This list was not stolen from a George Miller film...but everything else you'll see was.

After the success of a little film called Mad Max, the movie industry was abuzz.  Someone made this film for very little money and got a lot in return.  Not only that, but it spawned two sequels!  This led to movie studios in both America and Italy copying the idea for their own gain.  Some of them are so shameless that it's amazing that George Miller hasn't spent the last 30 years in a courtroom!  Rather than passing judgement on the quality of them,- since I've not seen many of them in full- I'm going to rate them by just how weird I think they are.  When you see some of them, you'll understand just why I went that direction.  Shall we begin?

12. Wheels of Fire: It's amazing how little this movie changes things!  Made by Filipino director Cirio H. Santiago, it stars a man who has not exactly lit the world on fire.  Basically, a grizzled man in a very-familiar black leather outfit drives around and shoots people.  As a bonus, it stars a Playboy Playmate too!  If you like driving, shooting and leather, this has it.

11. Nomad Riders: This is another one for the pile!  A Mad Max rip-off with shooting, bike riding and more shooting?  Hurray?  The only thing really all that notable about this obscure little video release is the name of it's hero- Steve Thrust.  Best porn name ever!

10. Exterminators of the Year 3000: Stop me if you've heard this one- it's a low-budget film!  This movie was made by the man responsible for such films as The Case of the Bloody Iris, Computron 22 and RatMan. Do I need to say more?  I could also note that it stars some actors that also appear in the #5 film on the list.  The film has cars crashing, dust flying and a pretty bad rip-off of the mohawk-sporting biker from The Road Warrior (this was made 2 years after it).  By the way, the year they chose for the title will come up again...

9. Steel Dawn: If this title sounds like something, it's a complete coincidence!  This movie stars Patrick Swayze as a Max-style hero in a wasteland that fights off hoarders and criminals.  It's like Red Dawn, only we had an actual nuclear war, as opposed to a Cold one.  Unlike Red Dawn, practically nobody remembers it.

8. Spacehunter- Adventures in the Forbidden Zone: This one is a rip-off and a part of a very silly, cultural phenomenon.  When 3-D hit big again in the 1980s, Hollywood was quick to exploit it- bringing Mad Max along for the ride.  Unlike a lot of these films, this one is set on a planet that's not Earth.  All of the other tropes are there though (i.e. the cars, dusty environments and freaky villains).  You would have to try really hard not to see the influence of The Road Warrior here for sure.  Since Hollywood was on-board with this, it's only natural that Full Moon Entertainment would follow suit...

7. Metalstorm- The Destruction of Jared Syn: I love you, repetition.  This movie is also in 3-D (just re-released in 2-D on video) and features some 'Mad Max-on-a-planet action.'  Given that it's a Full Moon film, production values are a bit lower and the tone is a bit weirder.  A one-eyed, cyborg villain shoots goo at people to kill them, so a Max-style hero must traverse the wasteland (read: Arizona) to stop him.  While it's nothing all that unique, it does feature Tim Thomerson, a man who can make any film a little better.  Why else do you think that he's in five of the six Trancers films?

6. Warlords 3000: I'm almost ashamed to admit that I have this film in my house at the time of writing.  Produced by a man most people have never heard of, this Mad Max rip-off only has a VHS release right now and I can't see that changing.  A kid escapes death at the hands of some marauders and grows up to get revenge.  Using his 'death rope' and a gun, he kills all of his foes- no matter what the risk.  The movie is blessed/cursed with many gaffes, including a man who turns slowly into a punch behind him and a bit where our hero reacts to be shot a good thirty seconds after it actually happens.  If you like a film that tries to explain it's pointless use of stock footage, track this one down.

5. Warriors of the Wasteland: When in doubt, you can rely on the Italians to deliver something weird!  In the future apocalypse of about ten years after the war, mankind is being hunted down by a God-less group of mercenaries.  Their heirarchy is odd, as the leader drives what's basically a go-kart, while his lackies drive full-sized cars!  Fred Williamson shoots exploding arrows, a kid makes plastic armor and, oh yeah, our hero gets sodomized by the bad guys!  Don't worry- he gets revenge by killing the leader with a giant drill attached to his car.  Ha ha- Freudian.

4. Fist of the North Star (both of them): Hate on me if you want, but it's true!  The anime is very blatant about its co-opting of George Miller's films, while the live-action film is a little more subtle.  Mind you, it's due to the film deviating a ton from the original!  I mean, the guy dresses the same, the buildings look the same and the bad guys are all the same.  In fairness to the anime, exploding heads was the one thing really missing from the George Miller films.

3. Rats- Night of Terror: You always find a way onto these things, Bruno!  Yes, this is a Bruno Mattei film that attempts to merge the post-apocalyptic action film with the freaky monsters of science film.  It's, well, a very odd mix.  The Mad Max-wannabes end up in an empty building that is apparently full of super-smart, mutant rats.  You get some George Miller-inspired action, but it's mostly the rats' show.  Even so, there's no way that it would be made without a certain set of Mel Gibson films.

2. Hell Comes to Frogtown: I can't help but find some sort of weird appreciation for this silly film.  Roddy Piper has survived the apocalypse as one of the few fertile men, so he must be sent out to knock up some women.  I think Piper wrote this screenplay!  The movie is very tongue-in-cheek, but it's still easy to spot the George Miller influence.  The main difference: the people driving the cars are dressed in giant, latex frog suits. I suppose that's a slight difference.  I mean, if you want to be picky or something.

1. Atlantis Interceptors: How could the man behind Cannibal Holocaust be responsible for this?  The film tells the tale of your usual set of Mad Max-rejects attacking people.  The real difference: they're from Atlantis.  Oh yeah, it's also not post-apocalyptic.  You see, the city rises up from the sea to get revenge on us for polluting the sea.  Aside from this set-up, it's still a generic, Italian action movie.  Fun fact: the Humongous rip-off's mask is literally just the plastic casing that masks come in.  Yes, this is a real movie.

For more strange stuff like this, check out my blog.  It's magically sarcastic!

Next up, I take a look at the biggest hit films of all time...that don't have sequels.  There's less than you may think!  Stay tuned...