The New Barbarians

The New Barbarians

Directd by Enzo G. castellari

Rating: 3 out of 4 Pentagrams

Reviewed by: Jeff Deth

I’m predisposed with a strong fondness for post-apocalyptic themed sci-fi movies. So, I’m willing to cast aside judgment on issues of acting quality or believable costuming. In fact the more corny the acting and the more ridiculous the outfits the better. It’s what I’ve come to expect and appreciate from the slew of Road Warrior knockoffs that were produced throughout the 1980’s. Italy was a leading proponent of such flicks and The New Barbarians was one of them.

Director Enzo G. castellari is now famous for having directed the original Inglorious Bastards. I first became aware of him for directing 1990: The Bronx Warriors and Escape from the Bronx. As with a slew of other Italian directors of the era he aspired to copy successful American films for the Italian market with a much smaller budget.

The New Barbarians filmed in 1982 comes off the heels of 1981’s The Road Warrior and clearly draws inspiration from it. Mainly thematically not so much in terms of plot. The New Barbarians creates it’s own post nuclear war conditions in which a gang of death worshipers calling themselves the Templars seek to wipeout the remaining survivors completely.

The gang prowls the terrain on dirt bikes and war modified dune buggies rigged with drills, machine guns and spinning blades. The plot centers on a grizzled hero Scorpion and his young boy who attempt to thwart the evil plans of the Templar squad. The little kid is a jr. badass who picks off people by slingshoting explosives into their face. Scorpion rides around in his tricked out muscle car with machine guns spraying down the enemy.

Fred Williamson, a favorite cast in these type of films, plays another lone soldier Nadir, who doesn’t want so much to do good as much as he wants to get right in the middle of a fight. Don’t imagine there’s much else to do in a wasteland. His weapon of choice is a bow for slinging exploding arrows. The play this hilarious pimp music every time he’s making his way on screen.

Of course there’s a female who is rescued by Scorpion and needs to be further protected if he plans on making her his woman. That sets up most of the drama. There is a ton of high-speed chases and battles that take place.

This film is definitely over-the-top and cheesy but it’s so much fun it’s of no concern. There’s plenty of senseless violence and interesting characters to keep you entertained. If you are a fan of violent futuristic sci-fi, The New Barbarians won’t disappoint. But be forewarned that this is not The Terminator here, just a cheap low-budget shlockfest.