LAND OF DOOM (1986)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *psychological, sociological*

LAND OF DOOM was one of the few American attempts at profiting from the MAD MAX breed of post-apocalyptic adventures, appearing in theaters about a year before another American production, STEEL DAWN. I rated DAWN as a disappointingly pedestrian work, and though LAND is a little better, it too doesn't do anything to challenge the reputation of George Miller.

LAND is particularly regrettable because it's one of the few films in this subgenre to focus on a heroine, the character of Harmony (Deborah Rennard). She's first seen escaping a gang of motorcycle-riding raiders, and she almost immediately comes across a wounded man, one Anderson (Garrick Dowhen). Harmony doesn't trust strangers and initially thinks about leaving Anderson behind, but he talks her into letting him tag along. Despite Anderson's sporting a huge bloodstain on his shirt, from then on he seems to get over his wound so quickly that neither of them mentions it again.

Then Harmony finds out that Anderson was formerly associated with the raiders, for one of the thugs captures both of them, planning on taking Anderson back to the tender mercies of the gang's leader Slater. But after binding Anderson, the raider tries to rape Harmony. With some very minor help from the tied-up Anderson (he shouts so as to distract the rapist at a crucial moment), Harmony is able to kill her assailant. Then Anderson has to talk fast not to be left behind, arguing that though he tried to reform the group, he was cast out due to the evil Slater's megalomania. Reluctantly Harmony frees Anderson and lets him come along again.

From that point onward, LAND is just one episodic exploit after another, mostly against "Slater's Raiders." Neither the heroes nor their opponents have even minor melodramatic motives, and most of their quirks-- like Slater's wearing a half-mask over his face-- are never given any context. Clearly the script was written quickly, which almost guaranteed the movie's pedestrian nature.

Only Rennard's performance raises LAND above the completely mediocre. Harmony is prickly from the get-go, and though it's suggested that she might have an anti-male feeling because of having been raped, Harmony never affirms or denies this possibility. She softens toward Anderson just because of consuming loneliness, though his good looks may play some role in her acceptance of his presence. That said, even though both characters are equally vague in their backstories, Anderson is really just a support character in Harmony's tale.