2020 Texas Gladiators is a gun-toting slice of 1980 post-apocalyptic Sci-fi thriller directed by the king of Euro Shlock Joe D'Amato.  The Italian production features some reward moments of pace ‘n’ thrills, heroic and bad guy camp, and a neatly bounding-to- moody synth score. Here from Severin Films is a triple disc release of the film- taking in a UHD, Blu-Ray, and a CD of the film's score.

From the year 1983, 2020 Texas Gladiators (Anno 2020 - I Gladiatori Del Future, One Eye Force) was the 54^th film directed by D’Amato, who has a impressive two hundred picture filmography that drops down in most sides of exploitation- going from horror, sleaze, action, and porn

The whole thing certainly hits the ground running - as we see a group of bare-chested/ gun belt-crossed men taking down a selection of deranged/ white powder-faced characters- who are attacking a group of nuns & a father in an abandoned building. There are knives thrown into bodies, throats slit, nun habits ripped open, and hands hammered to crosses. The most recognisable face in the band Saviours is the bearded and blond Al Cliver (Zombie, The Beyond, and a few other Italian post-apocalyptic pictures) who plays the character of Nisus- who saves shaken-up blond woman Maida (Sabrina Siani) from the chaos.

We then (with little or no explanation) flash forward some years- and Nisus and Maida have had a thick curly haired child of around ten, and are part of a body of survivors who are held up in a power station that they are trying to get going. Fairly soon there attacked by a group of black motorcycled helmet-wearing/ blue force field surrounding shielded men led up by fascist/neo-Nazi Black One (Donald O'Brien).

As the film unfolds, we get hard drink and sweaty Russian Roulette sessions, lots of general gunplay/ standoffs, and ragged wasteland chases. Both the heroes and bad guys are high in camp- Al Cliver is bounding and ragging against those threatening his family, and the shaven-haired/ black fascist-suited O'Brien feels like a low-rent Donald Pleasance.

It’s scored by an effective often fairly memorable synth score by Rome-born Carlo Maria Cordio (Pieces, Beyond Darkness, and Troll 2). The mixing of western tropes into post-apocalyptic Sci-fi thriller is quite interesting- though these don't quite go as far as you’d hope. All making 2020 Texas Gladiators one of the decent enough films of the 80’s Italy post-apocalyptic cycle.

Moving onto this recently released three-disc set- on the UHD disc we just get the film and its trailer. Then on the Blu-ray the film, extras and trailer. The 4k scan looks well-defined, with good clarity and depth.

On the extras side we just get one new thing. Gladiator Geretta (16.58) interview with American actress Geretta Geretta- who has a small non-acting/ fighting role in the film, though went onto have ten-year career in Italian films taking in the likes of Demons(1985), Rats: Night Of Terror, and Murder Rock both from 1985. This is an entertaining interview- as she talks about how she got into working in Italian film after off-Broadway parts in the US, her impression of working with the film crew, how she had to retake one of her key scenes several times, and her acting legacy within low-budget Italian cinema.  The only other thing here is archive featurette Shoot Me: The Real Story Of The Italian Texas Gladiator (16.58) taking in interviews with Assistant Director Michele Soavi, Screenwriter Luigi Montefiori And Actor Al Cliver.

The CD features twenty tracks, and it’s a fairly varied affair. Moving from pulsing ‘n’ pumping synth, bass, and electro-beat-fired tracks. Through to blends of jiving organ, hand claps and disco beats. Onto to more mellow beats and clean electric guitar cues, through dramatic bounding keys/ brooding synth horn dramatics, onto martial percussion meets chugging synth string workouts. All making it effective as a play-alone CD, and not just a soundtrack.

This recent three-disc release from Severin of 2020 Texas Gladiators, will certainly find fans of low-budget euro post-apocalyptic Sci-fi thrillers very happy. With the nice clean scan, small-but-decent selection of extras, and of course the films full soundtrack on the CD.