Due to an Act of God

Detailing the effects that a collision between juggernauts transporting liquid nitrogen and radioactive waste has on the area surrounding a quiet and tidy German village, Boldt paints a grim and unsentimental picture. The nightmare lies not merely in the atrocious physical aftermath (though there are no Day After Nosferatu lookalikes here), but in the way the faceless and culpable authorities deal with the situation: to prevent panic, a massive cover-up is implemented, contagious victims are incarcerated like criminals, martial law is imposed, and the most seriously contaminated are left to die without any real aid. Tense without being melodramatic, tough but fuelled by a passionate concern for human life, it's a fine, intelligent film that offers little hope and plenty of cause for worry. And as a thriller, it takes an honourable place in the tradition best represented by Romero's The Crazies.