Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.5

Damnation Alley Blu-ray Movie Review

Cool title, bad movie.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 9, 2011

Nothing good ever happens just by itself.

Damnation Alley is about as cumbersome as the "LandMaster" vehicle that plays so prominently in the film. Aren't post-apocalyptic movies supposed to be about high adventure, facing the unknown head-on, and fighting to survive in a world ravaged by unthinkable evils? That's not the case here. Damnation Alley, even for all its low-end, drive-in charm, barely passes muster as little more than a formula road trip movie, the only real difference being the barren landscape and the makeup of the people who come along for the ride. The action is little, the suspense is zero, and the greatest challenge comes not on-screen but in the audience, as in the greatest tale of survival will be to see who's the last viewer remaining when the lights come up. OK, Damnation Alley might not be quite that bad -- it's competent if not aimless, and it's watchable if not tedious -- but for the set-up, the setting, the vehicle, and the 3,000-or-so mile journey across a nuked United States, the film sure is sluggish at its best and pointless at its worst.

Cruisin'.

The world has been ravaged by nuclear war. Every major U.S. city has been destroyed, and the landscape has become a desolate, nearly inhospitable wasteland. The ruin is worsened by incessant storms and floods, the result of the Earth having been shaken off its axis thanks to the sheer force of the gargantuan blasts. All that remains are bands of survivors struggling to live and rebuild. And giant scorpions and intelligent cockroaches. When an explosion destroys what's left of a Western U.S.-based Air Force command center, a handful of survivors move out in a pair of imposing twelve-wheeled, heavily-armed behemoths dubbed "LandMasters." Their objective: a cross-country trip to Albany, New York, where rumor has it a band of survivors are rebuilding and broadcasting in hopes of finding others. The only catch is that they must cross the Rockies and the midwestern plains through an area they've dubbed "Damnation Alley," and the trip isn't going to consist of scenic stops, cushy hotels, and three hot meals per day.

Damnation Alley seems damned from the get-go. The film flubs its critical open and makes an all-out nuclear exchange play with less tension and urgency than a pick-up game of Missile Command. The picture quickly deteriorates even further, failing to ever gain much steam and doing nothing to absorb audiences into the barren landscape, the challenges the characters face, and the camaraderie that only partially develops. The picture is nevertheless well-made to the point that it's not an all-time flop, but the absolute lack of tension, the razor-thin plot line, the bad special effects, and the boring action sequences always have the film teetering on the brink of disaster. The film lacks imagination, running the same tired old gamut of post-apocalyptic challenges but covering them more so out of necessity than purpose. A swarm of killer cockroaches capable of some kind of radioactive groupthink and an encounter with the obligatory handful of irradiated ruffians who want both the vehicle and their way with the token woman amount to the only extended action scenes in the film, leaving the rest of the movie consisting of aimless chatter and repetitive shots of the souped-up vehicle roving the American wasteland.

Unfortunately, the maladies plaguing Damnation Alley don't end there. The special effects are laughable at best, whether supposedly giant scorpions inserted into the film or hallucinogenic-looking clouds and "nuclear storms" that appear from time to time, only to outline characters in a blue screen special effects-obvious glow. There's even a sequence early on where a character returns to base with a "woman" riding on his bike with him. Turns out she's only a mannequin, but one can't help but wonder if she was supposed to be a real character but was re-written and edited out when the shot of the scorpions eating a plastic doll just couldn't withstand even the most forgiving scrutiny. As it is, Damnation Alley is kind of fun in a cult classic sort of way; the movie is flat-out bad, but it's potentially entertaining assuming that audiences are in the right frame of mind to give it a well-deserved group drubbing with a side of beer and pretzels. Fortunately, the picture clocks in at a tidy 91 minutes, so it doesn't overstay its welcome, but goodness, is this one ever disappointingly pointless from start to finish.

Damnation Alley Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Damnation Alley rolls onto Blu-ray with an aged and unspectacular 1080p transfer that's probably about as good as fans are ever going to see. The image is reinforced by a heavy layer of grain, but dragged down a bit by the inclusion of occasional noise and random pops and scratches and wear and tear throughout. The image can also be a touch soft in places, but fine detail holds up nicely enough, particularly in those handful of shots where the image hasn't been degraded by the insertion of various skyward special effects elements meant to reinforce the feel of a post-apocalyptic landscape. Colors are drained and faded and fairly limited to dusty earth tones, but the transfer can and does reveal some well-balanced and vibrant hues in select spots, particularly evident at film's end. Flesh tones appear even, but blacks sometimes look a bit too absorbing of finer details. This is pretty well in-line with what fans have come to expect from Shout! Factory Blu-ray releases. It plays with an antiquated drive-in charm; it's not perfect, but with a movie like this, a little wear and tear around the edges might even be seen as a good thing.

Damnation Alley Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Damnation Alley's pair of high definition tracks don't fare quite as well as the video, but still rate as "passable." Shout! Factory has provided both a DTS-HD MA 6.1 lossless soundtrack and a PCM 7.1 uncompressed offering. One doesn't prove to be greatly superior to the other, and neither is all that great, but the DTS track does seem to offer a little more heft. Still, listeners may be marginally disappointed with what is generally a flat, uninteresting presentation that struggles to find grade-A clarity. Jerry Goldsmith's score isn't particularly rich, lacking that distinctive seamlessness of superior tracks and sometimes struggling to maintain even a mediocre equilibrium as the material seems to strain to achieve even a modicum of space and clarity. There's a disappointing absence of raw power during missile launches at the beginning of the film, and various action scenes often struggle to come up with even the little bit of energy needed to match the always-dwindling intensity of the on-screen action. The track does find some energy in a powerful storm as heard in chapter six and later on with an explosion in chapter eight. The surround channels never come into play with any consistency or relevancy, but dialogue is well-balanced and always front-and-center. This track is in no way an embarrassment, and like the video, its low-key, wishy-washy tenor does add a certain charm to the experience, but a superior presentation this is not.

Damnation Alley Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Damnation Alley pulls from the ashes a handful of extra features, consisting primarily of an engaging retrospective commentary track and three quality featurettes.

• Audio Commentary: Producer Paul Maslansky recalls the project's history with 20th Century Fox and its competition with Star Wars at the studio, the quality of the script, the work of the cast and crew, the process of shooting the film, the picture's budget and look, the work of Director Jack Smight, the numerous special effects shots, and plenty more. This is a quality retrospective piece that really frames the film in a fascinating context. It's evenhanded, informative, and a joy to take in. Fans will love this one, and audiences looking for a historically-grounded and well-spoken commentary will enjoy it, too.
• Theatrical Trailer & TV Spot (1080p, 2:52 combined).
• Survival Run (1080p, 11:34): Co-Screenwriter Alan Sharp discusses his writing process and the challenges of adapting Roger Zelazny's novel to the big screen.
• Road to Hell (1080p, 13:22): Producer Jerome Zeitman recalls the process of creating Damnation Alley.
• LandMaster Tales (1080p, 10:14): Stunt Coordinator and Car Designer Dean Jeffries offers an up-close look at the film's famous vehicle.

Damnation Alley Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Damnation Alley gets its all wrong. The pacing is poor, the special effects are terrible, the story is bland, the action scenes are poorly assembled, the characters are dull, and the movie just lacks a sense of excitement and purpose. As far as Post Apocalyptic movies go, this one ranks near the bottom of the barrel, but it doesn't settle quite so low as to be of zero value. It's definitely not without the potential to serve as a fun little diversion for intrepid moviegoers who might see in it a chance for some lighthearted group fun. Regardless of how one will consume the film, they'll be pleasantly surprised with Shout! Factory's Blu-ray package. Yielding fair video and audio to go along with a handful of extras, the disc is sure to satisfy fans and newcomers alike. Those who haven't before seen it should rent, but longtime Damnation Alley fans can buy with confidence.