Panic In Year Zero

By Steve D. Stones

Actor-director Ray Milland casts himself as a father taking his family on a camping trip near Los Angeles as a nuclear holocaust destroys the city, causing people to loot and murder for survival. Milland and family discover a cave to hide out in as protection fromthe chaos and nuclear fallout.

Teen heartthrob Frankie Avalon stars as Milland’s son, who is shot in the leg while trying to protect a young girl he and Milland discover in a farmhouse close to the cave. This is another interesting film which convincingly focuses on the breakdown of relationships and the instinct for survival after a chaotic event.

MGM sells a double feature DVD of Panic In Year Zero with the Vincent Price classic – The Last Man On Earth. It seems appropriate that both films would be billed together on the same DVD, since they are both of the post-apocalyptic theme. The film was released shortly before the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, making it all the scarier for audiences of 1962. Enjoy the film above.