Marked For Murder (1990)

Marked For Murder (1990)- * * 1\2

Directed by: Rick Sloane

Starring: Wings Hauser, Renee Estevez, Blake Bahner, James Mitchum, Ken Abraham, Ross Hagen, and Martin Sheen as Man In Park

When a TV news cameraman inadvertently films the murder of a police informant, everyone is after "The Tape". Because a fed, Winfield (Bahner), a TV news station owner, Emerson (Wings), and police higher-ups, including Rainier (Mitchum) all want the tape for various reasons, and no one can seem to get their hands on it, two employees of the aforementioned news station, Justine (Estevez) and Corey (Abraham), are framed for - and MARKED FOR - murder. So they are now on the run and trying to clear their good names. Things come to a head when Emerson tries to do a drug deal with Tyrell (Hagen), and then all hell breaks loose and the truth is finally revealed. Who will end up with the tape?



While director Rick Sloane's later effort Mind, Body & Soul (1992) - also starring Wings Hauser - is his most watchable effort that we've seen to date, it seems that he was still perfecting his formula with Marked For Murder. His prior films such as Hobgoblins (1988) and Blood Theatre (1984) can be quite painful to sit through at times, but 'Marked marks a marked improvement over those initial horror-esque outings.


However, the film lacks a certain dynamism. The pacing, let's just say, is pretty slack. Sometimes it's nonexistent. Mr. Pacing just kind of leaves the building right before the final showdown. That being said, It is kind of impressive that Sloane and the gang made a film about people looking for a VHS tape for 90 minutes.


The humor, such as it is, doesn't work, and there's a lot of facepalm-inducing dumb dialogue that's really dumb. Not to mention stupid. But it's all somewhat pleasant and rather harmless stuff. Many improvements could have been made in just about every department in order to make things better, but Marked For Murder is far from the worst thing we've ever seen.


It seems likely that Sloane just corralled a bunch of B-Movie names (and one or two A-Movie names) and just sort of hoped that by simply putting them in front of the camera, magic would happen. Yes, Wings Hauser unquestionably has "It" - that magnetic, indefinable screen presence that audiences like. But his appearance in the film is intermittent. He comes and goes like radio static. When he's around, things definitely improve.


Renee Estevez is cute and appealing as the female lead, and it's probably because of her that Martin Sheen makes a dialogue-less cameo as "Man in Park". Clearly a shining moment for his resume. Blake Bahner is involved in one of the silliest car chases/crashes we've seen in some time, but we're dealing with Marked For Murder here. Would we expect anything less? Also, there's a character in the movie called Spider. Bahner is most famous for playing Brad Spyder. Coincidence? Jim Mitchum has a glorified cameo, though he does get more dialogue and screen time than Martin Sheen this time around. Hagen doesn't show up until the end, but what Hagen you get is good Hagen.


During the extra-silly nightclub scene, Marky DeSade provides two songs, "T.V. On Trial" and "Young Girls". There are two musicians who called themselves Marky DeSade, one from the band Ded Engine and one from the punk band The Hypnotics. I'm not sure which one wrote these songs, but in any case they're not the type of songs anyone would dance to in a nightclub. But Marky did go on to work with Rick Sloane on some of his later films. Just one of the many mysteries behind Marked For Murder.


Marked For Murder would make an interesting double bill with Midnight Warrior (1989). Both are DTV films that deal with the TV news business in one form or other. Fans of any of the B-Movie favorites involved may want to check it out, but 'Marked goes from silly to stupid a bit too often for most people's taste, we think.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Also check out a write-up from our buddy, DTVC!

Deadly Breed (1989)

Deadly Breed (1989)- * * *

Directed by: Charles T. Kanganis

Starring: Blake Bahner, Addison Randall, Robert Gallo, Michele Berger, Rhonda Gray, Joe Verroca, and William Smith

Jake Walker (Bahner) is a parole officer with a heart of gold. Even though he works with the ex-cons of L.A.’s mean streets, he gives his parolees money out of his own pocket and gets them jobs working on cars with his Uncle Tony (Gallo). (Doesn’t everyone have an Uncle Tony?) He loves his job so much, it’s even causing marital problems between him and his wife Lana (Berger). Jake’s job suddenly becomes even more complicated when Kilpatrick (Randall) enters his life. Kilpatrick is a slightly creepy cop by day, and leader of a KKK-like white supremacist group by night. When Jake starts to notice that his beloved parolees are dropping like flies, he tries to figure out why. He enlists the help of fellow officers Vinnie (Verroca) and Alex (Gray) to get to the bottom of things. But he may have to go all the way to the top instead – perhaps to Captain (Smith) (That’s all he’s credited as). Has the KKK infiltrated the LAPD? And will Jake Walker be able to come face to face with – and put a stop to – this DEADLY BREED?


Deadly Breed is a quality PM outing from the golden year of 1989. Not only does it feature Blake Bahner at his absolute best, it also has Addison Randall at his absolute best. For those two reasons alone it is worth seeing. All the PM mainstays are behind the camera as well, and if you know and love PM movies (as we do) you will be comforted by this and recognize the familiar style. While most of the action is saved for the climax, the performances (especially Bahner and Randall), the interesting idea (psycho cult leader in the LAPD becomes obsessed with a humble parole officer), and the good pace by director Kanganis all add up to solid entertainment.


The great William Smith puts in a sit-down role (technically he stands up once), but it’s an excellent one. He truly was the B-movie Jack Palance and the man has charisma. You’ve got to love his “I gargle with razorblades” voice. We were certainly happy he was here to anchor things. The sidekick, Vinnie, looks like a more weathered Jason Bateman, and Alex, the female officer tasked with getting closer to Kilpatrick, resembles Karen Sheperd. Rhonda Gray, who played Alex, had a great year in 1989 (didn’t we all?) – that same year she was in the fantastic Shotgun (1989).


You know Kilpatrick is evil because he plays the piano intensely and shirtlessly. When he gives his pep speech to his fellow skinheads, the audience is struck by two things. One, how ahead of its time this movie is, and two, connected to that, how the makers of American History X (1998) MUST have seen this movie and gotten inspiration from it. That always happens – major movies borrow or steal ideas from B-movies, and the lowly B-movies never get the credit or accolades they deserve. Well, hopefully now, because of websites like ours and others, that can be rectified, and video store-era gems like Deadly Breed can finally have their time in the sun.


It’s a joy to watch Blake Bahner as Jake – who really does put in an engaging performance here – transition from the office-bound PO with silly ties to his black-leather-jacketed revenge outfit. His turn as “action parole officer” is a far better role than his prior Brad Spyder movies, though you would never think so because Brad Spyder is such a cool name. Guess you can’t judge an action star by the name…at least not this time, anyway.

In the end, Deadly Breed is a fine example of what PM can do – an enjoyable movie made with a low budget, but with a lot of heart. We recommend it. 

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett 

Contra Conspiracy (1990)

Contra Conspiracy (1990)- * *

Directed by: Thomas Dewier

Starring: Blake Bahner, Michael Williams, and Vicki Stephenson

“You live and you die and you make your mark” - Hillary

When film director Duncan Savage (Michael Williams, in his only credited role to date) takes his crew out to the California desert to shoot a low-budget movie, everything seems to be going according to plan. He even takes his daughter Kiersty (Vicki Stephenson, also her only role) along so she can see for herself the behind-the-scenes magic of moviemaking. Sure, there are the normal hiccups along the way, but nothing any of the experienced crew can’t handle. 

That is, until they run afoul of some baddies. Maybe the location scout should have known, but it seems the film crew has set up shop way too near the base of a gaggle of paramilitary nutjobs. When the two cross paths, a massacre ensues. Kiersty survives, and ends up being debriefed by a trio of government suits. As Kiersty recounts the tale of how she and a few other crew members survived in the nearby forest, we see how it all played out. This includes how they fended off a psycho named Hillary (Bahner, not the one you think). But what, exactly, is the CONTRA CONSPIRACY?

Contra Conspiracy (no “the”), is another pre-PM Pepin and Merhi production under their City Lights banner. All the names we’re so used to seeing in the credits are present and accounted for, from Charles Kanganis, the writer, to Addison Randall, a producer, to John Gonzalez, who did music, to name just a few. 

Anyone familiar with City Lights or PM will recognize not just these names, but also the style of what they’re watching. Contra Conspiracy starts off being pretty interesting and different, however. The first two thirds or so is a little more unorthodox, but then it settles into a fairly run of the mill wilderness slog.

Still, it’s better than Skinheads (1989), because Skinheads had so much more potential, and then squandered it on a standard “running away in the woods” plot. While he’s hardly a threat to Chuck Connors, Blake Bahner, Spyder himself, should be used to being in disappointing product - Blackbelt II (1989) anyone? Not a ton happens in this movie, so it runs out of any of the steam it built up initially at about the hour mark.

The paramilitary guys range from meatheady thugs to the classic “weak link” who feels bad for the film crew. Going for them, however, is the fact that they have a camouflage car. Sure, it’s the desert and the car is painted classic green camo, but hey...it may be a gigantic 1984 Buick, but it’s painted camo, so you WON’T SEE IT COMING. Pretty genius. But the good guys have plenty of tricks up their sleeves as well. In order to put the baddies off their trail, the special effects guy sprays fake blood all over the forest. The only problem: the bucket is emblazoned with, in large letters, the words “MOVIE BLOOD”. You’d think it would just say “Blood”. We assume they know they’re working on a movie.

Sure, there’s an effects-test blow up, and a car chase (a CAMOUFLAGE car chase) around the desert, but this is no Deadly Prey (1987). There are some interesting elements, but it’s far from a must-see. Plus, it left the biggest question unanswered: what’s the conspiracy behind up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, B, A, select start? The movie was copyrighted 1988. Maybe it knows something we don’t. 

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty 

Blackbelt II: Fatal Force (1993)

Blackbelt II (1993)-* *
AKA: Spyder

Directed by: Joe Mari Avellena and Kevin Trent

Starring: Blake Bahner, Henry Strzalkowski, Vic Diaz, Paul Holme, Louie Del Castillo, and John Dulaney










Brad Spyder (Bahner) is an L.A. cop with an attitude problem. He must travel to Hawaii to investigate the death of a partner. His “punch first and ask questions later and then punch them again” style means he encounters resistance from the local cops, led by Akida (Diaz). There’s also some nonsensical mumbo-jumbo about Vietnam and POW’s that was only put in because of the piecemeal patchwork that this is...

Technically speaking, we’re not entirely sure this is even a movie. By any rational standard, editing, splicing, and re-ordering film footage doesn’t necessarily make a film, much less a coherent piece of entertainment. The editors here get an A for effort, as they try desperately to make disparate footage fit together, but it’s like trying to join two puzzle pieces together that clearly don’t fit.

Going from L.A. to Hawaii to Vietnam, to a Vietnam that’s supposed to be Hawaii, we get some narration about Vietnam, then some urban cop action with Bahner, then it reverts back to an Exploding Hut jungle movie, and on and on. There’s zero character development along the way, so you cannot become invested at all in what’s going on. Rather than introduce the slightest bit of character for Brad Spyder (aside from his awesome name), the movie just jumps into an overly-long, protracted punching sequence on top of a building. Then there’s the amazingly cliched Irish police chief O’Donnel (Dulaney) - actually a lot of this movie could be a parody.

Bahner yells all his lines, and resembles Andrew Dice Clay (who had a brief action movie career of his own). Presumably Roger Corman felt he could put out this mishmash as some sort of “sequel” to the Don the Dragon movie Blackbelt (1992), seeing as it follows the formula of being 80 minutes and having at least Bahner’s credit also include his kickboxing title underneath it. Firstly, Bahner is no Don the Dragon, but perhaps he’s not supposed to be. 

Corman caught lightning in a bottle with one action star, and he tried again and basically failed. Secondly, releasing this hodgepodge to the public is actually insulting to our intelligence. Did he, or anyone else, not think we would notice all the glaring Frankenstein-like parts to this?

Blackbelt 2 could have used another B-movie name in the cast (aside from the ubiquitous Vic Diaz), or a rockin’ song, or a scintilla of coherence or cohesion - anything except falling back on references to the First Blood series, which it does. But on the bright side it does have a rich businessman named Roderick Pendleton (Holme) and a character named Weasel (Louie Del Castillo), whose hair and mustache out-Oates-es Oates. His entire film career consists of this, the “movie” Spyder, from which the footage for this was taken, and Saigon Commandos (1988). Now that’s a career to be proud of. 

Now might also be an opportune time to mention that there’s always an annoying character named Squid, Spud, Baby, Weasel, or what-have-you. Feel free to write a comment if you can think of another example.

Seeing as this footage (is it really a movie?) consists of nothing, you can’t help but regard it as a waste of time. Sad really, as the name Brad Spyder deserves more.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty