''Aftershock'' (or After Shock) is a 1990

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

film directed by

Frank Harris Frank Harris (14 February 1855 – 26 August 1931) was an Irish-American editor, novelist, short story writer, journalist and publisher, who was friendly with many well-known figures of his day. Born in Ireland, he emigrated to the United State ...

, written by Michael Standing, starring

James Lew James Jene Fae Lew (born September 6, 1952) is an American actor and martial artist. He has made 80 on-screen film and television appearances and 46 more as a stunt coordinator or stunt double. He has done choreography for movies like ''Get Smart ...

and Michael Standing. It was distributed through Overseas Filmgroup and filmed in 1988.

Plot

After an event which appears to have been

World War III World War III or the Third World War, often abbreviated as WWIII or WW3, are names given to a hypothetical worldwide large-scale military conflict subsequent to World War I and World War II. The term has been in use since at ...

(the cause is not explained in the movie) Commander Eastern becomes the leader of a futuristic society in a

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; ast ...

world. The society is fascist and the citizens have a bar code tattooed on them. They no longer openly question their leaders. A radio host called "Big Sister" supports the efforts of the fascists, while paramilitary groups patrol the city A group of rebels, led by Col. Slater, seek to end the fascist rule. Willie (Jay Roberts, Jr.) and Danny (Chuck Jeffries) are two of those being held as troublemakers in prison. An alien, Sabrina, who has been observing the planet since the war, decides to visit Earth and unintentionally involves herself in the battle between the rebels and the fascists. She is captured by the security forces and is questioned by Oliver Quinn (John Saxon), who is the leader of the paramilitary. As she does not fully understand English, she is unable to answer any of Quinn's questions. Sabrina ultimately ends up in prison with several of the rebels, including Willie and Danny. Sabrina explains, in broken English, that her people intercepted a NASA probe and misinterpreted the data on the probe as Earth having an idealist society. She had traveled to Earth hoping to find ways to improve her society. In order to return home, Sabrina must get back to her landing site to use an energy cycle to return to her planet. After Sabrina, Willie, and Danny break out of the prison they head to the rebel's headquarters. Quinn is planning an assault on the rebel base. Sabrina is captured by a bounty hunter, (Chris De Rose), who gives her to Quinn. She again escapes. As the rebels regroup and Sabrina gets their computers working, they stage an attack on the fascist forces. Sabrina returns home as the rebels vow to continue to fight.

Cast

as Mr. James * Michael Standing as Gruber * Elizabeth Kaitan as Sabina * Jay Roberts Jr. as Willie * Chris DeRose as Brandt *

John Saxon John Saxon (born Carmine Orrico; August 5, 1936 – July 25, 2020) was an American actor who worked on more than 200 film and television projects during a span of 60 years. He was known for his work in Westerns and horror films, often playing ...

as Oliver Quinn * Deanna Oliver as Dancer *

Russ Tamblyn Russell Irving Tamblyn, also known as Rusty Tamblyn (born December 30, 1934) is an American film and television actor and dancer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tamblyn trained as a gymnast in his youth. He began his career as a child actor f ...

as Hank Franklin *

Matthias Hues Matthias Hues (born 14 February 1959) is a German-born, naturalized American actor and martial artist. He was born in Waltrop, Germany, to Dr. Josef Hues and Maria Humperdinck Hues who still reside in Germany. Maria is the niece of Engelbert ...

as Cassidy * Michael Berryman as Queen * Chuck Jeffreys as Danny Girrard *

Christopher Mitchum Christopher Mitchum (born October 16, 1943) is an American film actor, screenwriter, and businessman. He was born in Los Angeles, California, the second son of film star Robert Mitchum and Dorothy Mitchum. He is the younger brother of actor Jam ...

as Colonel Slater *

Richard Lynch Richard Lynch (February 12, 1940 – June 19, 2012) was an American actor best known for portraying villains in films and television. His film credits included ''The Sword and the Sorcerer'', '' Invasion USA'', ''The Seven-Ups'', ''Scarecr ...

as Commander Eastern * Patricia McPherson as Girl in Bar

Reception

Creature Feature gave the movie 2 out of 5 stars, praising staging of the martial art fights and the performance of Russ Tamblyn, but found little else to like Kim Newman found the movie to be cheap and repetitive.

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

gave the movie one of four stars, calling in a collection of post-apocalyptical clichés, although it noted that the cast was better than in many movies of this genre.

Home Release

Released on VHS in 1990 and on DVD in 2001. As of September 2020, the movie is available to stream on Amazon Prime.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aftershock (1990) 1990 films 1990s science fiction action films Films about World War III Films directed by Frank Harris Films set in the future American dystopian films American post-apocalyptic films American science fiction action films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films