With video stores dumping their videotapes in favor of DVDs (even if they do not have DVDs to replace many of the titles they're getting rid of), and with large video store chains putting mom 'n' pop stores out of business, some unusual videos are turning up for sale.
I'd never heard of this movie, and wasn't even a year old when it was originally broadcast, but when I saw it as an ex-rental for sale for $2... well, actually I passed it up at first, just writing the title down to look up on the IMDb. The comments are pretty favorable on it, and I'm usually intrigued when a movie on the IMDb has relatively few user ratings and no external reviews, and a subsequent internet search fails to turn up any reviews online elsewhere. Consequently, I went back and bought it; I'm glad I did!
It starts off with a voice-over by the young woman Deborah Anders, and occasionally throughout the movie we get some voice-over by her, though the movie is not entirely her narrative. The Anders family is camping in the High Sierras, but Mrs. Anders heads back to their home in Malibu. Mr. Anders, his two children, and a family friend remain. While the Anderses are fossil-hunting in a cave, their friend prepares a rabbit stew and he sees a bright light, which is followed by a short earthquake. The Anderses flee the cave during the earthquake, and they witness their friend's health deteriorating, and can't get and stations on their radio anymore, and can't reach anyone on their walkie-talkie. They make their way back to civilization: Rainbow, California, population 250. Nobody is there.
What happened?
The movie held my attention pretty well. It is definitely a made-for-TV movie, fading to black for commercials, then fading back up again. In spite of that, it works pretty well. As in a number of other movies of this subgenre, there are spooky shots of deserted towns, encounters with dangerous animals and other survivors.
