For those of us known as the baby boomer, growing up in the fifties, there were certain aspects of our childhood that were far from innocent and playful. On a regular basis the teachers would stop their class plans and make us engage in emergency drills. We would either be herded into a fallout shelter in the basement or told to duck for cover under our desks. Even then I wondered how we would be safe from an H Bomb that could destroy the entire city by hiding under a 8^th of an inch pressboard desk. The teachers were deadly serious about these drills. The communist menace of The United Soviet Socialist Republic was very real. The cold war was in full swing and the world was constantly on the brink of an all out nuclear war. After the end of the cold war decades later these drills were eventually suspended and for most of the population things could go back to normal. Then, with the constant presence of domestic terrorism paranoia would once again raise its head in our population. Some people have taken this to extremes buying property far away from any urban centers. The build compounds that are extremely well stocked with food, water and firearms to help as they wait for the big attack they are certain is coming. Entertainment, particularly film and television always follows trends like this closely. Any topic that can invoke a degree of fear in the audience is perfect as a plot for a movie. In the film ‘This is Not a Test’ the fear at hand is the more current terrorist threat. This does offer a more diverse menace than the big bombs of the fifties with chemical, biological and tactical nuclear weapons somewhere out there. The film does have some technical problems but all things considered it is a solid work that is entertaining. The budget was reported to be only a million dollars; absolutely nothing near the scope of even most modest independent flicks. This sum would not provide meals on a regular Hollywood movie set. The film maker, Chris Angel, does very well wit the limited resources that were at his disposal. The movie will resonate differently for those of us that remember the fifties and those that are mode modern in their vantage point. Like many Indies it made the usual film festival rounds and is currently available on DVD through Imager Home Entertainment.

Serving in multiple capacities as producer, writer and director for this movie is Chris Angel. Please, do not confuse this man with the somewhat famous street magician; that one spells his first name ‘Chriss’. This Chris Angle has an interesting background that does appear to work with the story premise presented here. He has extensive experience in the field of editing; mostly with documentaries and behind the scenes features. He also directed the third and forth installments of the ‘Wishmaster’ horror flick franchise. The basic premise is strong. The fear of terrorism is so prevalent around the world that many politicians have been elected on platforms that promise peace and security. The United States government mentioned in one of their many terrorist bulletins that in case of a terrorist chemical or gas attack you should seal your doors and windows with duct tape. It was only a matter of days that hardware stores where sold out of the product as people swooped in to gather as much duct tape as possible. The point here is although the fears the main character experiences are exaggerated for comic and dramatic purposes the foundation of people with an extreme reaction to these threats are all too real. This is something that the audience can connect to on an emotional level. Most of us have had thoughts about the possibilities of the worse case scenario coming to pass and wonder how we can protect our families in such under those circumstances.

The film opens with one of the motivating factors for our protagonist; a montage of notable political figures on television speaking about the impending terrorist threat. If people making the decisions for this country like President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Senator Hillary Clinton are telling us we are not safe it is only reasonable to believe them. As the rapid fire images continue with a mushroom cloud, the results of terrorist attacks and President Bush on vacation we hear the voice of Tom Arnold stating we are not safe and it seems that no one is doing anything about it to actually protect us. Arnold poses the question of what is a normal American to do as we see a shot of Carl (Hill Harper). Carl and his wife Viv (Robinne Lee) are trying to start a family and it is only natural to think about what kind of world we are bringing children into. He also cares about the ecology enough to wear a recycle tee shirt. Carl is watching TV with Viv when an announcement is made that the terrorist alert has been raised to the highest level, red. They both stare with concern at the set. Angel has already employed two techniques he has learned in his previous experience; grabbing the audience early from directing horror flicks and the use of real life images from documentaries. This serves to peak the interest of the audience early and allow it to start to connect to Carl and understand him. He awakens from a nightmare as Viv is taking her temperature to determine her peak fertile time. Viv is all excited over the prospect of getting pregnant. She gives vitamins to Carl and research maternity leave for city employees. As Carl points out she isn’t one yet but she is working on the campaign of a promising politician. This is a young urban couple are trying to make a difference in the world. This provides a little more insight into Carl and his overwhelming need to protect his family.

Soon Carl meets up with actor Tom Arnold. After a little discussion Carl becomes convinced that he has to go to extremely measures to ensure his family will survive a nuclear attack by terrorist. He reaction starts off slowly at first but all too soon becomes an all consuming obsession for Carl. Everything in his life is targeted at survival. It should come as no surprise that is recent behavior places an incredible strain on his relationship with Viv and ever other aspect of his life. He begins to construct a bomb shelter and stock it with provisions causing Viv to worry about the sanity of her husband..

The film is solid enough to entertain as both a comedy and drama. While you can laugh at some of the extremes that Carl goes to there is always the nagging feeling that he might just be on to something. This script could have easily worked fifty years ago at in some ways it goes to show that the expression that ‘all that is old will be new again’ is true. The source of the fear may have changed from communist to terrorists but the fear they generation is real and that is what makes this film interesting.