Any movie with a title like Exterminators of the Year 3000 (1983) probably doesn't need much of a description; you're either sold on it already or you got here by accident. Directed by the prolific Giuliano Carnimeo (under the pseudonym "Jules Harrison"), this micro-budget slice of post-apocalyptic mayhem is one part The Road Warrior and...well, it's pretty much just a blatant rip-off of The Road Warrior, if we're being completely honest. Just replace "gas" with "water" and "Humungus" with "Crazy Bull" and you're all set. The story goes like this: a band of survivors has all but exhausted their water supply, and the last person sent out for a refill hasn't returned in a week. Their top-secret underground reservoir is unknown to the thieves and murderers roaming the desolate, sun-scorched landscape...but if they can't get there, it doesn't really matter. A few survivors attempt one final run for the reservoir and are all but decimated by the previously mentioned Mr. Bull (Fernando Bilbao) and his band of bloodthirsty mother-grubbers.

Enter "Alien" (Robert Iannucci), a super-cool drifter who cruises the barren wasteland in his unstoppable muscle car, "The Exterminator"...which was, at one point, owned by Crazy Bull. After an altercation and high-speed chase with rogue police officers, Alien is found by young Tommy (Luca Venantini), the lone survivor of Crazy Bull's most recent attack and son of the missing guy who went out for water supplies. Naturally, Tommy hopes that Alien will help save his remaining friends and family, but the rogue driver isn't interested. Eventually, they meet in the middle...but not before Alien runs into ex-lover Trash (Alicia Moro) and eccentric repairman Papillon (Luciano Pigozzi).

Let's face it: story-wise, there isn't much here. What is halfway decent or thought-provoking has been cribbed from earlier, better films, and there's a lot of junk left over. The film's script was reportedly written in English...but you wouldn't know it by some of the dialogue, which is equal parts generic, baffling, and reads like it was run back and forth through Google Translate a few times. Though much of the cast spoke fluent English, several key performers were limited to Italian only and their lines were comically overdubbed for maximum entertainment value. There are good and bad sides to this: any threat posed by the dubbed-over Crazy Bull immediately dissolves when he opens his cake-hole, but it does create an awful lot of quotable cheese bites. What does objectively salvage the show is a mountain of terrific chase sequences, tons of unnecessary explosions, and a few pints of over-the-top gore.

Either way, you either appreciate movies like Exterminators of the Year 3000 or you don't. Originally planned as a double feature with the even more plagarrific Cruel Jaws until Universal stepped in, it's now limited to a stand-alone Blu-ray release from Shout Factory (under their "Scream Factory" imprint, oddly enough) that looks to replace Code Red's out-of-print 2010 DVD and a handful of derelict VHS editions. This time around, Exterminators is finally presented in widescreen and comes equipped with a few minor but thoughtful extras; it's a big step up for a movie that may or may not deserve such deluxe treatment, but die-hard fans will appreciate the effort.

Presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio (possibly for the first time on home video), Exterminators of the Year 3000 looks as rough and rugged as you'd expect from a low budget 1983 import. This Blu-ray's greatest handicap is that no one---and I mean no one, not even the movie's biggest fans---was expecting anything close to perfection, and I'd imagine that most of the problems here are largely due to original source material issues. But I'll be honest: this 1080p transfer looks much better than expected with a decent amount of image detail, good color (considering the film's relatively dry and dusty palette, at least), and a stable appearance overall. The grain looks a little unusual, though: it's a little chunky and static at times, and often reads more like digital noise than a pure, film-like presentation. But the fact remains that Exterminators of the Year 3000 has never looked better on home video by a wide margin, and I'd imagine the film's core audience will be more than happy with Shout Factory's efforts here.

The default DTS-HD Master Audio track presents the original mono soundtrack as a two-channel spread, and the results are definitely in line with action movies from the era. There's no punch or low end to the many explosions, screams, or music cues; the dialogue is mixed a little loud, but at least it's easy to understand and doesn't get buried in the action. I'm actually kind of surprised that Shout didn't attempt an optional 5.1 remix as they've done before on several occasions. But for most fans, this is exactly how Exterminators of the Year 3000 is supposed to sound and that's good enough for me. Thankfully, optional English subtitles have been included during the main feature.

Next up is a related Interview with Iannucci (16 minutes, no moderator this time) in which a few bits and pieces are repeated, but there's still plenty of good info here. Interestingly enough, the film clips peppered throughout are from a well-worn and cropped VHS source, which makes for an interesting comparison to the final product. We also get a Trailer and TV Spot, also presented in 1080p. Overall, it's a solid mix of extras that new and old fans will enjoy.

If you're new to this flagrant rip-off homage to The Road Warrior, the title and cover artwork for Giuliano Carnimeo's Exterminators of the Year 3000 will either entice or repulse you immediately. Despite its bad dubbing, hokey villain, derivative plot, dated soundtrack, and cornball resolution, there's some terrific stunt work on display here and more unnecessary explosions than a John Woo shootout. Die-hard suckers for trash cinema should enjoy what Exterminators of the Year 3000 does (or does not) bring to the table, but those completely new to the genre should dip their toes in the water first. Shout Factory's low-priced Blu-ray is an unexpected surprise, serving up a perfectly capable A/V presentation and a few minor but thoughtful supplements. All things considered, if you're even halfway interested in movies "so bad they're good", you could certainly do a lot worse...or better? Recommended.