Holocaust 2000 (Alberto De Martino, 1977)

Alberto De Martino’s Holocaust 2000 (or Rain of Fire as the other official title is) is interesting in many ways, mostly because it almost works as a sequel to The Omen – but released one year before Damien: Omen II and actually better. Oh, I like Omen 2 and 3 – I even think the made-for-TV sequel from 1991 AND the remake is highly entertaining, but Holocaust 2000 beats them all. Like always I prefer movies inspired by bigger hits because they refine the original concept, throws out all the unnecessary stuff and aims for entertainment instead of just drama. Here De Martino succeeds like very few others and much of it is because of the cast.

It begins brutal. Kirk Douglas, a successful businessman, sees his rich wife (who actually owns the company) get murdered by a madman during a fancy cocktail party. This sets things in motion and soon he finds proof everywhere that the energy project they’re working on is the start of Antichrist’s 1000 year (or whatever) reign. Everything could be fun and games if it wasn’t for the presence of the devil and soon everyone who tries to stop the project dies in bloody ways! In the middle of this Kirk also discovers that his new wife is pregnant… and now he have to kill the baby to save the world!

There’s not denial that Holocaust 2000 is exploitation, but it’s a fact that it’s a damn fine production – with what looks like a decent budget and an all-star cast. Kirk Douglas is all over the place, but in a good way. He gives everything he’s got to deliver an awesome performance. Some would say its overacting; I would say its good acting. He has a tendency to get hammy, but that’s the larger-than-life characters I like from him. And I mean, for a sixty year old dude he looks extreme good and does his own stunts himself, runs around in the nude a lot and just looks as healthy as a man can be. No surprise he’s still going strong, 96 years old! He’s not alone doing well in this movie: Simon Ward as his older son Angelo, Agostina Belli as his new wife, Adolfo Celi as a doctor, Anthony Quayle as his trusted co-worker and scientist and so on. A fine cast indeed.

The mystery and puzzles of the film is quite easy to solve, but they’re visual and highly entertaining – from the mirrored numbers produced by the super computer, the archeological excavations, prophecies and yeah, all that mumbo jumbo that belongs in this genre. Gino De Rossi’s gruesome special effects are also a sight to behold. They’re gory and graphic – surprisingly nasty for such a “big” movie, a lot more extreme than The Omen (who still has one of the best decapitations ever made). The highlight is of course the helicopter scene, something that later showed up in George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. I wonder if someone from his crew saw Holocaust 2000 and got inspiration?

The ending feels a bit rushed, but it’s good and works fine after all. Somehow the US distributors got nervous and demanded a more positive ending, something you can find on YouTube – but it sucks like no other alternative endings. Makes the movie seem pretty pointless, because I’m pretty sure you can’t kill Antichrist with a bomb.

I’ve seen Holocaust 2000 a bit too many times over years and it’s soon up there with other eurocult classics like Nightmare City, Dawn of the Mummy and Atlantis Interceptors. Movies that gives everything to just be very, very, very, very entertaining. This one is out on DVD in the US under the title Rain of Fire. I’ve heard of an Italian DVD also, but I don’t know about the quality. The US version is slightly cropped, but looks quite good.

Anyway, I’m rambling. This is a favorite of mine. See it. 

Comments

[Megatron]

"interesting in many ways, mostly because it almost works as a sequel to The Omen"

I wonder if I seen The Omen (1976)....?

Maybe, but that was a long time ago.

"Kirk Douglas is all over the place, but in a good way. He gives everything he’s got to deliver an awesome performance. Some would say its overacting; I would say its good acting. He has a tendency to get hammy, but that’s the larger-than-life characters I like from him."

Kirk is always awesome!

Ok, bit of an exaggeration......but I like the guy.

"runs around in the nude a lot and just looks as healthy as a man can be."

Whoa......easy there young man!

"The highlight is of course the helicopter scene, something that later showed up in George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. I wonder if someone from his crew saw Holocaust 2000 and got inspiration?"

Or maybe Romero saw it himself....you never know.

"Anyway, I’m rambling. This is a favorite of mine. See it."

I might do that.....good review and thanks.

[tobe]

Great Movie! I will ask Romero next time i meet him.