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The Quiet Earth is a film that sneaks up on you, a slow paced post apocalyptic sci-fi film from New Zealand that has left a lasting impression on many who have watched it. Directed by Geoff Murphy, who went on to be the 2nd Unit Director on the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, under the famous New Zealand film director Peter Jackson.
Based loosely on the 1981 sci-fi novel of the same name by Craig Harrison, the movie has also been compared to the 1959 post apocalyptic sci-fi The World, The Flesh And The Devil. Which also featured only three cast members, strikingly similar to those in The Quiet Earth. Leading some to describe it as an unofficial remake. Scientist Zac Hobson awakens to a world where everyone seems to have disappeared. Eventually coming upon two other survivors, they set-out to try and discover what happened to everyone else. Zac believing it has something to do with an experiment he was working on called Project Flashlight, that may have caused something he calls The Effect. |
The Quiet Earth is sci-fi in the tradition of serious, thought provoking and philosophically driven sci-fi of the 70s. Here there are no aliens, no big special effects, no clever bells and whistles. Just simple story telling, exploring the loneliness of psychological effects of being the last humans on the planet.
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A film of two halves. As initially the first half explores Zac's spiral into madness, as he believes himself to be the last man on Earth. Blaming himself for causing the disappearance of all teh people. Then he meets the other two survivors, and the film becomes one of human relationships, between three people from different walks of life thrown together by circumstance. With a cleverly conceived ending that is confusing and mind-bending, leaving some viewers in stunned silence as the credits roll.
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