Overkill – Durch die Hölle zur Ewigkeit (1980)

Overkill – Durch die Hölle zur Ewigkeit: Directed by Kinji Fukasaku. With Masao Kusakari, Tsunehiko Watase, Isao Natsuyagi, Shin’ichi Chiba. After a virus devastates the global human population, survivors in Antarctica desperately try to find a cure and save the human race.

“I have always loved this movie since I first saw it in the eighties but have been stuck with the shorter (105 or 115 minute)American versions. I finally found a full, 156 minute, version last year and it really makes a difference. As is the case with most Japanese movies edited for America, from Gojira to the present, they have a tendency to take out the poignant parts and edit so that some of the original plot points are completely lost. Here you gain more scenes at the Japanese base camp with them dealing with the loss of their families back home and a really powerful scene when they contact a young American boy by short-wave that has lost his parents. There are also more scenery-chewing scenes with some of the leads, especially with Henry Silva going way over the top. If you like the movie, this version is definitely worth looking for.”