Today we go back to post-apocalyptic times with an oldie but a goodie, The Extinguisher, a sci-fi satire. It’s okay, you can laugh.

Note: While it plays fine on YouTube, there is no embedding or linking allowed for this video, unfortunately. I felt it was worth it though to do a review of it so I’m allowing this exception.

YouTube Link to The Extinguisher

Synopsis

In this particular post-apocalyptic future, smoking is outlawed and monitored with high precision. Those who choose to break this particular law pay a hefty price. The Extinguisher is coming.

Review

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “This guy must really like post-apocalyptic sci-fi.” While that is true, I wrestled with putting up another one in such a short time since last week’s The End. But I couldn’t resist reviewing this one, even though it isn’t a recent release. In fact, it pre-dates the digital revolution by many years. Heck, it came out the year I graduated from high school.

That doesn’t somehow make it less legitimate though. To me The Extinguisher manages to hold up after so many years and I just had to share it. Consider it a lost gem.

The dark humor sneaks up on you and slaps you across the face like a large bass. It’s a sharp satire on where our sometimes misplaced priorities lie in society. Motorcycle enthusiasts may notice the Honda CX 500 (The Extinguisher’s ride of choice), a relatively popular motorbike in many circles due to their durability and ease of maintenance.

One other item of note: The Extinguisher was shot at the (now demolished) Beckton Gasworks, the same place Kubrick shot the Hue City scenes in Full Metal Jacket.

What did you think of The Extinguisher? Leave a comment below.

Information

Genre: Sci-Fi
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Release Year: 1996
Runtime: 10 mins. 50 secs.
Director: Graham Rathlin
Cast: Edward Wallace, Mick Kerridge, Bernard Thomas, Teri Calvert, John Kinsella, Jackie McGovern, Terry Sullivan
YouTube Channel: primal9958
Website: —

Technical

Camera: —
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