Film

The New Barbarians

Name: The New Barbarians
Genre: Science Fiction, Action, Thriller
Released: 1983
Cast: Giancarlo Prete, Fred Williamson, George Eastman, Anna Kanakis, Ennio Girolami

Military action

A post-apocalyptic action film where two hardened mercenaries defend desert caravans from roaming biker gangs. Shot in Italy on a shoestring budget with genuinely inventive practical effects and vehicle design, it's rawer and more inventive than its exploitation premise suggests. For lovers of scrappy genre cinema and the wild Italian sci-fi boom of the 1980s.

TMDb rating

2.2

If you liked this

Mad Max 21981

The template for all post-apocalyptic action cinema. Desert wastelands, makeshift vehicles, tribes of marauders, and genuine stunts. If you loved New Barbarians' world, this is where it comes from.

But A 43-year-old Australian film with pacing that doesn't match modern action movies. Some will find it slow.

Escape from New York1981

The same era, same DNA—a stripped-down action film with a charismatic lead, practical creativity, and that low-budget boldness that forces inventiveness. Carpenter's control is tighter, but the spirit is identical.

But Deliberately artificial set design might feel dated. It prioritizes mood over action momentum.

Exterminators of the Year 30001983

Italian post-nuke cinema at exactly the same moment. Shares the same crew-member DNA and budget constraints. A desert chase film with vehicle combat and that lovably ragged Italian action sensibility.

But The dubbing is catastrophic even by Italian genre standards. Plotting is genuinely scattered.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The New Barbarians

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Damnation Alley1977

Both follow a similar narrative arc—outcasts traveling a hostile wasteland, defending the vulnerable against marauders—but Damnation Alley proves that budget constraints can force better storytelling than studio resources.

A decade earlier, a Hollywood-budgeted post-apocalyptic road movie with real stunts and practical creatures. It shows you what New Barbarians could have been with five times the money—and proves that scrappiness often wins.

But The creature effects are genuinely embarrassing. You'll laugh at moments that should terrify. Some will find that unforgivable.

Kamikaze '891982

German sci-fi action from the same moment, same shoestring ingenuity. A cop thriller set in a dystopian city, it has that same 'we'll build the future out of scrap' aesthetic you get from New Barbarians.

But Deliberately experimental in structure. The police procedural framing means action is sparse and when it comes, it's not always clear what's happening.

Steel Dawn1987

Post-apocalyptic western with Patrick Swayze as a swordsman defending settlers. Same mercenary-protects-village DNA as New Barbarians, with real stunt work and a genuinely weird tone.

But The film is strangest when it's trying hardest to be serious. Tonal whiplash is constant.

Tank Girl1995

Post-apocalyptic action-comedy with practical vehicle design you can feel. Deliberately trashy where New Barbarians is earnest, but shares the same 'we're building a world from garbage' ethos.

But Aggressively comic-book. If you want grit, this will feel too silly. If you want silly, it's not quite committed enough to either tone.

Cherry 20001987

A post-apocalyptic adventure film with real location shooting and practical stunts. Less harsh than New Barbarians, more romance-adventure, but the same resourceful ingenuity with a tiny budget.

But It's genuinely sweet-natured, which undercuts the apocalypse premise. Tone clashes with stakes throughout.

Battletruck1982

New Zealand post-nuke action with a tank-truck instead of motorbikes. Same mercenary structure, same desert, same practical stunt work. Feels like a genuine alternative history of where the genre could have gone.

But Languid pacing and surprisingly little actual conflict. More meditation than action film, which might frustrate you.

Delicatessen1991

Both create self-contained post-apocalyptic ecosystems where the collapse of law forces people into desperate communities. Where New Barbarians asks 'how do you survive', Delicatessen asks 'what do we become'.

Post-apocalyptic, but French and surreal, shot in a cramped vertical tenement instead of desert. Uses the same 'society has collapsed into tribalism' framework to ask completely different questions. Visually extraordinary.

But Cannibalism, despair, and blackly comic tone. Nothing like New Barbarians' straightforward action. You may feel you signed up for the wrong film.