“Zips along with snappy surprises, odd angles, crisp cuts and other foolery. Dig it.” The New York Times

Dorian Lynskey introduces a screening of this intriguing speculative sci-fi mystery which has gained cult status in its native New Zealand and internationally since it first aired forty years ago.

Zac Hobson awakens to find himself the sole survivor of a catastrophic malfunction in a secret energy project. All humans and animals have disappeared. No watch or clock shows anything later than 6:12. As time passes and the horrifying prospect of being the last man on earth becomes a reality, Zac finds himself falling deeper into madness and despair. Geoff Murphy’s film builds to a strikingly ambiguous climax that has left audiences talking for decades.

Directed by Geoff Murphy, screenplay by Bill Baer, Bruno Lawrence and Sam Pillsbury, the film is based on Craig Harrison’s 1981 novel The Quiet Earth. Starring Bruno Lawrence as Zac Hobson, Alison Routledge as Joanne and Pete Smith as Api.

Dorian Lynskey writes about music, film, books and politics. His first book, 33 Revolutions Per Minute: A History of Protest Songs was NME’s Book of the Year 2011. The Ministry of Truth: A History of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four was longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize and the Orwell Prize. He hosts the podcasts Origin Story and Oh God, What Now?

Duration: 1 hour