DEFCON-4

1985
R
1h 28m

IMDb RATING

4.5/10

2.3K

YOUR RATING

Play trailer1:40

1 Video

40 Photos

Action Adventure Sci-Fi

Two men and a woman circle the globe in a satellite armed with a nuclear device. The third world war breaks out, and a few months later the satellite crashes. They survive the crash but one ... Read allTwo men and a woman circle the globe in a satellite armed with a nuclear device. The third world war breaks out, and a few months later the satellite crashes. They survive the crash but one man gets killed by survivors and the other man gets caught. The woman stays by the remains... Read allTwo men and a woman circle the globe in a satellite armed with a nuclear device. The third world war breaks out, and a few months later the satellite crashes. They survive the crash but one man gets killed by survivors and the other man gets caught. The woman stays by the remains of the the satellite but is soon caught by evil punks who have taken power.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

4.5/10

2.3K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Videos1

Trailer 1:40

Watch Def-Con 4

Photos40

Tim Choate and Kate Lynch in DEFCON-4 (1985)

Trivia
The U.S. military Defense Condition (DEFCON) system actually counts down from five (normal peacetime operations) down to DEFCON 1 (maximum readiness for nuclear war), despite the film's title implying DEFCON 4 was reached during a full-scale nuclear war. DEFCON 4 is actually only being slightly more prepared for war than a standard peacetime defense condition. The highest confirmed DEFCON was DEFCON 2, during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Goofs
The coordinates for the uncontaminated survival station, 62.17.20N 19.02.40E, are actually in the Gulf Of Bothnia between Sweden and Finland and there is no land mass there.

Quotes
Vinny: What kind of areolas does she have? Pink, brown, or red?

Crazy credits
[Prologue title after credits] It is the day after tomorrow. The ultimate nuclear defense system has been perfected. Security has been achieved. Global conflict is now unthinkable.

Connections
Referenced in Wanted: Dead or Alive (1986)

Soundtracks
When Johnny Comes Marching Home
(uncredited)
Lyrics by Louis Lambert (as Patrick Gilmore)
Traditional melody
Performed by Lenore Zann and Florence Paterson

User reviews66

Review

Featured review

5/10

Starts out promising...

The first half hour of this flick is so intense and well-done that you can't help but feel letdown when it quickly degenerates into Z-grade, Mad Max post apocalyptic nonsense. And it just continues to get worse and worse until the rather abrupt ending.

Three astronauts orbiting Earth watch helplessly as World War III erupts. After making an emergency crash landing, one of the astronauts in rendered unconscious while another is dragged from the ship and eaten by savages. Howe, our hero, escapes and finds that Earth has become a wasteland inhabited by post apocalyptic cretins ruled over by a snot nosed rich kid named Gideon.

If the film had maintained the tension and drama of the first half hour, this movie would have been a classic. But as it stands, it's just another Mad Max wannabe. Skip it.

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