North America, in the near future . Two married couples (Craig Hill, Teresa Gimpera , Fernando Hilbeck , Patty Shepard) and a teen (Pedro Maria Sanchez) live in a rather sophisticated , luxurious underground flat that is actually an anti-atomic shelter. The world has been devastated by a nuclear war and the hopeless group waits for the radioactivity to disappear. They cannot leave the complex and they live in an usual state of vigilance . The misfit bunch is constantly in situation of control , as they are besieged by the contaminated environment . The quintet uses to entertain themselves , playing , talking or performing erotic games and while communicating with other survivors over the CB radio , and eventually succumbing to panic . But the food supplies are running out and they are physically suffering and urgently need medicines , so that the younger son leaves the secure area . Time... The not too distant future. Place... The USA. Problem... Nuclear war. Effect... A society with no rules
Spanish Sci-Fi/horror film set in a destroyed world with full of thrills , suspense , chills and creepy plot with twists and turns . "El refugio del miedo (1974)" or ¨Refuge of Fear¨ (United States) or ¨Survivors of the Last Race¨ (United Kingdom) deals with a group of distressed people , formed by five survivors of an apocalyptical war , all of them are living into a lush underground apartment. There's excessive overtalking and a character studio from a desperate group of people , revolving around a husband and wife along with their son and another couple ; all of them find themselves unfortunately stuck underground bomb shelter after a nuclear war , then tension , disputes and violence begin bursting here and there . ¨El refugio del miedo (1974)¨ weaves a fantastic story , about a motley group of five people searching for whatever thing necessary for his survival . As they live desperately isolated in an installation , the group is finely performed by a good cast , such as the American resident in Spain , vetran Craig Hill , who in real life married Teresa Gimpera , Patty Shepard , Fernando Hilbeck and an ex-child prodigy : Pedro Mari Sánchez . This scary , bizarre film contains thriller , tense , intense drama , mystery , plot twists and shocks , including decent scares with tense terror sequences especially in its final part , in a creepy as well as surprising denouement . A low budget Spanish production with a timeline that spans through a few days , it is a thriller that begins introducing the varied characters and goes on through until an unexpected final . Suffers from some sputtering about a quarter of the way in , the sputtering came from an unique scenario , away from atmospheric set pieces and toward a very sad story line , one which suffers from some slow-moving scenes and claustrophobic scenarios . Interesting screenplay by director José Ulloa himself revolving the mental disintegration of a diverse group and the various amazing surprises they find . The motion picture is acceptable , although sometimes deliberate pacing and packs a lot of turns ; however , being entertaining for continuous suspense and intrigue , as well as shady atmosphere . This average picture is exciting and some moment brilliant, and the players are quite reliable . Ghastly movie builds taut by showing virtually well staged set pieces , appropriately sinister settings , enjoyable soundtrack and gloomy cinematography , though a perfect remastering is necessary . Few disagree that the film is professionally mounted , the performances solid , and that it respectfully carries on the tradition and borrowing several elements of Spanish "horror" films . This film belongs to Scifi sub-genre about the dystopian existence of people after a nuclear or viral disaster , such as : ¨The Last Man on Earth¨, ¨Omega man¨, ¨La Hora Fria¨ or ¨The Dark Hour¨ , ¨28 Days Later¨ , ¨28 weeks later¨ , ¨I am Legend¨, among others .
The motion picture produced in limited but enough budget by J. A. Pérez Giner from Profilms (deemed to be the Spanish Hammer Film) , being regular but professionally written and directed by José Ulloa. He was a fine craftsman , a professional Second Unit Director or Assistant Director and getting to shoot five passable films , such as : ¨Andalucía chica¨, ¨La amante ingenua¨ , ¨Juventud sin freno¨ , ¨Veinte pasos para la muerte¨ and this ¨El refugio del miedo¨. Rating : 5/10 . So-so but passable , but only for Spanish movies aficionados .
