User Reviews

The film focuses on two boys, one of whom has got into trouble with the police after he is accused of an act of vandalism which he did not commit, but in which he has taken too much interest. After his father tells him to await punishment, he runs away, and his friend tracks him down. Both boys' parents are employed at a certain type of power station which is in danger of meltdown - the obvious word beginning with 'n' is never used during the film. When the boys return home they find the whole area deserted, but still do not know why. The film focuses on the boys' struggle for survival once they realise what is happening.

This film was shot in the north west Wales region of Gwynnedd - mainly in Trawsfynydd and Porthmadog, with a few scenes in Blaenau Ffestiniog and the surrounding roads, and the facility in question is the now defunct Trawsfynydd power station. Even allowing for the fact that the nuclear power industry in the 1970s will have employed people from all over the UK, whose default language will have been English, the shortage of Welsh characters and the almost total lack of Welsh signs in one of the most Welsh parts of "Welsh Wales" is still somewhat jarring. The only exception on screen is a police station with a sign reading "Heddlu - Police", presumably because the building was also a police station in real life.

These concerns aside, the film is full of action throughout. Notably, the final scene is reminiscent of spy thrillers except that it was shot in Blaenau rather than Berlin. To know more it will be necessary to watch the film, and I recommend that course of action.

Came across this on Youtube, thought it sounded interesting so gave it a watch.

Terrible acting and laughable dialogue but I didn't let that put me off. Given it's a CFF film I wasn't expecting much...and I didn't get it.

It was interesting when the kids came back to the village to find it deserted. I thought it was going to be an interesting little mystery. But it quickly turned out the village had been evacuated while the kids were 'AWOL'. I completely lost interest after that.

Nicely filmed in rugged Wales although there was a distinct lack of Welsh accents around. As usual with CFF films there was a message for children, don't vandalise phone boxes as you might need to use it urgently as happened here. The "nuclear menace" was not mentioned directly but the plot revolved around the danger of a nuclear power station blowing up. Lots of lovely cars to see in the lurid colours popular in the mid to late 70s. The usual "nuisance girl" was largely absent from the screen most of the time but she was there as normal for a CFF film. The child actors were OK although one had a very posh accent for a film set in North Wales, but he possibly moved there with his power station employed dad. Well worth watching.

A good Children's Film Foundation adventure. The rugged Welsh mountainside makes a wonderful backdrop and gives this one a particularly visual appeal. The countdown to disaster plotline is handled expertly, starting off mysteriously and building to a race-against-the-clock climax. I really enjoyed the level of psychological realism, looking at the effect of bereavement on a child, and it helps to elicit an extra level of sympathy for the characters. Good turns from familiar faces like Dudley Sutton and Morris Perry add to the fun.