went to local businesses asking for money to make his version of what he saw in 'The Road Warrior'. The few dollars he did collect, made 'Exterminators of the Year 3000'.

Shot overseas with a mix of actors who spoke English, Italian, or Spanish, and with some heavy duty reinforced vehicles hellbent on crashing into each other, this film was born, never to be seen or heard from anyone until now. The year is 3000, but you'd never know it, because the vehicles are from the late 70s and it's filmed in the middle of the desert. So much for that futuristic city from the poster, right? The world is a dried up, sandy hell hole where the hottest commodity that everyone is after is good old fashioned water.

A group of survivors including a blonde chick and young boy with a special yet violent talent, meet a mysterious loner to try and find water while destroying a vicious gang led by a guy named Crazy Bull. And that's all there really is to this film. Every story line and character is straight from 'The Road Warrior', but 'Exterminators' doesn't seem to mind that it's the same film, just done on a much lower level. I will say that it's great to always see an action film all done with practical effects when vehicles are concerned. The crash are real, big, and done pretty well, considering the type of film this is.

The acting is so atrocious, it's highly entertaining and keeps you laughing throughout. Even the costumes were modeled after 'Mad Max 2'. But that's what make this film so much fun. It just doesn't care and has the cojones to not be afraid to be so bad, it's good. 'Exterminators of the Year 300' is certainly not a good film, but it might be the perfect movie to watch with some good friends with a few drinks late at night.

Video Review

Ranking:

'Exterminators of the Year 300' comes with a decent 1080p HD transfer presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio. This film is from 1983, so this already has more than thirty years under its belt. You can also add the extremely low budget, and poor source material for this transfer not being the crystal clear look of a modern movie. That being said, Scream Factory has done a fantastic job upgrading this image to Blu-ray. Detail is fairly sharp and vivid, specifically in closeups. While it won't showcase every individual hair or stitch in the post-apocalyptic costumes, you'll be able to make out the makeup up blemishes, sweat beads, and individual scuff marks on each vehicle. Wider shots tend to get softer and murkier. The darker lit scenes especially have a lot of fuzz still.

Colors look better, but seem a bit washed out with nothing really popping off screen to brightly. Skin tones are as natural as they're going to get and the black levels are deep and inky to a point, where on a few instances, crush is an issue. There is a nice layer of grain, keeping  up with this filmic and low budget quality, but there are no big compression issues really to speak of. Dirt and debris are very minor if at all, and there were no instances of any major banding or aliasing either, leaving this video presentation with some solid marks.

Audio Review

Ranking:

This release comes with a decent, if not hilarious audio track in an English DTS-HD mono mix. So off the bat, some of the actors spoke English, others spoke Italian, and others spoke Spanish. This being an Italian film, I wish there was an Italian track, but unfortunately, we have the English dubbed version. So expect tons of bad dubbed lines where the dialogue and lip movements do not match. Add insult to injury as there are no subtitles. So you're on your own. Since this is like a low budget Italian 'Mad Max' film, you'd expect the sound field to be dynamic, loud, robust, and explosive. That is not the case here.

Sure, there are some loud moments, particularly during the heavier action scenes and chases, but with the lack of surrounds and bass, this audio track just doesn't pack the punch it deserves. Dialogue is mostly clear and easy to follow, and is free of any pops, cracks, hiss, and shrills. Sound effects don't sound realistic and do not have the dynamic range of the highs and lows to rumble the walls. Instead, we just have loud ambient noises and sound effects with no layering or directionality really. This audio mix does the job, but it never gives you that extra push you want.

Special Features

Ranking:

Audio Commentary - Actor Robert Iannucci delivers an interesting commentary where he discusses what it was like to make the film back in 1983. He talks about his character, filming on set, and working with actors who didn't know English. He gives some fun information and anecdotes from filming thirty years ago.

Interview with Robert Iannucci (HD, 18 Mins.) - Here is an interview from a few years ago with the actor who played Alien who talks about his time on set during the film shoot. He is pretty candid about everything, which is nice, making this extra worth watching if you were a fan of the film.

Trailers (HD, 5 Mins.) - A couple of trailers for the film.

'Exterminators of the Year 3000' is by no means a good movie. In fact, it's down right bad on almost every level, with the exception that there are some pretty impressive practical stunts and effects. There is no CG here. This is a film for movie-buffs who love something so bad, it's good, and can enjoy the low end of filmmaking and have a good laugh at it. The video is great, but the audio isn't perfect. And the commentary and interview are both worth watching for some hilarious and brutally honest information. This release from Scream Factory is recommended!