Science fiction of the subgenre Last-Man-on-Earth. Or at least on New Zealand. The "Man" in this instance is an Auckland scientist who, in league with "the Americans," may or may not have had a hand in "the effect," as it comes to be known, that has seemingly removed all trace of humanity from the face of the earth, at precisely 6:12 one morning. The question of what happened at that instant (never very well answered) certainly piques our curiosity; and our voyage of mutual discovery in the company of the hero is interesting for a time, at least until a swivel chair eventually heaves a body into view (charred flesh, bulging eyes -- eek!). Even more interesting is the brief period when the hero is getting used to the idea of aloneness and making the best of it (taking up a new upscale residence, going "shopping," and so on), although the means by which he asserts his newfound sovereignty -- addressing an audience of life-sized black-and-white cutouts of Adolf Hitler, Alfred Hitchcock, Richard Nixon, Queen Elizabeth, et al., or blasting a statue of the crucified Christ -- seem staged more for our benefit than for his own. The movie gets progressively less interesting with the separate arrivals of two other survivors, a nubile redhead and a black man with a single earring. But then, character interest has long been a traditional sci-fi soft spot. Bruno Lawrence, Alison Routledge, Peter Smith; directed by Geoff Murphy. (1985) — Duncan Shepherd