Movie Review: In the Year 2889 (1969)
Synopsis: After witnessing the effects of nuclear weapons while in the military, Captain John Ramsey has spent years preparing for nuclear war and those preparations help him and his daughter, Joanna survive when it breaks out and destroys the rest of the world. When others arrive at his door, John wants to turn them away, but Joanna insists on giving them shelter despite a limited food supply. It doesn't take long for them to face challenges, both from within and from the meat-eating mutated survivors that are running out of fresh game and will soon hunt them.
Who's in it? The movie stars Neil Fletcher, Paul Petersen, Quinn O'Hara, Charla Doherty and Hugh Feagin.
Review: I had wanted to watch a murder mystery this morning but, unable to find one that looked interesting and running out of time, I instead chose In the Year 2889, which had been on my watch list for several weeks. I wasn't completely sure what to expect from it, but it turned out to be an OK choice.
There were a number of things about this movie (which is named after a Jules Verne story and doesn't actually take place that far in the future) that I thought were good. For one, the idea of mutants stalking the woods surrounding the survivors' safe haven, while done before, kept an element of danger throughout the movie, even when the creatures weren't attacking. I especially liked the choice to have one of their own (Max W. Anderson) gradually turn into one of the monsters to give the audience a good idea of what they were up against.
The internal strife was equally as intriguing. There was the main antagonist, Mickey (Feagin), who seemed to live to just stir up trouble, whether it was trying to steal food or pursue Joanna (Doherty) despite having arrived at the house with his girlfriend, Jada (O'Hara) in tow. He was one of those characters that could easily be just as dangerous as the mutants outside albeit for different reasons.
What impressed me though was how the movie wasn't content to just keep him as the villain. In many ways, John Ramsey (Fletcher) fit that mold as well, whether it was his reluctance to bring in other survivors or trying to force his daughter to marry Steve (Petersen) so she could get pregnant and start repopulating the planet.
While some of his actions arguably made sense, it didn't necessarily make him likeable at times. Plus, his decision not to share important information with his daughter or really anyone other than Steve seemed like it was putting them in unnecessary danger, especially as they spent as much time outside as they did in the house.
The movie does have quite a few moments where it feels like it is trying to pad the runtime (probably because it was a made-for-TV film) and drags a bit as a result. John, for example, mentions a nuclear experiment multiple times before bothering to elaborate and there were only about 10 minutes left in the film before there is an actual mutant attack.
I also thought there were some things about the film that were a bit predictable. This included why the mutants were afraid of the water (and, in turn, how to kill them) and the identity of the one mutant (Byron Lord) that was somehow managing to communicate to Joanna telepathically. However, while I saw some of it coming, the ending did still manage to still have some suspense to it thanks to Mickey adding his element of danger at the same time.
Final Opinion: There's nothing overly unique about this film as far as the nuclear war mutant thing goes and, as I said, those mutants aren't even much of a factor until the very end. However, the character interactions and overall feeling of hopelessness and dread did make this film entertaining to watch and I would recommend it because of that.
My Grade: B
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Here are some reviews of other movies featuring a nuclear war:
Movie Review: Panic in Year Zero! (1962)
Movie Review: Lady Bug Lady Bug (1963)
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