Damnation Alley

Scarecrow-88

A series of adventures following US Air Force soldiers Jan-Michael Vincent & George Peppard(and Paul Winfield for a while)as they must leave a military installation destroyed after cigarette ash ignited leaking gas, hoping to find support across the country in Albany, NY. The earth has become thrown off it's axis thanks in part to a nuclear war where America tries to avert a cataclysmic disaster after a warring country fired missiles towards the United States. They encounter a woman in Vegas(Dominique Sanda)and a kid not long after(Jackie Earle Haley)as they journey to their destination. Along the way, the group come across giant Scorpions(bad, bad, bad special effects, even terrible by 70's standards including what appeared to be a woman riding with Vincent as he must evade the creatures, obviously an actress, later proved to be a mannequin and this effect is never convincing), flesh-eating beetles(poor Winfield doesn't come out so great), radioactively diseased humans with malicious intent, and a devastating storm which causes a giant washout as Peppard attempts to find parts in a Detroit auto graveyard. The military tank van is rad, and it's cool hanging with Peppard and Vincent for 90 minutes, so DAMNATION ALLEY wasn't too difficult to endure. It lags in places because the crew must drive for long periods, and the low budget hurts more than helps at times in the special effects. You could say this was an early audition role for Peppard's A-Team role, as his commander in charge, is mostly in control..of course, Vincent's hot shot daredevil can't help himself sometimes, especially when he hops on his motorcycle.

score 6/10

Scarecrow-88 22 May 2010

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2253574/