Babes Decimate The Wasteland In 80s Mad Max Ripoff You Never Heard Of

By Robert Scucci
| Published 14 seconds ago

In 1988’s Hell Comes to Frogtown, our fertile male hero is humanity’s last hope for rebuilding the population in a world overrun by mutant frog people. There are explosive chastity belts, plenty of wasteland babes, and the whole thing is a masterclass in schlocky, low-budget, post-apocalyptic charm. That same year, a lesser-known film called She-Wolves of the Wasteland (known as Phoenix the Warrior in some markets) was released straight to video, and it has a similar setup when it comes to worldbuilding.

There are no mutant frogs in this version of the wasteland, but the reproduction problem has gotten so far out of hand that it’s the primary source of conflict. Instead of the deliberately cheesy dialogue between Roddy Piper and Sandahl Bergman, She-Wolves of the Wasteland plays things comparatively straight, though the film is still ridiculous in ways you’ll already be more than familiar with if you’re a fan of the genre.

It’s rough around the edges, but not without its charm, and there’s plenty of carnage to keep you entertained as the film barrels through the desert in search of salvation.

All Men Have Been Eliminated

In She-Wolves of the Wasteland, we’re introduced to our ballsy heroine, Phoenix (Kathleen Kinmont), as she helps a pregnant woman named Keela (Peggy McIntaggart) escape the breeding facility owned and operated by The Reverend Mother (Sheila Howard). We soon learn that The Reverend Mother operates these breeding facilities as a means of keeping the human population from becoming extinct, making her desire to kill all men so she could seize power an obvious misstep in her logic.

Phoenix and Keela, now on the run, have to navigate the wasteland without getting captured. Keela fears that if she carries a male child to term, he’ll be seized from her and disposed of, while a female child will eventually be indoctrinated by The Reverend Mother to help maintain the current status quo.

Along the way, they meet a helpful bounty hunter named Neon (Lore de Nuccio), who, like many others living under The Reverend Mother’s rule, doesn’t agree with the female-only policy that’s been implemented. The stakes get even higher when they encounter who may very well be the last documented male on Earth, and they decide it’s their life’s calling to protect the kid at all costs.

A Surprisingly Solid Effort, All Things Considered

As by-the-numbers as She-Wolves of the Wasteland may seem, it’s shockingly adequate in its delivery. On one hand, there are only so many late ’80s wasteland sagas you can watch before you realize they’re all shot in the desert for financial reasons. It’s a budget limitation, sure, but it also allows for some pretty great practical action when the moment calls for it because they’re just blowing stuff up in the middle of nowhere.

Phoenix and Keela make a great duo because the dynamic starts with a ballsy heroine taking a damsel in distress under her wing. But once they get on the same page and have time to plan their next moves while escaping the tyrannical rule of The Reverend Mother, they become a force to be reckoned with, with Keela rising to the occasion and handling the situation like a total badass.

She-Wolves of the Wasteland is one of those quick-and-dirty post-apocalyptic thrillers that checks all the boxes of a Mad Max-style romp through the end times. While it certainly wears its influences on its sleeve, it remains a fun little cult oddity that could very well exist in our cultural lexicon as the kind of side quest George Miller would be proud of.

As of this writing, She-Wolves of the Wasteland is streaming for free on Tubi.

SHE-WOLVES OF THE WASTELAND SCORE