Let’s get this out of the way. The best thing about the 1977 sci-fi flick Damnation Alley is the promo poster painted by Paul Lehr. As for the movie, we expected better from something based on a Roger Zelazny novel and built the around the premise of driving two gigantic, twelve-wheeled off terrain vehicles across the U.S., but that’s the way it goes. In the film, a nuclear war has obliterated most of humanity and thrown Earth off its axis, fueling dangerous and unpredictable weather. Several occupants of a Southern California underground military shelter use the two aformentoned armored vehicles to try reaching Albany, New York, where they’ve made radio contact with what might be the last safe haven on the continent.
Vintage sci-fi can be fun in a kitschy way, with its model work, matte backgrounds, and very, very bad science. This one had an advantage because its massive Landmaster ATV was actually operational (there was one built to represent both vehicles), but the movie still managed to feel flat. Jan-Michael Vincent, Dominique Sanda, Paul Winfield, George Peppard, and his mustache deal with everything from mechanical issues to electrical storms to giant scorpions, but none of it generates a thrill. Audiences agreed, and after a hot opening week mostly stayed away. We won’t suggest you do the same—if you absolutely love sci-fi you’ll find something to like. But keep your hopes in check. Damnation Alley premiered today in 1977.
