[42nd Street Fever] - A thread dedicated to exploitation and its subgenres on Blu-ray

[The_Chex]

Originally Posted by El_Fez

And a shirtless Leslie Neilson just wrestled a bear to death.

I don't know about you, but that's how I prove I'm an alpha.

[The_Chex]

Be warned that the following is full of SPOILERS.

[Show spoiler]“I’m not like normal people, I’m obsessed with political struggle."

There's a sense of déjà vu as the decorative, pink credits flash across the screen against a montage of New York City in a homage to Rosemary's Baby. Is the world a different place since 1968? For Addie (Betsey Brown - Actors) and Noelle (Co-writer Madeline Quinn), some experiences are as nerve-wracking as ever like shopping for an apartment. A real fright would be comparing the price difference in apartments from 1968 and 2021. Total soul crushing reality. Addie and Noelle catch a break as the costly Manhattan home is cheap and too much of a good deal to pass on. That's how Little Caesars gets my business. It's soon made clear the friendship is one-sided as Noelle sees Addie merely as a bank account when pleading with her roommate to ask her sexually abusive father for money. That night, Addie suffers a horrendous nightmare as she sleeps in her new home. The next day, a blonde-haired woman known simply as "the Girl" (Director / co-writer Dasha Nekrasova) poses as a real estate agent to Noelle to gain access to the apartment. It isn't long before the girl drops the facade and admits she's investigating the previous owner---Jeffrey Epstein. Noelle and the girl bond over their discussions about the deceased sex offender and the people who wanted him silenced before he could talk. As they share pills and descend into a fantasy of maddening conspiracies while talking like a sub-reddit, Addie's grip on reality loosens as she takes on the personality of a thirteen-year-old victim who was sexually abused and tortured in the apartment.

Rarely scary, sometimes annoying and often hilarious, The Scary of Sixty-First is an experience like no other. It isn't uncommon for movies to portray recent real life figures, but it's usually done with a semblance of grace. No name changing here; it's pure exploitation filtered through a SOV-do-whatever attitude by utilizing the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and his recent demise as the center of evil in this tale of secret societies and the occult. I doubt anyone will shed a tear about Epstein, but some may find Addie possessed by an unnamed victim as tasteless. This movie pulls no punches about who it offends or shocks and I haven't even talked about the self-gratification sequence in front of Epstein's old house. Then there's the other masturbation scene with blood and crumpled magazine photos that feels like a typical Friday night.

Before the story reaches the first moment of supernatural shenanigans, most viewers will contemplate tuning out because of Noelle's selfish and abusive personality. She's a villain and it's made clear when the Girl enters her life. The besties scroll through google photos of Epstein's island, watch youtube clips and toss theories around that go no deeper than the pool at a Motel 6. They have no scruples as they belittle Addie while digging through her personal belongings out of boredom. As they ignore Addie's obvious emotional issues and personality change, Noelle and the Girl are shown to be absolute hypocrites and serve as a harsh metaphor for conspiracists who spend all their time patronizing the world for letting terrible people get away with crimes while turning a blind eye to victims close by. This all sounds more coherent and straightforward than the movie portrays it as. It isn't. The story opens with an homage to Rosemary's Baby and ends with the exact same secret society letter warning from Eyes Wide Shut. Of course, their behavior is partially validated by being correct and there really is a conspiracy.

The Scary of Sixty-First may carry a disturbing vibe due in part to the eerie score and grainy 16mm visuals, but it's messy and often runs the gamut between unsettling and hysterical. Some laughs are intentional such as the Girl's constant demeaning of Addie's boyfriend, but there's a hypocritical layer to it since she calls him homophobic slurs after she's slept with Noelle. Other funny moments are from singular expression performances and dialog that probably sounded better on paper than how it comes out. While the aforementioned masturbation sequence could be terrifying as Addie writhes around in public in front of Epstein's former home, it's comical the film even goes to that level of depravity let alone the performance. Betsey Brown deserves applause for going through with it and also saying "**** me like we're on a Boeing 747" with a straight face.

It's sloppy in execution with too many ideas and not enough focus, but the movie is captivating in how unapologetic it is. The commentary on society's reaction to major news and our disconnect from the people in our lives is genuinely truth hitting but mixing it with a powerful, secret elite organization and the occult becomes too much to juggle. Any air of mystery as to what's reality and what is the psychological breakdown of an emotionally scarred abuse victim and drug-fueled redditors is quickly tossed aside leaving only outlandish moments of debauchery driven by amusing acting and character decisions that surpasses itself with each following scene. Yet I can't stop thinking about it several days later.

[gbm82]

Originally Posted by Vincent Dawn

Is Day of the Animals the one where the animals take drugs and go on a killing spree? I've been meaning to pick that one up from Severin, but forgot last time the sale came around.

Edit: Just checked- Wild Beasts is the one with animals getting high on PCP. Day of the Animals is by the same guy who did Grizzly. Excellent film; much better than Deep Blood.

I'm not even big on animal attack movies...

[gbm82]

I don't really pick up to many TV shows but this one sounded right up my alley. And one episode in I'm so glad I did. It's got that Lynchian sitcom soap opera feel (which is to say not a sitcom at all). And I know Lynchian gets thrown around a lot, including by me...but this is so Lynchian that I would almost believe he was behind it. There's a sci-fi element and a ton of paranoia...and a lot of Rhino.

A lot of little tricks are used, some obvious, such as his 50s (60s?) sports car and the extreme dutch angles from inside the fridge. But some are more subtle, like the doors in the house being slightly bigger than normal, giving a smallness to the characters.

This is in Kino's "last chance" sale so I wanted to point it out before it goes OOP and if the first episode is any thing to go on this is a wonderful and surreal show. I'm not sure where this aired but it seems to be "regular TV" so I doubt there's going to be much violence or nudity but this isn't a story that really needs those thing as far as I can tell. My main issue with the first episode is that it gets a bit heavy handed at times and I can imagine some will find the acting bad...but I'm almost certain it was intentional.

[bergman864]

Sequels are nothing new to horror films, especially slashers. The first film was successful enough to warrant more. Instead of another rehash of the its predecessor there's an added element here that gives this film its own flavor.

Courtney Bates returns, the younger sister of main character Valerie from the first film, and is having strange nightmares. They point to her sister being in danger and a leather clad menace with a guitar. As crazy as it sounds it proved to be a lot more fun than I was expecting.

As much a musical as a slasher, this might the only slasher I know of where the killer takes times out to do a musical performance. It's ridiculous but a good showcase of the tongue-in-cheek nature of the film.

While nowhere near the subversive statement its predecessor attempted to be, it's still got just enough of a feminist slant to continue the tradition the previous film set.



Kids are trapped in a mall and attacked by killer robots originally programmed to stop criminals. The film doesn't really rise past that description and, in all honesty, it doesn't really need to. It does just enough to create the characters and their situation and gets out of the way to let the robots do what they do.

The deaths are creative enough to satisfy and Kelli Maroney makes for a good lead. It's solid entertainment. I can get behind that.

The best thing about it might actually be the cameos. Starting off with Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov as their Eating Raoul characters Paul and Mary, respectively. Dick Miller appears as his A Bucket of Blood character Walter Paisley. They're nice in-jokes for attentive fans.

P.S. A Bucket of Blood was later remade as a TV film in 1995 and it features a cameo from Paul Bartel. Though that was a neat coincidence.

[CelluloidPal]

Originally Posted by gbm82

It's here!!

It's made evident quickly that this film has some serious political statements. While set during WW2 the malaise of Vietnam casts a very evident shadow. Our farmer just wants a simple life on his farm and for everyone to be treated equally but the world no longer has room for him.

I can see a lot of disappointed people because this is not exploitation. It may get violent and be low budget but this is New Hollywood bleakness and much more of a drama. There's a couple of clever visual puns that are easy to miss...such as

[Show spoiler]when he burns the barn and says you ain't nothing and then we see a shot where the man is no longer visible)

. And the barn burning is crazy as they really did burn the barn down. I could see this easily having been a Fun City Editions release.

A far better film than I was expecting, I'm stoked to have this in my collection but it's not going to scratch the exploitation itch that I think many were expecting to scratch.

Was this finally released on Blu-Ray? I remember seeing the trailer on almost every Code Red/Scorpion release for the longest time now.

Originally Posted by gbm82

Uninvited

Jack Elam's final film! This horror western quickly establishes that you want everyone dead. And that there's a weird haze. A ton of mysterious dead bodies are nothing to worry about. "oh look at all these dead bodies, lets set up cam 15 feet away"

One of them has a nightmare that seems to be the evil spirits, or whatever, showing him what happened as a warning. When they woke up no one was dead though. I was really hoping some of them would be. The priest did have a sick burn saved for the worst *******...the supremely obnoxious Jackson...I don't often find myself agreeing with priests but he was spot on here.

Other highlights include: the fakest looking gold in the history of fake looking gold, "sultry" looks during poker, the ensuing boob tease, priest dying from a throat punch in a dream (he only died in the dream), person dying in a cave in, "Crazy Indian" being hung and the fight between priest and Jackson after, emo monologues, constant shots of the hanging man, least energetic "please stop: as husband rips open blouse (yes boobs seen), full moon... This film goes for bleak but it just falls flat.

It's basically a Full Moon film without the bonkers or fun. There's some interesting bones but the stale writing, TV direction and bad acting detract and in the end the most horrific thing about this is sitting through it.

Jack Elam did another kind of horror western called A Knife for the Ladies aka Jack the Ripper Goes West. It's a western and a slasher flick in one.

Originally Posted by gbm82

I think more than a few references are made to Peeping Tom, a film I really need to rewatch.

Most definitely. It's a great film.

Originally Posted by bergman864

Sequels are nothing new to horror films, especially slashers. The first film was successful enough to warrant more. Instead of another rehash of the its predecessor there's an added element here that gives this film its own flavor.

Courtney Bates returns, the younger sister of main character Valerie from the first film, and is having strange nightmares. They point to her sister being in danger and a leather clad menace with a guitar. As crazy as it sounds it proved to be a lot more fun than I was expecting.

As much a musical as a slasher, this might the only slasher I know of where the killer takes times out to do a musical performance. It's ridiculous but a good showcase of the tongue-in-cheek nature of the film.

While nowhere near the subversive statement its predecessor attempted to be, it's still got just enough of a feminist slant to continue the tradition the previous film set.



Kids are trapped in a mall and attacked by killer robots originally programmed to stop criminals. The film doesn't really rise past that description and, in all honesty, it doesn't really need to. It does just enough to create the characters and their situation and gets out of the way to let the robots do what they do.

The deaths are creative enough to satisfy and Kelli Maroney makes for a good lead. It's solid entertainment. I can get behind that.

The best thing about it might actually be the cameos. Starting off with Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov as their Eating Raoul characters Paul and Mary, respectively. Dick Miller appears as his A Bucket of Blood character Walter Paisley. They're nice in-jokes for attentive fans.

P.S. A Bucket of Blood was later remade as a TV film in 1995 and it features a cameo from Paul Bartel. Though that was a neat coincidence.

I never really got into the Slumber Party Massacre movies. They felt too plain and dull to me. On the other hand, Chopping Mall is a pure entertainment.

[gbm82]

Originally Posted by CelluloidPal

Was this finally released on Blu-Ray? I remember seeing the trailer on almost every Code Red/Scorpion release for the longest time now.



Jack Elam did another kind of horror western called A Knife for the Ladies aka Jack the Ripper Goes West. It's a western and a slasher flick in one.



Most definitely. It's a great film.



I never really got into the Slumber Party Massacre movies. They felt too plain and dull to me. On the other hand, Chopping Mall is a pure entertainment.

yep. Scorpion finally released it..

Oh, I watched that somewhat recently I forgot he was even in it! What a strange film..

[bergman864]

Originally Posted by CelluloidPal

[Show spoiler]Was this finally released on Blu-Ray? I remember seeing the trailer on almost every Code Red/Scorpion release for the longest time now.



Jack Elam did another kind of horror western called A Knife for the Ladies aka Jack the Ripper Goes West. It's a western and a slasher flick in one.



Most definitely. It's a great film.

I never really got into the Slumber Party Massacre movies. They felt too plain and dull to me. On the other hand, Chopping Mall is a pure entertainment.

They're good enough at doing what they do. The first two I should say, since I've never seen the third.

[gbm82]

Originally Posted by gbm82

I don't really pick up to many TV shows but this one sounded right up my alley. And one episode in I'm so glad I did. It's got that Lynchian sitcom soap opera feel (which is to say not a sitcom at all). And I know Lynchian gets thrown around a lot, including by me...but this is so Lynchian that I would almost believe he was behind it. There's a sci-fi element and a ton of paranoia...and a lot of Rhino.

A lot of little tricks are used, some obvious, such as his 50s (60s?) sports car and the extreme dutch angles from inside the fridge. But some are more subtle, like the doors in the house being slightly bigger than normal, giving a smallness to the characters.

This is in Kino's "last chance" sale so I wanted to point it out before it goes OOP and if the first episode is any thing to go on this is a wonderful and surreal show. I'm not sure where this aired but it seems to be "regular TV" so I doubt there's going to be much violence or nudity but this isn't a story that really needs those thing as far as I can tell. My main issue with the first episode is that it gets a bit heavy handed at times and I can imagine some will find the acting bad...but I'm almost certain it was intentional.

So..... now that I finished this. What a wild ride full of twists and turns. There's a lot of cyberpunk elements without the "look" of cyberpunk (for the most part).

It got less Lynchian and more of it's own thing as it went and kind of became a precursor to the recent American Gods show in many ways. It's not perfect but this is a very good show!

[gbm82]

Uh, ok. I was expecting some kitschy camp no budget monster film with some nudie-cutie frankensteined in. And I suppose I got that. I was not expecting the clear arthouse elements, the credits feature abstract cut-out animation (think Monty Python, I can't remember the actual name for this style). And as with Monty Python this is silly enough that even if you're not a fan of arthouse you should enjoy this as that's not one of the major elements...mostly it comes across as an amateurish production that wants to be silly fun. There are a lot of fun throwbacks to silent films and the horror elements are full on cheese.

Nudie elements really do feel like "a day in the life of," as though it was almost home footage from one of the nudists. There's some really fantastic editing and a few instances where it toys with the audience, adding surrealist flourishes that border slapstick. This is SOV before there was SOV.

nudity: 10/10
rats throwing woman out window: 10/10
bad dubbing: 10/10
gore: 0/10
bathing: 4/10
narration: 20/10
undresssing scenes: 10/10
fisherman fishing for garbage: 10/10
smoking: 10/10
histrionics: 10/10
meandering story: 10/10
dialogue: 3/10
people making funny noises: 10/10
Milligan level monster make-up: 10/10
airplanes: 3/10
stock footage: 5/10
bonkers end: 50/10
SST: 1/10

Normally when I end an AGFA review I make a note that the transfer isn't great but possibly the best it will ever look. Thankfully that's not the case here as this transfer is top notch!

If you enjoy any of these AGFA/Something Weird collaborations this shouldn't be missed! And I still have two more films and the trailer reel to watch...

[ravenus]

The 1992 film of Candyman is an iconic horror feature, one that - apart from the first Hellraiser film - comes closest to writer Clive Barker's trademark blend of romance / eroticism and horror; in its strongest moments it is simultaneously poetic and horrific. I admire the film so much I declined to see the much less well-regarded sequels. Apparently the original director Bernard Rose was attached to a follow-up project sometime in the early 2000's, but that did not ultimately crystallize. When a new take on Candyman was announced a couple of years ago I was skeptical, but the presence of Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us) in the creative team was a major attraction. Peele is known for horror films built around plot and characters, and his presence at least indicated that this would not be some idea-bereft VFX-showcasing cash-in on a known IP.

The 2021 film carries the same name as the original, but is not a traditional reboot. It is in fact a sequel that incorporates into its backstory the events of the 1992 movie and revisits the setting nearly 30 years later. Anthony (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is a painter working to make a presence in the art world, with the help of girlfriend Brianna (Teyonah Parris) who is an art curator. The film begins with them having shifted into a swanky part of the Cabrini-Greens neighborhood, and Brianna's brother Troy relates to them the events of Candyman '92 as known to the public. Anthony jokingly invokes the Candyman summoning ritual, and shortly afterwards, strange and horrific events occur around him and his circle. Through the medium of the story, the film looks at gentrification of minority neighborhoods, which leads to expulsion of the original inhabitants, and also examines the art-world as a metaphor for racial integration in mainstream society.

This does not mean that our Afro-American lead is enshrined in a golden halo. In fact, one of the early Candyman killings is of the gallery owner who wants to expel Anthony's work, and it is no secret that the artist is pleased with the reversal of his fortunes that comes in the aftermath of the murders. This change of fate is tied in with a physical transformation triggered by a bee sting (you definitely need to have seen the 1992 film to anticipate what this is leading to).

For me Candyman 2021 works a lot better on paper than as it unfolds on the screen. One of its problems is trying to depict a more socially conscious take on race prejudice in a very limited time-frame. The Candyman character is stripped off the intriguing ambivalence to a more outright sympathetic character. Also, too many of the supporting cast come across as exposition dumps. Yes, even the original Candyman had a lot of backstory reveal, but it was achieved in a more seamless fashion. Also this film over-uses the artistic device of paper puppets re-enacting the described events, as though the makers were not sure of the actors sufficiently holding attention with their lines. One of the best moments of Blackkklansman for me was when the Harry Belafonte character is describing a lynching - the event is presented solely through his retelling, and the scene is powerful because it asks the audience to imagine the event in their heads without distracting visual guides.

The film does get stronger in the climax, where it more fully realizes its potential of concomitant beauty and horror, but even here, it does not reach the heights of the original. Unlike Peele's previous films, Candyman 2021 relies too hard on the audience's memories of the previous film to play up the horror element in their heads, and is more eager to be a shrill social justice cry.



[Nothing to say about the BD, since I actually watched it on Prime]

[bergman864]

It's always difficult to approach a long heralded classic. You have to worry about its hype, its influence, and your own preconceived notions of its place within its specific subgenre. Maybe I had built Torso up to incredible heights. It was only bound to disappoint at that level.

First, this is one sexy giallo. More in the sense that plenty of characters are focused on sex rather than being an erotic film, though it can be that in some places. It actually relates to the killer's motivation (somewhat) but that's beside the point. It's a film that's somewhat uneven despite the heavy lifting from the screenplay. The screenplay gives us a few more defined characters. Jane and Dani are more than just eye candy, with relationships and motivations that exist outside of the scope of the film. I appreciated that. The same can't be said for their two friends, who speak very little and only gain purpose well after their usefulness.

I did like the use of the many red herrings. It kept things off balance and had me guessing up until the end. My biggest problem was the pace. I didn't find a lot of scenes to be very tense. And I found the third act flat out boring. By the end it made sense why the killer made so many surprising (baffling) choices but the lead up to the reveal felt like padding. There's only so long I can watch the killer dispose of bodies before I start to wonder if it's leading anywhere.

It's not a bad movie by any means. I liked the reveal and killer's motivation, and a few characters stood out but I found myself checking the clock way too often.

[gbm82]

It's Italian grindhouse filtered through the lens of a modern ADHD sex and attention obsessed woman raised on movies, drugs and the internet. It alternates between hypnotic and annoying but a surreal feel and ever-moving camera ties it all together.

Most of the time I was confused as to if we were supposed to like or hate the characters as I found them all self-absorbed and clearly out of touch, but perhaps that is the intent. I mean one scene takes place in a nice large NYC kitchen as they discuss their lack of money...

As for the horror in this, it's rather disturbing in a real sense, touching on delusion, drug addiction and pedophilia, using real events of recent times for a backdrop. It's a hard to watch film for all of these reasons and some overacting but the atmosphere is pretty great overall. And once it really gets going it's a wonderful throwback piece that manages to throw a few new things at the audience.

Despite the bits of blood and decent amount of nudity this never feels sleazy, instead it's disturbing and disgusting. Fans of the provocative will want to see this, but if you're looking for some fun exploitation this is the wrong street.

[gbm82]

It starts with two teens making out in their car in a desolate location... ok we've seen this a thousand times...



Things get macabre and depraved rather quickly, although not any more than many slashers from the same time. The aftermath of this murder finds a budding criminologist and a pathologist in the same room...they go for a gialli date and...

[Show spoiler]

The investigation that follows is rather dry and bland...and a bit heavy heanded but a few strange intrusions keep things interesting. As does the experimental soundtrack. But there's almost no interesting editing or lighting to be found and the direction itself is rather pedestrian. This isn't going to be one of the gialli that wins you over with style so one would hope it has substance.

The film does excel at creating a paranoid atmosphere with a hyper-real feel of overattuned sound and men who fly off the handle at a moments notice, or are simply rather creepy. And it's got general weirdness in spades.

A few sequences make this a worthwhile watch but this is a fairly middling example of the genre as a whole, which is a shame because those sequences show what this could have been and the script seems to have something to say, it's just not very good at it.

[bergman864]

LET THE SPICE FLOW!!!

I'm not sure what Dino De Laurentiis expected when he hired David Lynch to direct an adaptation of Dune. I mean, Alejandro Jodorowsky was originally attached (though not under him) so maybe he knew exactly what he wanted. Also, I'm not sure why there would be any David Lynch fans who have qualms about its place in his cannon. This is almost completely unfiltered Lynch here. The comedy isn't quite as dark as Blue Velvet but it still represents him at his most creative.

Dune is grand and ambitious. A film as uncompromising in its commercial appeal. It's not as clean a story to find success in a post Star Wars world. There are the same sort of oddball characters, taken to their most extreme here, but the story isn't as inspiring. It doesn't help that a lot of parts are convoluted, no thanks the endless cuts this had to endure for its theatrical length. For comparison, this theatrical edit is shorter than the 2021 version, which only covers a part of the original novel.

With all that said, this is a blast to watch. Bonkers in all the right ways. It'll stick with you. Whether it's a grotesque character (looking like an inspiration for Austin Power's Fat Bastard) spitting on a woman, blocky armor using the best available digital effects, a blue eyed child menacing a character with "the Voice", or a psychedelic sequence as strange and enchanting as anything Lynch has put on screen.

Even without a lot of script clarity this is still a fun movie that manages to complete its story by the end. It's satisfying if you're there for an ambitious sci-fi with a bunch of crazy but always interesting visuals.

P.S. I used to wonder what Return of the Jedi would've looked like with Lynch at the helm. Given this is the film that properly gave us Jabba the Hut and also the Ewoks, he could've had a field day with these.

[gbm82]

[gbm82]

It feels like a surreal softcore music video... the type of film that Altered Innocence might release. Arty and dystopic with SGT more than a straightforward Giallo.

They basically distilled every thing I love about late 80s cinema into one strong concatenation. I almost overdosed. I can't even list all the weirdness going on here, it's great and sleazy...many will likely despise it. If Skinemax films are like this I might need to see some.

I think there was a plot in here somewhere... I was lost in the LSD imagery sex and murder....

[kp404]

Witch Story (Streghe) (Superstition 2) (1989)

Directed By: Alessandro Capone

CF Favorites: N/A

Estimated Budget: $2-3 million, to pay the cast of 30 teenagers

In 1989, a million witch movies came out and this one is no different than most of the others. There's a house haunted by someone killed there years ago, typically for witchery, and they must avenge their death by murdering present day horny teens in the most fun way possible. In this unofficial sequel to 1982's Superstition, this group of teens headed for danger is something different than we are used to in these types of movies: they are actually likeable. The only issue is that there are too many of them holed up in a house where a witch was burned hundreds of years ago, so you know supernatural mayhem ensues. You know what that means: an abundance of kills! This movie feels like "Dead Dudes in the House" but with more appealing characters.

The kills....wooo, these kills are pretty great. They are not the most creative, but they are brutal and bloody. There is one kill in particular that I will not spoil that people are going to LOVE. The ending is pretty fun too.

So its a simple story of a witch coming back for revenge in the present day with some likeable characters, great kills, and that late 80s charm (cheesy soundtrack too) that we all love. I definitely recommend you seek this one out if you can and hopefully it gets a blu ray release in the future. Its a comforting, fun supernatural slasher.

Ratings
Violence/Gore: A-
Nudity/Sex: F-
Plot: D
Acting: C+
Cheese/Fun Factor: A-
Overall: B+ (Recommended)

[kp404]

Terminal Force (1989)

Directed By: Fred Olen Ray

CF Favorites: Fred Olen Ray, John Henry Richardson

Estimated Budget: It's Fred Olen Ray, so it's definitely less than a week's worth of groceries for a family of four

Richard Harrison: "I'm looking for information."
Delilah: "Wrong Choice. I **** for Free, Information'll cost ya."

And that as "Terminal" as it gets. When you see the name Fred Olen Ray, you can't do anything but be excited and be prepared for more cheese than a pizza buffet. A terrible cop (Richard Harrison) suspended for killing a suspect decides to break the law again and chase and kill bad guys to rescue a kidnapped woman from John Henry Richardson's villain (Johnny Ventura). The kidnapped woman's father decided to testify against Ventura, so it's a pretty simple plot with alot of stupid buildup for the main story.

Richard Harrison as our "hero" acts like he'd rather be doing anything other than this movie. Perhaps his bookie made threats? Owed back taxes? Wanted to go back to school? Whatever the reason, he is the epitome of "what the **** ever" attitude here. He even flicks rubber bands at people he doesn't like. He insults women. What a guy. Oh, did I mention he sucks at his job? He gets beat up...ALOT. It's never explained why no other cop can track down this kidnapped woman but our hero. In fact,

[Show spoiler]The hero doesn't even save the day; the backup police come in and actually end the villain's streak. It's such a pitiful performance.

The rest of the movie??? DRAGS. There is a bar interrogation that goes on FOREVER and Delilah's acting surprisingly stands out as worst of the worst in this movie. This dialogue...there's a drug-addicted snitch who won't stop reminiscing on how great acid was to him. The main villain's goons are laughably bad at their jobs and their acting. The mob informant guy gets to wax poetic about the power and dignity of being a truck driver. In fact, he's so enamored with his iconic lifestyle choice of trucking that he doesn't seem to be as bothered that his only daughter was kidnapped. In fact, he's mildy irritated at the thought. It's as goofy a scene as it sounds.

Then the movie decides to have philosophical discussions about police brutality that border on insulting. So, this is one of the least interesting Fred Olen Ray movies. It's boring for the most part and the violence is cheap and lame. The only really redeeming qualities are the hilarious dialogue and since it's a Fred Olen Ray movie, so of course there's great nudity in it too. I don't recommend this one unless you're a Fred Olen Ray completist.

Ratings
Violence/Gore: F-
Sex/Nudity: B+
Plot: D-
Acting: F
Cheese/Fun Factor: C
Main Character Charisma and Heroism: F-
Overall: C- (Not Recommended, but has some fun stuff)

[DaveyJoe]

Originally Posted by kp404

Overall: C- (Not Recommended, but has some fun stuff)

This was also how my ex-girlfriend described me.