Set in the year 3031 on a frontier planet light years from Earth, the tumbleweed town of Oblivion faces a dangerous threat as a bizarre gang of futuristic desperadoes eyes turning it into their private playground. The action opens with the murder of Marshal Stone by Red Eye, Andrew Divoff, a power-hungry villain who wields a coveted planet-specific substance that also shorts out electronics to help him cheat in a street showdown; the blow also disables Stell Barr, the cyborg deputy, portrayed by Meg Foster. Red Eye and his cronies begin pressuring Oblivion’s residents to surrender control and accept his rule.
The town’s mortician Gaunt, Carel Struycken, who possesses a supernatural ability to foresee death, sets out to find Marshal Stone’s son Zack, Richard Joseph Paul, who is prospecting in the wilderness. Zack’s journey toward his hometown becomes entwined with a larger reckoning as fate pulls him back into a confrontation he never sought.
On the road, Zack saves a native named Buteo, Jimmie F. Skaggs, from a near-fatal encounter with a giant scorpion. The two form an uneasy alliance and head toward Oblivion for the funeral, their trek marked by a misadventure in a saloon where Zack maintains a surprising restraint, choosing peace over violence even when taunted by Red Eye’s henchmen. Upon reaching town, they cross paths with Mattie Chase, Jackie Swanson at the local whorehouse, who learns that Zack’s empathy allows him to feel what others experience and that he recoils from unnecessary harm, a realization that deepens his resolve to protect the vulnerable.
Meanwhile, Gaunt’s warning reaches Zack: one of Red Eye’s associates was connected to the deaths that haunt Buteo, fueling a personal vendetta. Buteo’s desire for justice drives him to challenge that foe to a fair fight, a duel in which he emerges victorious but is then captured by Red Eye’s gang, placed in stocks, and whipped as punishment. The brutality hardens the group’s purpose, strengthening Zack’s resolve to intervene.
As tensions escalate, Zack confronts his fears and takes decisive action—he saves Buteo and opens fire on the townspeople who had aligned with Red Eye, marking a bold turn toward decisive resistance. The situation escalates further when Mattie is abducted by Red Eye and dragged into the Badlands. Zack, Mattie, and their allies rally to mount a daring rescue, moving through peril toward Oblivion’s heart to dismantle Red Eye’s operation once and for all.
Doc Valentine, George Takei, an inventor whose technology had previously failed to shield the Marshal, lends his expertise to the effort, helping the group navigate the deadly terrain and devise a plan to outmaneuver Red Eye. In the end, the united team confronts the gang, defeats the villains, and restores a fragile peace to Oblivion, proving that courage and compassion can prevail in a world defined by danger and distance.
