The Prodigal Planet (1983)

'The Prodigal Planet', the last film made in the 'A Thief in the Night' series is probably the least interesting of the bunch. Now its more competently made then arguably all of the others, but as a result it loses some of their (probably unintentional) charm. This is also the longest movie in the series, at a trifle over 2 hours it is just too long, very padded. William Wellman is rescued from decapitation by a convenient nuclear explosion and a woman who claims to be a double agent, but is actually a triple agent. The plot line of the surviving female member of the previous movies love triangle is completely dropped, we never find out what happens to her (not that we necessarily care that much), and instead Wellman picks up a mother daughter pair while on the way to Oklahoma to meet up with the believers resistance and deliver to them a key computer component (unlike the first three Iowa based films this movie was largely shot in New Mexico).

The mother/daughter pair is conveniently not saved though opposed to the oppressive government  stuff going on, thus providing Wellman people to preach to (Russell Doughten does make a brief appearance as the reverend Turner, whose now living underground and eating rats). This movie is mostly a slow cross country chase of our leads by Thom Rachford and his men, Rachford is even given something of a chance to redeem himself, but ultimately he's still on the side of the devil, though had the planed 5th film been made who knows... though probably not, once you take the Mark you are for all intents and purposes irredeemable.

This movie spends a fair amount of time in an abandoned metropolitan area where the daughter from the mother daughter pair Jodi (played by Wellmen's own daughter Cathy) has one of those trite 'girls just want to shop even in the apocalypse' sequences. Connie Wright meanwhile evidences a taste for kitschy art. The group even befriends a mutant who dresses in monks robs like he's out of 'The Omega Man', but with much less of a makeup budget. Like the other films in this series it's kind of interesting as a curio, members of a specific sub culture at a specific time trying to satisfy the duel desires to proselyte and make movies, and I suppose technically succeeding, but how well is another matter. *1/2