Welcome II the Terrordome (1995) User Reviews

interesting take on women

[sansiena · 7/10 · 4 October 2004]

One should not read the film as a simplistic endorsement of violence. The film presents an interesting take on womanhood, making two mothers (Anjela and

Jodie) the centerpiece of the movie, and pointing out how violence damages

both women and leaves both alone at the end. However, the film does

represent Onwurah's frustration, anger, and apparent feeling that reasonable

options and immigrant dreams are impossible. It's interesting to examine this film along with Onwurah's own meditations about her childhood (Coffee Colored Children) and her white mother's sexuality (The Body Beautiful). Onwurah's

most recent work, Hang Time, also explores the lack of options available to the urban poor.

Well...

[tracee · 6/10 · 5 December 1998]

It was interesting, very interesting. It's not a comedy, but the references to things from the hip-hop culture from the late 80s-early 90s were pretty hilarious. I think people should see it if they like watching "different" things like I do.

A brave attempt. Visceral, but preaching a little too much.....

[FlashCallahan · 4/10 · 17 December 2015]

Spike and his sister Anjela live in the Terrordome, a huge ghetto that a minority have been forced to live in.

Jodie, Spike's pregnant girlfriend, ran away from an abusive boyfriend who, after seeing her with Spike, sets up a trap for her.

Spike's 11-year old nephew Hector dies as a result of this trap, and Anjela, finding the body of her son, goes on a police-killing rampage.

Her apprehension sets off tension between Spike and his brother-in-law, as a race war broods inside the Terrordome.......

Welcome II The Terrordome is one of those films in a very long line that I have been curious about ever since I heard of the film. But this one is a little different, the only ever advertising or promotion of this film i ever came across was in an issue of Empire, and it was the very same Issue where they reviewed the film and gave it one star.

But still, the concept was there, and the title was a reference to Public Enemy, and this was a time when I was going through a phase of rap. But that's all it was, a phase, and thanks to the likes of the aforementioned rap act, Ice Cube, Dre, Snoop, and Boyz N the Hood, the UK gave us Credit To The Nation, The Real McCoy, and this, as a counter to the phase.

And while it has some good ideas, and some stark imagery, it's nothing more than a concept, and a slightly racist one at that. Here in the Terrordome, the minority is innocent. And the rest are bigots, choosing culture, creed, and colour as an excuse to cause some damage to the Terrordome.

It's a hybrid of A ClockWork Orange, BladeRunner, and Srtaight Out Of Brooklyn, and every bit as confusing as it sounds.

It has its moments though, the scene in the jail cell is pretty powerful, as is the mothers quest after a family member gets killed.

It's preaching to nobody, and almost offending every single ethnicity out there. I was stunned at some of the dialogue uttered by these people.

If your a Saffron Burrows completest, go ahead, she's in it, but the film is pointless, and the fact that it took the makers three years to get funding, must had said something.

No wonder its long forgotten....

Isn`t This Inverse Racism ?

[Theo Robertson · 2/10 · 8 August 2002]

This film starts with 19th Century slave traders - Who are all white and sport some of the most unconvincing American accents you`ll ever hear - capturing a bunch of Black Africans who decide slavery is not for them and ( !!!!!POSSIBLE SPOILER _ THOUGH THIS HAPPENS IN THE FIRST SCENE !!!!!) decide they`d all rather commit suicide than be slaves . The the film jumps forward a couple of centuries to a futuristic polarised city where the people in the opening scene are reincarnated , though thankfully they`ve lost their American accents . The city is polarised between black and white , but this is the problem I have with TERRORDOME - just about all the blacks are shown to be relatively good while the whites are almost without exception are shown to be fascist , racist and evil . What`s the chances if the shoe was on the other foot this film would have ever seen the light of day ? It goes beyond being PC and is invertedly racist .

It`s not just for its polemical views that I dislike TERRORDOME it`s a bad example of film making too . The performances are bad to say the least ( Especially the American accents ) the dialogue stilted and expositional especially when we have the narrator voice over , and the whole production has that feel that it was made by film students . I guess if you like hip hop then you might like TERRORDOME but I`m more of a U2 man myself

Overlooked film at the time -Worthy of Reconsideration

[robert-1432 · 9/10 · 19 November 2012]

Just saw this this movie as part of my cinema studies class. Very much a film ahead of its time. This probably accounts for some of the negative reviews it got back in the day. With hindsight it makes so much sense. The cinematography by Alwin Kuchler is outstanding. And it brings to mind the look and feel of Blade Runner. Sometimes, it's hard to like, but I just can't stop thinking about it. It's very visceral,visual and urgent. In the context of current events now it's a film worth your time to reconsider. Great, if dated soundtrack. Director Onwurah's look at the subject of race is unblinking - Makes a change from all the bland African-American films that are out there now. Go see it if you can.

a truly appalling film

[webmaster-625 · 1/10 · 31 December 2005]

for the technical aspects of making a film - camera work, scenery, sound, the general atmosphere it creates - this film has something going for it, it conveys just as sinister a future as "Blade Runner".

However for the story itself I honestly cannot think of a single redeeming feature.

Ngozi Onwurah is clearly an angry man to have produced a film such as this, but there is a point where social commentary becomes racism and I believe that he has well and truly crossed the line.

Saffron Burrows plays a pregnant white girl who lives in the black ghetto having escaped from her former boyfriend - however, this interracial relationship leads to her former boyfriend beating her and causing her to have a spontaneous miscarriage, and her black boyfriend's concern for her infuriates his family who have suffered a bereavement and challenge his concern for 'some little white girl'

The film contributes nothing whatsoever except to reinforce racial stereotypes and to stir up racial hatred - give it a miss!

The Ultimate Tribute to Public Enemy?

[EdYerkeRobins · 10/10 · 9 March 2001]

This film bases itself on a dark (no pun intended) future of African-Americans, as they have been forced into the Terrordome, a "city" surrounded by barbed fences, a "city" where drugs, violence, and police corruption run rampant, and a rapidly depleting ozone layer bakes the city.

This British film is gritty and hardcore, portraying the negative aspects of "ghetto" life, a life that is often glorified in modern hip-hop culture. The acting is very well done, particularly during scenes of tension between Spike and his brother-in-law concerning Jodie and, aside from a couple of references which, whether done out of respect or as an inside joke, are rather silly (e.g. Spike's grandmother's name is Rosa Parkson), is very well done. The movie's setting is based on a bleak future as portrayed in black-conscious hip-hop groups such as Public Enemy ("Welcome To The Terrordome" is a Public Enemy song), and the soundtrack (mostly by the groups Sense of Sound and Black Radical MKII), broadcast throughout the movie's scenes from Terrordome's pirate radio station, is reminiscent of these groups and is also well done. This film is worth watching if you are a fan of these groups, or would like to see a different portrayal of bleak futures of oppression, since most films of this type, such as "Blade Runner", focus only on white or robotic characters.

Grossly overlooked and underrated

[ebeckstr-1 · 10/10 · 7 June 2022]

If you Care, with an uppercase C, and love great cinema, ignore the negative reviews. They are way off the mark. Those people either do not understand this movie or do not care to understand it.

Highly affecting, distressing, and, ultimately beautiful work of Afrofuturism (I had tears in my eyes more than once). The film opens with a stylized depiction of the Igbo Landing and moves into a narrative consisting of both a semi-traditional plot and a symbolic depiction of the nightmare brutality of racism, and the resultant physical, psychological, emotional, social, and cultural destruction. It is both astounding and sadly easy to believe that this film was the first "theatrically distributed British feature directed by a Black woman" (Criterion).

Highly recommended, but note that the film depicts graphic acts of physical brutality, including against Black bodies. At the same time it overflows with beautiful imagery, dynamic camera work, and moving performances. Superbly written and directed.