Holocaust 2000 (1978)

Thanks for the memories!

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Holocaust 2000 is an Italian riff on The Omen but with late 70's fears of the dangers of nuclear power thrown into the mix for good measure. It's about a CEO of a multi-national corporation who wishes to build a new nuclear power plant in the Middle East. In some nearby caves he discovers ancient drawings of a demonic beast that resembles his projected power plant; an entity that is predicted in the Bible to signify the return of the Antichrist. A series of horrific accidents happen to people around him and it becomes evident that his son is the devil incarnate.The debt owed to The Omen is pretty clear in this one. Its brand of religious horror and creative death sequences is taken from that earlier film. Needless to say, it's not anywhere near the same level as The Omen series but it does have its moments. Quite impressively for an Italian horror film it has at its disposal a pretty big league actor in Kirk Douglas and he gives a pretty spirited performance. He is ably supported by Simon Ward, who plays his son. Ward can do 'cold' really well and its utilised well here in his role as the Antichrist. There are also some well-conceived individual moments, in particular a dream sequence where the nuclear power plant turns into a fearsome ten-headed hydra and rises from the sea. The creative death scenes are nowhere near as inspired as the ones from The Omen series but there are some good ones nevertheless, such as the helicopter decapitation.It does have to be said though that the film-makers are not above cheating the audience a little too much, such as the part where the mysterious girl who Douglas has an affair literally runs away from a Church in fear, leading us to think she must be in league with the devil. It turns out though that she is nothing of the kind so this whole scene is nothing more than a massive red herring that makes little sense. Overall the film isn't really plotted terribly well and that may account for the above silly audience manipulation but it also results in the film ending without a proper resolution. It almost feels like the end of the first part of a story as opposed to a proper finale; while the final scene itself was pretty ambiguous and I wasn't entirely sure what it meant to be honest.But criticisms aside, Holocaust 2000 is still an entertaining enough horror flick. It has enough of a budget to ensure that its ideas are brought to the screen with some effectiveness. So even if it doesn't deliver all that it could, it does enough to keep things interesting.

Some will dismiss it as some parboiled cross between "the omen" and "Rosemary's baby";but Alberto De Martino had become an expert in the subject of ripoff:Sergio Leone ("Centomila Dollari Per Ringo"),Dario Argento (" L'Assassino è Al Telefono") American gangsters in Roma (John Cassavetes in "Roma Come Chicago!!),James Bond ("Missione Speciale Lady Chaplin" "OK Connery" (sic)) .He even made "L'Anti Cristo" (1974) BEFORE "the omen"."Holocaust 2000" is an entertaining nay very entertaining ripoff.It even includes good ideas such as the nuclear power plant and the Apocalypse Beast or the mathematic riddle 2V231 (2 times square root of 231).Whereas the demon in "the omen" moved in the political field ,the new Antichrist wants to destroy man which has already invented his doom with his own weapons :the nukes .The anti-nukes demonstrations on the street were common in those years ;so the movie contains a 'message' of easily digestible proportions ;great care is taken with the screenplay and the actors CAN act ,which is not always true with this cheap cinema:Kirk Douglas is very professional,but the standout is unquestionably Simon Ward as Angel: he succeeds in being disturbing without losing his Buddah smile and his cold look gives the jitters ;he 's truly got an angel face.

Holocaust 2000 is not Kirk Douglas's way of cashing in on the market created for apocalypse films like The Omen. Watching it today it's more like one of those Christian end time films like The Omega Code. Still the film will both have biblical scholars gasping and Kirk's many fans shaking their heads.Kirk's the CEO of a multi-national concern that is building a mega nuclear type plant in Israel close to the projected site of Armegeddon. In fact while exploring some nearby caves, Kirk finds some ancient drawings depicting a beast described in Revelations that looks like the projected power plant.It's off to the ancient texts and it turns out that Mr. Scratch may have been diddling with Kirk's wife Virginia McKenna and their son Simon Ward may not be what he seems.One part that was of interest to me is that Kirk Douglas has an affair with beautiful young photojournalist Agostina Belli and she gets pregnant. When he thinks that that child is the devil's spawn, he's quite ready, willing and eager for an abortion. To those who hold right to life beliefs, that would have been quite the conundrum.Holocaust 2000 was 30 years ahead of its time, that's not necessarily a good thing, just that these kind of films were coming into vogue via the Christian film industry. This one's not as good as some of them. Still Kirk and the cast play it the best they can. Capable players like Anthony Quayle and Alexander Knox look like they'd rather be anywhere else.

The end is near! Citizens protest! Worldwide panic spreads across the globe! A nuclear holocaust threatens us all! The monstrous beast will rise from the ocean to consume all life! Earth will become a scorched wasteland!Who ought to care about why the hell this movie punctuates so much on the Apocalypse? The Italians certainly had been ashamed of making this film in the first place! Even our priests who run the churches would be in for a mass uproar about the falsity this delivers. But heck, this is the movies!Words cannot describe this sordid, terrible drama, acting more of a drunken Shakespearean play about nuclear fear than anything else. A poor planning in developing a good story and lousy writing makes this the perfect glass of sour milk. One of our best well-known movie stars, Kirk Douglas, has a few embarrassing performances, one of which is when he stands out naked in front of visions of rising monsters from the ocean. Also, it makes a failed attempt at showing off any suspenseful magic about the supernatural. Either it is Douglas who thinks the Great Flood has come, or just a coincidence of Mother Nature rising the ocean tide.The movie actually gets a further beating on trying to be a meaningless horror / splatter film, which wants to show off uselessly. HOLOCAUST 2000 is good if you want to see Kirk Douglas star in a movie so horrifying in its pitiful execution and directing skills. What does this movie want to be when it fouls up? A DOOMSDAY BOMB!