Just imagine: you wake up one morning to find that every other human being on the planet has vanished. Gone! Everybody! You are, quite literally, alone in the world. What would you do? Well, I know what I would do, dress up like Elsa from Frozen and eat cold pea-soup on top of the Empire State building. But that’s just me.
So, meet Zac Hobson. He’s the protagonist of this small 1985 New Zealand movie, played by Bruno Lawrence. Zac is a scientist working on “Project Flashlight,” an experiment intended to create a global wireless energy grid. After finding his city completely deserted, he returns to his lab, where he discovers the body of his superior and a final message: “Operation Flashlight Complete.” It seems the mass disappearance coincided with the experiment — something Zac later calls “The Effect.”
Completely alone, Zac gradually drifts into madness: he moves into a mansion, starts wearing a nightgown, addresses cardboard cutouts of world leaders in the garden, declares himself “President of this Quiet Earth,” and indulges in destructive impulses before briefly regaining clarity.
Eventually, he encounters two other survivors: Joanne and Api. They discover that they each survived because they were on the verge of death when The Effect occurred. As the three form a complicated relationship, Zac notices that physical constants in the universe are destabilizing, threatening the Earth and the Sun. They decide to destroy the still-active Flashlight grid — but the attempt has devastating consequences.
The Quiet Earth is a strange little indie directed by Geoff Murphy (later known for films like Young Guns II and Spooked), loosely based on the novel of the same name by Craig Harrison. Alongside Bruno Lawrence, Alison Routledge and Pete Smith deliver strong performances. It’s clearly made on a low budget, but without looking cheap. A quirky mix of dark humor, psychological tension, and speculative sci-fi. Its exploration of isolation, madness, and human fragility has earned it a devoted cult following over the years.
A great little film. I liked it a lot. Find it for free on YouTube.
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