Ray Milland is the father of a typical American family here, which includes wife Jean Hagen and children Frankie Avalon and Mary Mitchel. Ray and his brood see a menacing mushroom cloud, then head for the hills, after stocking up on supplies in a rather illegal manner. There, the family holes up in a cave, all the time fighting off roving gangs of early 1960s juvenile delinquents. Since this is the early 60s, the U.S. Army comes to the rescue at the end.
Milland doubles as director, and this movie realistically and starkly portrays the general lawlessness that would occur after a nuclear attack. However, the whole movie is nearly sunk by an overbearing jazz score that a) is not very good, b) is completely inappropriate for this film and c) is WAY TOO LOUD. If you can get past the loud, annoying music--which is quite an accomplishment--you'll probably enjoy Panic in Year Zero. However, you may end up watching closed-captioned just to avoid the music score.
Milland doubles as director, and this movie realistically and starkly portrays the general lawlessness that would occur after a nuclear attack. However, the whole movie is nearly sunk by an overbearing jazz score that a) is not very good, b) is completely inappropriate for this film and c) is WAY TOO LOUD. If you can get past the loud, annoying music--which is quite an accomplishment--you'll probably enjoy Panic in Year Zero. However, you may end up watching closed-captioned just to avoid the music score.