Kill Line (1991)

Kill Line (1991)- *1\2

Directed by: Richard H. Kim

Starring: Bobby Kim and Marlena Shapiro

On the hunt for a missing two million dollars in cash, some evil baddies end up massacring a man’s family while attempting to get a hold of the money. Unfortunately for them, it was Joe (Kim)’s family. Traveling from San Francisco to Colorado in the hunt for answers, or maybe some revenge if time allows, Joe ends up running afoul of the cruel and sadistic sheriff of the town and his minions, but also finds a sympathetic partner in the inexplicably named Oggie (Shapiro). It appears the stage is set for the ultimate battle…where will Joe draw the (Kill) Line?



We found Kill Line to be pretty disappointing. All the ingredients – and then some – were there to create a great action movie, or at least a decent one. But those elements were never capitalized on. It’s a shame, really, as we found star Bobby Kim likable. He’s very Bronsonesque (that would be Charles, not Pinchot, just to clarify). His thick accent is reminiscent of other video store stars of the 80’s such as Leo Fong, Sho Kosugi, and even Miami Connection’s Y.K. Kim (any relation? Probably not, but who knows?) – anyone expecting Miami Connection-style awesomeness will surely be disappointed…


Taking its cue from First Blood (1982), and highly redolent of the Thunder series, Kill Line is very sincere and earnest…to a fault. It takes itself so seriously, it forgets to have a fun vibe, and the pace is slower than freakin’ molasses. Sadly, this is what we refer to as a “Lacktion” movie. The dearth of actual action – presumably why viewers are watching Kill Line to begin with – ultimately kills Kill Line. Audience members are shown a classic barfight (with some MAP’s – Middle-Aged Punks), which sets up Kim as a guy with good fighting skills. Unfortunately, it appears he IS afraid to use them. Viewers are tantalized and then left hanging. That’s a no-no.


There is a weak car chase, some weaker gun-shooting scenes, and then somehow we’re at the final battle. It seems drama and dialogue scenes took up the majority of the running time. Not that that would be such a bad thing in another kind of movie, of course, but this is KILL LINE. We wanted to see some…KILL LINE. Perhaps most frustrating of all, it’s never explained what the term Kill Line means. If it refers to the line readings of some of the actors, that could work, because there are a bunch of funny ones. When a movie relies on the unintentional humor of that and some amusing racism by the local yokels, you’ve got a big problem on your hands.


Interestingly, the evil sheriff at odds with Joe strongly resembles Christopher McDonald. This wouldn’t be interesting in and of itself, but the original Christopher McDonald stars in Best of the Best 3 (1995), which shares a lot of similarities with this movie. Probably just a coincidence, like how the baddie underlings in the movie are named Mark and Paul, but Gosselaar is nowhere in sight. This may seem like we’re stretching, but that should show you how empty Kill Line is of things of noteworthy mention.

It's tragic but Kill Line doesn't come anywhere near fulfilling its potential. A true wasted opportunity, Kill Line doesn't deliver the goods.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty 

Kill The Ninja (1984)

Kill The Ninja (1984)- * *

Directed by: Woo-sang Park

Starring: Bobby Kim










The plot and execution of Kill the Ninja - despite the promising title - is pretty standard chop-socky stuff. It’s about a group of three buddies, Pong Macao, Sutaro and King Kim, the latter two being Japanese and Korean illegal immigrants, living in Hong Kong. They manage to get a hold of a golden Buddha statute with two million dollars in it. Henceforward they have to face both internal strife as well as  threats from outside their circle of friendship. Much punching and kicking ensue. 

It’s surprising that this was directed by Woo-sang Park, the man behind the all-time classic Miami Connection (1987), as well as L.A. Streetfighters (1985), because this outing doesn’t have the sense of style, wackiness and fun his later projects had. But I guess you have to start somewhere.

Kill the Ninja is, if nothing else, a testament to the power of the Ninja Boom of the 80’s. Video stores were so hungry for ninja-based product, you could release a movie called Kill the Ninja - which has absolutely no ninjas in it - and no one complains. As previously stated, it’s a Hong Kong beat-em-up, with no connection whatsoever to Japanese ninjas. Such was the heat of the Ninja Boom movement. 

It may not have any ninjas (maybe they were speaking metaphorically, where the “ninja” represents the darkness in men’s hearts...hey, we’re not beyond an absurd reach here), but it does have men fighting in leisure suits, and the time-honored disco scene and sax on the soundtrack. Plus it has one of the best “jumping” scenes we’ve seen to date. And we’ve seen a lot of jumping over the years. You’ll know what we’re talking about if you ever see it.

Truly the main reason to see or own this VHS is because it was part of the “Sybil Danning’s Adventure Video” series released by USA video. It’s just so gloriously 80’s and something that could never occur today. Sybil Danning does a little intro and outro before and after the movie. And the fact that she’s presenting a Ninja Boom movie just makes it 80’s on top of 80’s. Who could do such a thing today? And on what format? DVD? Seems unlikely. If only Danning was introducing something a bit better, not to mention easier to see (the movie is exceedingly dark in many places, a pitfall we see all too often).

So to recap, the best parts of the tape are the Sybil Danning bits, as this is before the career of Woo-sang Park really took off. The whole package somewhat works as a curio from our favorite decade, but the movie overall is lackluster and we wouldn’t tell you to go out of your way to find it based solely on its own merits. But 80’s fans may want to pick this up if they can find it cheap.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett