A journalist sets out to report on a minor earthquake in the Australian outback, and finds that the tremor was a result of a small nuclear explosion - part of an extortion threat that has the government fearing nuclear blackmail. With the help of local reporters, and despite the harassment of the security agencies, he sets out to avert the crisis.
Acting
Barry Newman carries entire scenes with caffeinated desperation.
Direction
Arch Nicholson wrings genuine dread from cardboard sets.
Writing
Dialogue that screams 'we made this in six days' and somehow works.
Director
Arch Nicholson
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot in six days on a $400,000 budget—Bruce Spence (Towie) reportedly learned to drive a truck minutes before his big chase scene.
This aired months before The Day After and Threads, making it a forgotten precursor to 1980s nuclear panic cinema—Australian TV beat Hollywood to the apocalypse.
US
AU
