"In a series of case studies, and by analysing the individual films of the Mad Max series, this book examines how the kinetic energy and aesthetic design of a number of divergent exploitation films filters into the Mad Max series and resulted in a fresh cycle of international low-budget post-apocalyptic movies that appeared on the new home video markets in the 1980s. Mad Max: Fury Road signalled the return after 30 years of the most famous and celebrated post-apocalyptic film series, one that had a profound influence on numerous dystopian films, video games, and comic books. Fury Road 's Academy Award success helped to reestablish the series as a mainstream cultural icon. By contrast, the first Mad Max was an inventive concoction of influences from a range of exploitation genres, including the biker movie, the revenge film, and the car chase cinema of the 1970s. The first in-depth academic study of the extraordinary journey of Mad Max, The Mad Max Effect reveals how a humble low-budget Australian action movie came from the cultural margins of exploitation cinema to have an indelible impact on the broader media landscape."--