Endgame

Endgame (1983)

Image From IMDB

Is it Running Man? Mad Max? X-Men? Logan? Dawn of the Dead? Any Shaw Brothers movie? Why can’t it be an Italian exploitation sci-fi version of all of them. EVERYONE! as Gary Oldman once shouted. Endgame is like a tribute to everything that came before it, which is what makes it so enjoyable.

Endgame is about Shannon’s (Al Cliver) as he attempts to transport a bunch of wanted mutants across the badlands (I can’t remember if they call it badlands… but its always badlands) to safety, all while being pursued by the fascist police who believe all mutants should be executed in this post apocalyptic world. He recruits a bunch of merry men, and is helped by a telepathic Emmanuelle, as along the way he battles blind assassins, fish people, other mutants, bounty hunters and the police.

Endgame is right in that sweet spot for me. It’s an Italian exploitation flick that’s part horror and part sci-fi, with a sleazy director and b-movie stars. The stuff I love. And that winning combination also means it’s bat shit crazy.

It has plenty of violence, nudity, gore and plugs for energy drinks long before energy drinks were a massive thing. There’s loads of insane characters with stupid names like Ninja and Bull. Crazy bike stunts and chases. Awesomely weird action. Some bad acting mixed in with some great characters like George Eastman’s bounty hunter Kurt. It ticks every box that nowadays would be a negative, but back then was pure barbaric macho entertainment. in other words, it’s a fun watch.

And the ending is absolutely nuts. I could write a whole essay about that ending. The implications of it. The guts to do it. The nastiness of it all. The fact that I don’t know if I should be cheering or disgusted. It’s the whole should you punch a nazi question played out in a grind house movie.

Endgame won’t win any awards for anything, and it’s a largely unknown movie in most reputable circles, but it is a lot of fun. It has a good pace to it. There’s plenty of action and insanity. The blind assassin sequence alone is enough to make you remember this movie, let alone the rapey fish dude or the Running Man and Mad Max stuff.

It’s a movie I hadn’t seen before, but don’t think i’ll forget in a hurry, and I really did like both the Shannon and Kurt characters, i’d have loved to have seen them return in another adventure. It’s not one i’m going to recommend as the genre is acquired taste, but, if like myself you enjoy grindhouse flicks, i’d give this one a go.