The Apocalypse (1997)

Director:

Hubert C. de la Bouillerie

Writer:

J Reifel (writer)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The end of the world is about to begin...

Plot:

A salvage pilot and a bartender go up against a crazed computer programmer and the head of a criminal gang who have equipped a spaceship with nuclear warheads and plan to crash it into Earth. |

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film

Cast

Sandra Bernhard	...	J.T. Wayne
Cameron Dye	...	Lennon
Frank Zagarino	...	Vendler
Michelle Anne Johnson	...	Misha
Lee Arenberg	...	Noel
Merle Kennedy	...	Mailai
Teddy Lane Jr.	...	Rugby
Matt McCoy	...	Suarez
Laura San Giacomo	...	Goad
Spencer Garrett	...	Charlie
Brandon Hooper	...	Mason
Dwayne Macopson	...	Willis
Craig Strong	...	Figgis
Norm Skaggs	...	Smuggler Captain
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Carol Barbee	...	Lieutenant Robing
Sedena M. Conley	...	Programmer
Dorian Gregory	...	Lieutenant
Gerald Henderson	...	Ben
Red Horton	...	Tank
Carlos Lacamara	...	Captain Bryant
Jim Staples	...	Man In Bar (as Ames Staples)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence.

Runtime:

Canada:96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Company:

EGM Film International

Soundtrack:

Blue

So Bad It's Almost Good.

A crazed computer genius named Goad (Laura San Giacomo) sets a spaceship named the Agamemnon, loaded to the gills with an highly unstable substance, on a collision course with the Earth! The Agamemnon has been encoded by Goad to start on its preprogrammed destination once it is revived by a salvage team. J.T. Wayne (Sandra Bernhard) is the Captain of the Salbor, the salvage ship that undertakes said mission. Things go awry for the Captain however when a portion of her assembled crew lead by her former lover, a cutthroat type named Vendler, double-crosses her and looks to gain the valuable Solarium aboard the ship for himself. However he didn't count on Goad's reprogramming of the ship's systems. Yet even in the face of defeat, Vendler refuses to give up his hold on the ship or listen to reason or logic. Now as the clock ticks down to a collision with the Earth, Wayne and her new crewman, a former bartender named Lennon (Cameron Dye), must try and find a means of stopping the Agamemnon or millions on Earth will die!

Well I have to admit this is competently made. They keep the action moving nicely along and the visuals often prove distracting and interesting. The whole concept with Goad shows some level of originality and I enjoyed Laura San Giacomo's performance as a crazed computer programming genius who has a God complex and an obsession with quoting Shakespeare. Where this falters is when our story changes its focus to J.T. Wayne, played by an horrifically miscast Sandra Bernhard who constantly uses the catchphrase "And Don't You Forget It!" and basically goes all out to put off any male in the movie, including the man who is supposed to be her love interest. The failed attempts at humor in the film are far more likely to make viewers shake their heads in disbelief than cause them to laugh. In fact, this film frequently has this effect on any viewer who can manage to sit through the whole thing. To me, it is this element of "I just cannot believe what I am watching" that makes this so bad it's almost good.