Holocaust 2000 (1977) American International/Horror-Thriller RT: 103 minutes Rated R (language, graphic violence, full frontal male nudity, some sexual content) Director: Alberto De Martino Screenplay: Sergio Donati and Alberto De Martino Music: Ennio Morricone Cinematography: Erico Menczer Release date: April 1978 (US) Cast: Kirk Douglas, Simon Ward, Agostina Belli, Anthony Quayle, Virginia McKenna, Spiros Focas, Ivo Garrani, Alexander Knox, Adolfo Celi, Romolo Valli, Massimo Foschi, Geoffrey Keen, John Carlin, Peter Cellier, Gerard Hely. Box Office: N/A
Rating: *** ½
I forgot how much I enjoyed Holocaust 2000, a gloriously silly, over the top, Italian knock-off of The Omen, until I recently acquired a copy of it. For reasons unknown to me (and everybody else), the title was changed to Rain of Fire which is a stupid title. First, it’s too vague and doesn’t tell you what the movie’s about. Second, it’s too similar to Reign of Fire, the 2002 movie in which dragons bring about a worldwide holocaust.
No, I prefer to stick with Holocaust 2000 as it’s the title under which I first saw it. It ran on network TV one Saturday night in fall ’80 (I think). I was 12 and never missed a chance to watch a horror movie. We didn’t have cable TV so I had to settle for edited versions of R-rated movies. It’s okay because it allowed me the joy of watching the uncut versions once we got cable (March ’83) and later, a VCR (December ’84).
I honestly don’t remember the first time I saw Holocaust 2000 in its full uncut version. I want to say it was sometime in the early 00s, but I can’t be sure. In any event, I rewatched it this past weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. Kirk Douglas (Spartacus) stars as Robert Caine, a wealthy industrialist who wants to build a huge nuclear power plant in a Middle Eastern desert. Naturally, he faces opposition from all directions. Among those against it are his shrewish wife Eva (McKenna, Born Free) and the country’s new Prime Minister (Garrani, Black Sunday). Well, guess what? This facility is going to be built. Caine’s son Angel (Ward, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed) will see to that. Why? He just happens to be the Antichrist. Being in control of a nuclear plant makes it easier to wipe out mankind.
Director Alberto De Martino (Crime Boss) treats the son’s true identity as a surprise revelation, but it’s obvious that Angel is the Antichrist. Come on, his name’s Angel. And if that’s not enough, how come everybody that opposes the facility mysteriously dies? Early on, Eva is stabbed at a party by an Arab assassin targeting Caine just minutes after informing him that, as the major stockholder in the company, she plans to stop construction on the plant. The PM who thinks the plant will ultimately do more harm than good ends up having the top of his head sliced off by a helicopter blade. As for the plant, Caine slowly begins to see parallels between it and the passage in Revelations that describes the Antichrist’s rising. Its design closely resembles that of the Beast depicted in a cave painting.
The more Caine sees what’s really going on, the more unhinged he becomes. Not long after his wife dies, Caine hooks up with Sara (Belli, Scent of a Woman), a young photographer who shows him a sacred cave near the proposed site of the plant. She becomes pregnant with his child which is when he really goes off the rails. He becomes convinced that she’s carrying the Antichrist in her womb after a monsignor (Valli, Duck, You Sucker) tells him that the second son, the Antichrist “will unleash the dragon of the apocalypse”. Since we already know Angel is the Antichrist, there has to be some logical explanation as to why it’s so. I’m not going to reveal it, but it’s as silly as everything else that happens in this oddball horror flick.
Italian horror films have a distinctive look and feel. Just look at anything by Lucio Fulci (The Beyond), Dario Argento (Suspiria) and Mario Bava (Twitch of the Death Nerve). This extends to cheaper ones like Holocaust 2000. As you may recall, there were a whole slew of cheap Italian-made exploitation movies in the 70s and 80s, some of which starred known American actors. Fred Williamson starred in his fair share (1990: The Bronx Warriors, Warriors of the Wasteland). It’s hard to believe a distinguished veteran actor like Kirk Douglas would agree to be in a movie like Holocaust 2000 yet here we are. Normally, I’d say something about him bringing a measure of dignity to his role. Not in this case however. Douglas allows himself to indulge in some serious overacting as his character becomes more and more bonkers. He even appears fully nude in a scene where he has a nightmare about witnessing the end of the world. He doesn’t embarrass himself. On the contrary, he acquits himself quite nicely. He’s a professional and handles the role like a pro. It’s not a bad performance, it’s just weird. Ward goes a good job as Angel. He plays it subtle, maintaining a calm façade with sinister undertones.
The gore effects in Holocaust 2000 are quite good. The scene with the helicopter blade is the best. It’s my favorite scene in the movie. There’s also a cool scene where Douglas bashes somebody’s skull in. That’s one thing I can say for Italian horror flicks, they don’t skimp on gore. Ennio Morricone contributes a nicely eerie score. The cinematography and set design add to the experience as well. The scenes inside the asylum are a stand-out with the transparent glass walls and total whiteness reminiscent of the hospital morgue in The Beyond. Some of the dialogue is priceless. In one scene, Douglas tells a colleague, “Stop talking like a ridiculous prophet of the apocalypse!” In another, he says, “We’ve created a monster. A monster that will destroy the world.” You have to love lines like that.
You may think I’m giving Holocaust 2000 too much credit by awarding it three-and-a-half stars. You have to look at it this way. Most of today’s horror movies suck. They’re these PG-13 bores that wouldn’t even scare a grade schooler. With older horror movies like Holocaust 2000, there’s a certain integrity and purity of form. The 70s and 80s were a great time for the genre. Most were rated R. Many had a decent level of gore and violence. Most importantly, several of them were actually scary. I wouldn’t say that Holocaust 2000 scared me. It’s more weird than scary, but that’s still better than the fright-free snoozers Hollywood churns out these days. To me, Holocaust 2000 is great fun with its silly premise and the theology interwoven throughout. It is what it is, a cheap Omen knock-off, and it’s done well.
