The Quiet Earth

Zac Hobson finds himself the planet's sole reluctant survivor of a catastrophic error in the secret energy project on which he's been engaged, and the combination of guilt and self-delusion soon sends him off his rocker. Murphy starts to develop this idea with a series of delightfully inventive scenes, with Zac proclaiming himself world dictator, trying a little transvestism, and finally challenging God to a duel. But what promises initially to become an SF spoof of genuine oddity, soon degenerates into a merely conventional thriller with the arrival of two fellow survivors. Still, compensation is provided by desolate Auckland locations, some fine sight gags, and the ebullient Lawrence as Zac. The moral: 'Don't fuck with the infinite'.