An Italian WW2 flick that turns out to be decent rather than the usual decidedly average level for this sub-genre. The worst thing about BATTLE OF THE DAMNED is the storyline, which is full of the stock clichés, stock characters, and stock situations from a dozen other similar genre entries. Hell, even the plot is almost exactly the same as others I've seen.
The storyline sees a crack squad of American soldiers who are tasked with blowing up a German fuel depot deep in the desert. What transpires is a desert-set story of survival and death, with the usual incidents we see in these movies: the jeep breaks down, the survivors go on foot, have to deal with in-fighting and the wounded, before things pick up for a rousing, action-packed climax.
Director Roberto Montero has established a decent genre cast for his film, including recognisable faces like that of Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, Fabio Testi, and Luciano Catenacci; such actors can be relied upon to give tough, realistic performances and they don't disappoint with their roles here. Montero, who spent his career churning out war flicks, spaghetti westerns, gialli, and erotic movies, shoots his film ably and the action, when it hits, is well staged, particularly that climax. Despite the familiarity of the storyline and action there's little to dislike about this dependable Italian B-flick.
The storyline sees a crack squad of American soldiers who are tasked with blowing up a German fuel depot deep in the desert. What transpires is a desert-set story of survival and death, with the usual incidents we see in these movies: the jeep breaks down, the survivors go on foot, have to deal with in-fighting and the wounded, before things pick up for a rousing, action-packed climax.
Director Roberto Montero has established a decent genre cast for his film, including recognisable faces like that of Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, Fabio Testi, and Luciano Catenacci; such actors can be relied upon to give tough, realistic performances and they don't disappoint with their roles here. Montero, who spent his career churning out war flicks, spaghetti westerns, gialli, and erotic movies, shoots his film ably and the action, when it hits, is well staged, particularly that climax. Despite the familiarity of the storyline and action there's little to dislike about this dependable Italian B-flick.