Movies dealing with “The End of the World” belong to one of longest-running film genres, almost from the beginning of the industry, but the two most common subgenres of this would be the serious take, such as film like On The Beach which tackle how people emotionally deal with the knowledge that most of the world has been wiped out by a nuclear holocaust, and then you have your second one which would be your Road Warrior type of film that gives us an action-fueled look at a post-apocalyptic world where only the strong survive. Now it was when George Miller gave us Mad Max back in in 1979 that this subgenre really came into its own, and because of its’ popularity, and that of its sequel, it spawned countless knock-offs from around the world. Even the smallest studio could kitbash together some older Junkers, drive them up and down desert roads, and for just pennies on the dollar create their own Road Warrior.

The name Cirio H. Santiago is far from a household name but he was the Filipino version of Roger Corman, even making several films for Corman’s New World Pictures, and during the 80s he made a slew of Mad Max Rip-offs; some were good, some were terrible, and some were balls to the walls crazy. So please join me as we take a look at one of the most prolific producers of the post-apocalyptic action movie. Click on the links below for full reviews of these insanely fun movies.

In Stryker, a film where one man must stand up against a warlord bent on controlling the world’s water supply after a nuclear war has turned the Earth into a desert wasteland.

In Wheels of Fire where we meet a man who must track down a gang of road warriors that have kidnapped his sister, and battle across a post-apocalyptic wasteland to save her.

In Future Hunters a lone rebel from a post-apocalyptic future comes back through time to use the “Spear of Destiny” to prevent the nuclear holocaust; Neo-Nazis, Mongols, and Amazons all try and get in the way.

In Equalizer 2000 one lone man develops an incredible weapon that could tip the balance of power in a world gone mad.

In The Sisterhood a group of powerful women, with miraculous gifts, tries to bring peace and freedom into a land ruled by evil men.

In Dune Warriors one brave woman bands five warriors together to fight back against a vicious warlord bent on controlling what little water remains.

In Raiders of the Sun the battle for gunpowder brings humanity back to the brink of extinction. This film contains tons of footage from Cirio H. Santiago’s previous films, also there is a dude with a pig hat.

So if you like cars with spikes and flamethrowers, bands of feisty dwarves, beautiful amazon women, and tight-lipped heroes then you will most assuredly enjoy the films of Cirio H. Santiago. He was certainly not the best producer from this genre, that would still be George Miller, but his films have a certain distinctive look to them that makes them stand out. These may be “bad movies” but if you drink enough alcohol they can provide a rousing good time.