Empire of Ash III

Empire of Ash III, a Canadian post-apocalyptic science fiction film from 1989, was co-directed by Lloyd A. Simandl and Michael Mazo. The cast includes Melanie Kilgour, William Smith, and Ken Farmer. In the U.S., it went by the title *Last Of The Warriors*. This movie follows the 1988 film that is variously known as *Empire of Ash*, *Empire of Ash II*, or *Maniac Warriors*.

The story is set in 2050, after a nuclear war has devastated the world. A disease afflicting the ruling elite requires blood transfusions to keep them alive. Government-sanctioned bands of nomads called the Warriors, commanded by the Baalca, forcibly extract healthy blood from unwilling women using needles, delivering it to the rulers. Characters Zak and Iodine are seen as a subversive threat to these blood bank troops. Danielle saves a loner named Lucas, who later helps her gather a group to rescue her sister and stop the blood harvesting.

The film was the second collaboration between Canada’s North American Pictures and Wales’ EGM International, following *Slow Burn*, which also featured William Smith. Early promotional materials hinted that the film might be co-directed by North American’s Lloyd Simandl and EGM’s John Eyres, but the credited directors ended up being Simandl and his usual partner Michael Mazo. North American Pictures used the profits from the first *Empire of Ash* to fund this sequel, which also received subsidies from B.C. Films, a lottery-funded support program. The budget was CAD$500,000 (roughly US$400,000 at the time). Principal photography began on June 4, 1988, and wrapped by the end of the month. Like its predecessor, the movie was shot on 16 mm film. Filming took place in the Mission and Abbotsford–Matsqui areas of British Columbia, and it was promoted as the first feature shot in the latter location. Specific sites included the Ruskin Dam, Dewdney Slough, and several spots on Sumas Mountain: the Kilgard open pit mine, the Cox Landing quarry, and the Heritage Valley resort, which housed most of the crew.

Stunt coordinator Ben Derrick of Mission announced stunts such as a full body burn, a helicopter drop, and a 100-foot motorcycle jump, some of which were billed as “never before attempted in Canada.” The movie was noted for its BDSM-themed scenes, a callback to Simandl’s earlier work.