1980s VHS were a wasteland of ‘wasteland’ post-apocalyptic movies, particularly after the success of the Mad Max movies. Actors stumbling around desert locations, lonely roads and abandoned factories in countries near and far, standing in for the Year 3000 or whenever. Radioactive Dreams (1985) is a post-apocalyptic flick but straddling several other genres, namely film noir and new wave musical. Written and directed by Albert Pyun (Nemesis, Arcade), though apparently taken off him during production and completed by others, this still sings with a neon-soaked pop-charge in the tradition of Walter Hill’s Streets Of Fire. Soundtracked by a propulsive beat and broken up into what feel like music videos for a new band called Sue Saad and the Next, several sequences feel like alternative cuts for the ‘Total Eclipse Of The Heart’ music video. In other words, Radioactive Dreams has that Jim Steinman feeling. That, and bringing to life the types of images and concepts gracing the covers of paperback sci-fi novels and comic-books for the past decade. Two young dudes, Phillip Chandler (John Stockwell) and Marlowe Hammer (Michael Dudikoff) have grown up together in a fallout shelter after a nuclear war, raising themselves after their fathers deserted them, understanding life through a steady diet of gumshoe novels and big band music. Their dream is to be detectives, and when they dig their way out of the cave they’ve been living in, it’s time to hit the road in an open top convertible, and understand the world outside. What follows is a first act road movie with disco-clad swearing kids with guns and flame-haired all-female motorcycle gangs, which then halts into underground city territory as the duo find their innocence corrupted and double-crossed, particularly when it’s revealed they have two keys for the last remaining nuclear missile. With director Pyun’s recent passing, I’ve only seen a few of his movies, but I appreciate the love for his auteurism as he represents an era of video shelf discoveries, martial arts and sci-fi flicks that were also-rans, elevated by a sense of style and genre. You might really have to be on the same wavelength as Radioactive Dreams isn’t perfect, and is often chaotic and thrown together, particularly its repeated motif of the two wannabe detectives running down corridors and beset by warring parties. I really enjoyed the cross-genre asethetic helped by Stockwell’s noir narration and seriousness balanced by the surprise of the American Ninja himself, Dudikoff, delivering a broad, wacky performance that I found quite endearing. There’s a sense of heart to the junkyard action and stylistic flourishes, particularly stamped by the fun conclusion where Phillip and Marlowe regain their souls through the power of a soft-shoe shuffle. Also stars Lisa Blount as the dangerous femme fatale, Miles Archer, and Michelle Little as the plucky good-hearted punker named Rusty Mars. As well as old pros like Don Murray and George Kennedy in the mix. While no good quality Blu-ray exists, there are copies available to stream on YouTube. Recommended.
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