The Devil's Wasteland — The Devil's Wasteland (DVD)
From 2024, The Devil's Wasteland is a zero-budget post-apocalyptic thriller/ horror. It features very cheap/ often gore-free effects, bad-hamming-it-up acting, and a fair bit of mouth frothing punch-up. Here from SRS Cinema is a very bare bones DVD release of the film.
It was directed & written by Western Pennsylvania native Vince Burkett. Since 2020, he has had thirteen credits- seven of these are features, the other six are shorts. His features include satanic serial killer slasher Killer Country (2021), Tv star haunted by horned creature horror The Allegheny Demon (2022), and The Monster Docs (2025)- an anthology that blends horror, crime, and comedy.
The one-hour and thirty-four-minute film opens, introducing to our two lead characters- the bulky, short mohawk and goatee-bearded Victor( John Catheline), and dusty blond/ ripped jeans Seleya(Kimberly Chopp-Doerflinger). Via a voice-over, we find out that a deadly plague has knocked out most of the population- these two are wandering the North American wasteland- looking for hope and survivors.
Initially, the first half an hour or so sees a duo walking railway tracks- they encounter a large zombified woman pulling a trolley full of fake limbs, and a old man who offers tinned fruit, but turns out to be a rapist. But the main folks they encounter are members of a cult/ demented family, which is headed up by the sweary-mouthed & grumpy Devil Man(William Long)- who dresses in a black cape, with chains around his neck, with corpse paint on- looking like a lo-fi/ more heavy set version of Mayhem's Euronymous.
The film features lots of hamming it-up cackling characters, heavy-set zombies pulling out red liquorice guts, dodging eyeball rippings/ munching, and a fair bit of wrestling/ fighting- often with Victor foaming at the mouth. Oh, and re-quoting of classic lines from the likes of The Devil’s Rejects, and The Night Of The Living Dead.
The whole thing is entertaining enough for a micro budget thriller/ horror- it’s filmed competently enough, with the actor clearly having fun making it. Yes, the actor shifts between badly hamming up, and a little underplayed- but no one is really terrible. The soundtrack shifts between moody/ brooding synth craft and chugging/ doomed out metal. I guess the only disappointment/ let down is the lack of gore, and what there is are low-grade HG Lewis-like effects.
The DVD is very, very bare bones- with just a trailer for the film to hand.
The Devil's Wasteland is just fine, and if you dig post-apocalyptic thriller/ horror, check out the trailer, and this could well be for you.