The Trigger Effect video

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Could someone give me some links to some of the discussions originally had on this movie, The Trigger Effect, in comparison to y2k.

I just rented it last night for the first time, having read about it here, and I actually enjoyed it. (except the ending which just sorta ended with no explanation) It really does give an excellent depiction of how people could react to no electric or communications. And that was just a few days. Also, gave me new incentive to get some gasoline stored away. Now I'd really like to reread people's opinions of this movie.

-- kritter (kritter@adelphia.net), October 02, 1999

Answers

I thought it missed the point, was typical hollywood...

-- J Werner (jwerner15@hotmail.com), October 02, 1999.

I rented the movie, last week, because Gary North had said some scenes would be like when Y2K rears its ugly head. (He especially mentioned the scene where people were at the grocery store and couldn't buy anything because the computers were down.)

However, I did not enjoy the movie.....call me a prude, but I dislike immorality in a movie (the actress was shamelesly flirting with a visitor, right under her husband's nose). The almost non-stop drinking was another turnoff. I did rent it, after finding out it was an R-rated movie, so I have only myself to blame, but I wanted to see the panic scenes I had heard described In my view, it was a waste of money and time. I only hope the actors' behavior wasn't a reflection on the way most young people live- if so, we are really going down the tube!!!!!!!!!

-- Jo Ann (MaJo@Michiana.com), October 02, 1999.


Jo Anne;

I hesitate to speak. But the Trigger effect was "muted" as to what goes on even with the electricity on. I can not even dream (nightmare) of the "behavior" that may exist if it is 8 or more. People can be real animals.....

Things will get worse before they get better....

-- Helium (Heliumavid@yahoo.com), October 02, 1999.


kritter:

If you plan to store gasoline for months, then please purchase STA- BIL or another gasoline stabilizer. You will need fuel when there are shortages, and you can't afford to have gummy gas when you need it most!

-- Randolph (dinosaur@williams-net.com), October 02, 1999.


Oh, no doubt about it, Elizabeth Shue was a little slut in that movie. The "storyline" was awful in that respect. I guess what I liked specifically was the scenes where they had to deal directly with problems caused by the outage. I definately would have shot the intruder. I definately wouldn't have pulled my gun on the guy looking for help with his car, they obviously couldn't fit him in their car anyhow, so they should have just drove away and promised to send him some help. Sheesh. Then the leading man himself becomes the intruder and antagonist. I did like the nuke plant looming in the background when they get stranded. I wish they had explained to some extent why the power went down to start with, including the phones, eh?

-- kritter (kritter@adelphia.net), October 02, 1999.


Kritter,

what stayed with me,after watching the movie,was the panic that set in after such a short time.People couldn't get prescriptions,you had to have cash to buy anything because they weren't taking credit cards,the looting and people leaving the city without enough gas- stranded on the road.The man in the old house with his daughter afraid for their safety.I think you will be surprised how long the images of that movie stay with you.

-- Maggie (aaa@aaa.com), October 02, 1999.


The movie was shown on TV here in New Zealand a couple of weeks ago. I was shocked at the behaviour which it portrayed as normal even before the power went off, and if it is based on even a modicum of truth then I do feel sorry for people in USA.

I must admit though that the movie did show me a lot of differences in the way people live in our two countries. For example, it is unusual for private home to have intruder alarms, but I believe that more city homes are starting to be fitted with them. In rural areas over here most people don't even bother to lock their doors when they are out.

At supermarkets etc, if the EFTPOS terminals are down for any reason, then they will normally accept a cheque as long as you have suitable identification, thus overcoming the demand for "Cash Only"

The more I see, the I can understand why I am a Polly, but I think that if I lived in USA then I would be much more worriedeven without the threat of Y2K.

Malcolm

-- Malcolm Taylor (taylorm@es.co.nz), October 02, 1999.


I saw the film in the Fall of 1998, and thought it trite; showing people getting flakey after only 8 hours of power loss. The acting was mediocre, the characters stereotypical, the script geared for 14 year olds. You want to see a film with depictions of people in infrastructure failure rent "Testament".

-- Donna (moment@pacbell.net), October 02, 1999.

No doubt about it, The Trigger Effect is certainly "Grade B". If it were not for Y2K, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

But in fact I highly recommend it to everyone, because in spite of its obvious shortcomings, it offers a fairly sobering portrayal at what would happen if you live near a city and the electricity and telecommunications go out and stay out. Both the pharmacy scene and the gun shop scene are completely plausible, in my opinion, and I hope provide people with a realization that they might otherwise not have about how our technology dependent society is really quite fragile.

For what it is worth, there is a movie that was made circa 1960 titled Panic in the Year Zero, starring Ray Milland. It was about how a family, about to leave the city for their rural vacation cottage, suddenly finds itself fleeing there due to nuclear war. Many of the same issues -- scarcity of supplies, overcharging by merchants, the danger of human predators -- are covered. I have no idea if this movie ever made it to video, or if you just have to try to catch it on late night TV.

90 days.

-- Jack (jsprat@eld.~net), October 02, 1999.

It was a pretty accurate depiction of self-centered young yuppie scum, & now you know why everyone hates them. A major reason I no longer live in urban California. (BTW, Elizabeth Shue is a slut in ALL of her movies, not just this one.)

But this film had lots of script problems. For example: Our hero is the only guy desperate to buy medicine for his sick child? C'mon. EVERYONE would be desperate for medicine of some kind. The pharmacy would be a major center of human drama. Figure how many people need medicine every single day... not to mention other substances. That whole scene was totally unbelievable.

Later our idiot yups decide to drive cross-country for no obvious reason. They find an abandoned car in the middle of nowhere -- & don't bring their shotgun along to investigate? Sorry. Anyone that stupid deserves to be blown away.

Cops appear twice & behave just like cops on any average day. They're not pre-occupied with looters. They have no trouble getting gasoline. Right.

Like so many films these days, this one badly needed a re-write. The premise was good. If you just want a good scare, get Stephen King's "The Stand." I still have nightmares from that. Be sure to get the unabridged version. People die in all sorts of ways you never thought of.

-- no longer (living@in.California), October 02, 1999.



The Postman, starring Kevin Costner, is also a good one for opening your mind to some of the possibilities. But do read the book, Lucifer's Hammer. THAT is apocolyptic. (I heard about both of these in this forum, months or a year ago.)

-- David Harvey (vk2dmh@hotmail.com), October 02, 1999.

Not Y2K, but apolcolyptic and one of the best movies EVER made is 12 Monkeys, which was on ABC tonight. I love that movie so much...

-- Mara Wayne (MaraWayne@aol.com), October 02, 1999.

The novel used for the movie treatment of "The Postman" is by David Brin, and is head and hands over the film...I didn't mind the film, but might have if I'd read the book first....much plot development left out and changed from the novel, of course...Another Brin novel is about a quantum singularity (black hole) developed in a lab, that oops...ends up at the Earth's core, and makes for nasty global problems. This story eerily prescient of what is happening at this moment at Brookhaven labs...the creation of a black hole experiment. I think that novel is called "Earth", but I might be wrong.

--She in the sheet, singing: 'like Icarus ascending on beautiful foolish arms; Amelia, it was just a false alarm.' -Joni Mitchell

-- Donna (moment@pacbell.net), October 02, 1999.


Another b movie with a decent y2k GI tie in is the "Miracle Mile". No happy ending here. Anthony Edwards from ER stars in this one.

-- Bill (y2khippo@yahoo.com), October 02, 1999.

Malcolm,

There are many places in the US where folks don't bother to lock their doors either. I don't say there are no crazies. After all, there are something like 275 million of us, and the bad actors grab all the press.

Most of us don't have burglar alarms and don't worry about being robbed, mugged, or raped, at least in the rural midwest where I live. In urban areas, people may feel differently. I spent some time in NY city (not much time) and can honestly say I felt more comfortable in Vietnam. I mean no offense to NewYorkers, it's just the way I felt when I was there.

I saw Trigger Effect a few months ago, and thought it was pretty poor. I don't doubt that there are those who are actually as stupid as the people portrayed in the film, but I don't think I personally know any. I was personally disappointed in the film.

It is too bad that out entertainment industry gives such a negative impression of us, but I guess that is the result of our own bad taste.

regards,

gene

-- gene (ekbaker@essex1.com), October 02, 1999.



I also live in a rural area and do not lock my doors, now. It might be different later.

I watched the Trigger Effect after hearing about it on this forum too. Yes, the movie is typical of B movies. However, the scene that haunts me from that movie, is the scene where several neighbors are gathered trying to make plans. One man has a generator, and another thinks he is entitled to it because he has young children. That is totally believable to me, and what I expect we will see if TSHTF.

I do think that people will react that way when their children are doing without. That is what the scence at the pharmacy was portraying. And yes, you can expect people to head out in the car, looking for other areas with electricity, if the power is out for any length of time. Just like people flee from natural disasters, they will do their best to flee from this one.

Are the rest of the scenes believable? I guess it depends on the people doing the fleeing. Is it possible? You bet. Out of all the people in any given city, you can bet there are some that will act just like that.

Dian

-- Dian (bdp@accessunited.com), October 03, 1999.


Saw Trigger Effect, thought it wrapped up a little too neatly. It was okay. Bill...saw Miracle Mile too. The end of that stayed with me more than Trigger Effect. Maybe the old Titanic movies are more representative of the GI vs. Polly though.

What is The Stand about?

-- Mumsie (Shezdremn@aol.com), October 03, 1999.


Mumsie,

The Stand (unabridged version) is, by far, Stephen King's finest work. It begins with a disaster and then basically a struggle between good and evil. As a last resort watch the movie but it can not compare with the book (but I know you are really busy!). I think even the movie is 2 or 3 tapes - originally made for tv, watch it over several nights - I think ok for older teens, too much for little ones.

The book is best - richly detailed, much easier to imagine some of the significant dream sequences which explain so much (and are so hard to do a good job of on film). I was blown away after reading it - and liked Stephen King a whole lot more!

Bye!

:)

-- Kristi (securxsys@cs.com), October 03, 1999.


Anyone who watched people "fleeing" the eastern parts of the Carolinas -- at an average of one (1) mile per HOUR on the congested highways -- should appreciate that WTSHTF, you are not going to be able to "flee" anywhere. Especially if there is a National Guard tank blocking the road.

-- King of Spain (madrid@aol.cum), October 03, 1999.

What great timing I was planning on renting both 'the Stand' and 'Tigger Effect' this week - to view with my mate, I've seen 'em both before, years ago. The Tigger Effect is just a B movie, the Stand gets a bit much with the God/Devil thing but they are both good to examine with an open mind, may help one think 'out of the box' that most are trapped in. The book is better (Stand) and the book Lucifers Hammer is a great read, I recommend it 100%.

* Y2K is Real

* Y2K is a sub-set of the Millenium Problem

best to all, Dan

-- Dan G (earth_changes@hotmail.com), October 03, 1999.


I didn't much care for The Trigger Effect, but The Stand was much better, I thought. Haven't read the book yet, but the movie was pretty good. Red Dawn was an interesting look at an armed invasion of the US. The Day After was OK, too. There's also a couple of other hard-to-find movies. Massive Retaliation, Special Bulletin, and Invasion USA. There's a recent Bruce Willis movie out, too, called The Seige, showing what would happen in New York City if martial law was declared.

-- Noah Simoneaux (noaj@yournet.com), October 03, 1999.

Now that you've all discussed the theatrical film "The Trigger Effect" to death for the umpteenth time, I wish you would all head to your local library or that odd "independant" video store that you never go to and find the FIRST collection of James Burke's CONNECTIONS series.

it was originally broadcast on PBS in the mid-1970's.

The very first hour-long show is called...."The Trigger Effect"

If you bothered to read the credits at the end of the "MOVIE" version, you would see that the entire movie is base on this ONE episode of CONNECTIONS.

In the first half of the show, James Burke does a far better job at scaring you witless than the movie ever could hope to.

There are no subplots, no character development, just a creeping realization of how much we depend on technology, electricity in particular. You end up having to make a series of very difficult decisions that wind up at a farm outside the city with the decision of what to do?

1: Kill the farmer and his family if they won't let you in?

2: Sit down and die

3: Even if you do take over the farm, how do you survive?

4: Can you use a plow?

this one episode, of which the first 1/2 hour is the actual "trigger effect" is well worth the search.

FAR FAR FAR better than the easily obtained movie from Blockbuster Video.

Now, who's going to go find it?

-- plonk! (realaddress@hotmail.com), October 03, 1999.


I thought "The Trigger Effect" was a pretty good indication of the mind-set of urban dwellers during a power outage. The main character's transformation from a law abiding citizen into a criminal when looking out for his family, was an interesting scene. Who among us would not do the same thing? The gun shop scene also made me think about the possibilities of price gouging at stores. But Stephen King's book "The Stand" is a prety time consuming but worthwhile read. The movie is not true to the novel in some respcts, but is an interesting rental. The possibility of bio-terrorism in the U.S. makes this movie almost prophetic.

-- Bill Stievers (actionbil@aol.com), October 03, 1999.

My husband and I rented The Trigger Effect and found it to be unintentionally hilarious. When all power goes out, life pretty much goes on as usual, except buildings are a little darker inside. (I realize they couldn't have made a movie in complete darkness, so I'll give them that one.) No one seemed very upset, but restaurant owners did have to apologize for serving warm soda pop. After an intruder was shot the police showed up right away. How had they been summoned without telephones? When the hero's family finally decided to leave town, their only problem was that they didn't have quite enough gasoline to get to the wife's parents' home. At least they did realize that gas stations wouldn't be open. If you want a good laugh, rent The Trigger Effect. We had fun pointing out its errors.

-- Pearlie Sweetcake (storestuff@home.now), October 03, 1999.

The premise of "The Stand" is this: A deadly experimental disease is accidentally released from a government lab out west somewhere, wiping out 90% of the world's population in about 2 weeks or so, before anyone is able to react. The survivors are all immune, but they must find each other, & then deal with wide-spread lawlessness, damaged machinery, corpses everywhere, & so on, to re-build civilization. The creepiest part is how many of the "immunes" die from other causes. Imagine being in prison, or trapped in a food locker, & everyone else within miles is dead.... real nightmare stuff.

-- someone (wanted@to.know), October 03, 1999.

Did you notice, in Trigger Effect, the main characters never ran out of cigarettes or beer?

-- (myopinion@notworth.much), October 03, 1999.

Rent the "Killing Fields". 2 million + dead by government decree.

When it came out in the 1970s I thought it was left wing pap.

That was before I realised that it is not about right or left, but it comes down to right or wrong.!

The KOS is right on the money! I was caught in part of Floyd's evac. Dont get caught in the cities. As Cory said, get out of the cities (before it is apparent to the herd).

Deo Vindicie!,

BR

-- brother rat (rldabney@usa.net), October 03, 1999.


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