THE QUIET EARTH

1985 | DIR. GEOFF MURPHY | REVIEW BY GLENN COCHRANE.

My early teens were my most informative years and at a time when I was discovering filmmakers (as opposed to just knowing movie titles), one filmmaker whose name resonated with me was New Zealander Geoff Murphy. He had directed Young Guns II and Freejack, which were two VHS titles that I thrashed in my bedroom. He later went on to direct Under Siege 2 and Fortress 2 and despite his later career being defined by poorly received sequels, it is his earlier work throughout the 1980s that make him an important filmmaker.​

Following the success of his breakthrough film Goodbye Pork Pie (‘81) and his indigenous revenge thriller Utu (‘83), he went on to make The Quiet Earth, a high-concept science fiction drama made with minimalistic artistry. Based on a novel which was itself inspired by the likes of The Omega Man (aka I Am Legend) and Dawn of the Dead, the film chronicles the aftermath of “The Effect”, a mysterious apocalyptic event that rendered the Earth uninhabited.

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