Terror Force Commando (1986)

 

Terror Force Commando (1986)- * *1\2

Directed by: Richard Harrison 

Starring: Richard Harrison, Gordon Mitchell, Alphonse Beni, and Rom Kristoff

Zero (Kristoff) is a terrorist whose goal is to assassinate the pope when he swings through Cameroon on his African tour. Michael Baiko (Beni) catches wind of Zero's plan and ends up teaming up with the mysterious Mathews (Harrison) who, in his words, "works for Uncle Sam". While our two heroes are going from Cameroon to Rome to try and stop Zero, a man named Milhench (Mitchell), the chairman of the Organization of World Peace, is also in grave danger. Things get personal when Zero kidnaps Baiko's daughter. Will Zero be stopped before it's too late? Will Baiko and/or Mathews be the ultimate TERROR FORCE COMMANDO?


Directed by Richard Harrison, co-written by Harrison with Romano Kristoff, co-produced by Harrison and starring Harrison, clearly this was a labor of love for the man. Although neither Teddy Page or Godfrey Ho are involved here, Terror Force Commando (or TFC) is like the lost movie by either Page or Ho. Harrison must have learned a lot from those two guys after working with them so often throughout his career, and it shows. If Page and Ho were your teachers, TFC is the final homework assignment.


If you're familiar at all with Teddy Page, Godfrey Ho, Richard Harrison, or Rom Kristoff, you'll have a good idea of what to expect with TFC. It has that "foreign" vibe to it that we've become so accustomed to over the years. Fights break out, guns are shot, and disco plays on the soundtrack. There are some pretty brutal headshots as far as the gun-shooting is concerned. Maybe it's because the film was partially shot in Italy, but they have that Italian gore feel to them.

Kristoff gets a chance to be the baddie this time around, which is a chance of pace from his usual "Rombo" roles. The Africa scenes and Alphonse Beni may remind you of David Broadnax. The choice of Cameroon as a filming location was unusual, and because this is not a jungle movie, it's not a slog. Sure, there are some slower moments, but then Richard Harrison will show up with his fedora and trenchcoat and usually save things.


If this wasn't such a 'cheap and cheerful' production, perhaps Harrison could have gotten another star for the film, such as a Donald Pleasence. We were happy to see fan favorite Gordon Mitchell, however, and his character name, Milhench, must have been inspired by Harrison's Blood Debts (1985) co-star Ann Milhench. There's also a man listed in the credits as Jerry the American. We don't know who he is, and this is his one and only film credit that we know of, but we'd like to know more about Mr. The American. He's truly a mystery wrapped inside a riddle.



While the title is a bit misleading - it sort of leads you to believe this will be an exploding-hutter and it's not - there are still things to appreciate about TFC. But maybe we're being overly generous, because we had waited many years to see the film. It was released in many western European countries, but it never came out here in America. So, it remained virtually impossible to see here until recently, when it was uploaded to a thing called the Internet.


Despite its rarity, Terror Force Commando remains a curiosity. It's worth seeing if you like these sorts of strange underground action movies, but it is unlikely to win anyone over if they've never seen things like this.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Endgame (1983)

 

Endgame (1983)- * * *

Directed by: Joe D'Amato

Starring: Al Cliver, George Eastman, Bobby Rhodes, Laura Gemser, Hal Yamanouchi, Gordon Mitchell, Gabriele Tinti, and Alberto Dell'Acqua

In the year 2025, a reality competition show called Endgame is the hottest thing on TV. It's basically The Running Man (1987), where costumed characters chase and try to kill the reigning champion. In this case, that would be Ron Shannon (Cliver). The baddies out to get him are Kurt Karnak (Eastman), Woody Aldridge (Rhodes), and of course who could forget Gabe Mantrax (Dell'Acqua)? But the game of Endgame is just the beginning of the tale.

It turns out that in 2025, obviously now a post-apocalyptic world, there is a race of telepathic mutants that just want to live in peace. Seeing that he's the toughest guy around, a woman named Lilith (Gemser), hires Ron Shannon to lead a band of the telepathic people to an area of safety. Stormtroopers wearing gas masks with an "SS" logo are on an extermination campaign against them. 

This roving caravan now includes such new characters as Martial Arts expert Ninja (Yamanouchi) and Bull (Tinti). Of course, the military higher-ups, led by Col. Morgan (Mitchell), are not happy about Shannon's defection from Endgame so he can help the downtrodden of our society find a better life. Morgan would rather he and the other warriors perform for his amusement. Will there be a better future for Shannon, Lilith, and the gang? Or have we finally reached ENDGAME?

Endgame is one of many Italian Post-Apocalyptic action films (or Post-Ap's, as we call them) that proliferated during the 80's. Coming hot on the heels of Enzo G. Castellari's 1990: The Bronx Warriors (1982) and Escape From the Bronx (1983), Endgame even has a subtitle, Bronx Lotta Finale, which presumably is Italian for 'there is a lot of finale'. They must be talking about the end of the movie. While there are many more examples we can name, such as Sergio Martino's 2019: After the Fall of New York (1983), Endgame is one of two entries in the Post-Ap canon for Aristide Massaccesi (AKA Joe D'Amato), the other one being 2020 Texas Gladiators (1983). D'Amato assembles a stellar B-Movie cast with many names familiar to European exploitation fans.

The fact that Laura Gemser, her husband Gabriele Tinti (both of whom were D'Amato regulars), Al Cliver, George Eastman, Hal Yamanouchi, and Gordon Mitchell, among others, are all here, is cause for celebration. The movie around them, however, can get a bit staid and even boring at times. While the first third is certainly reminiscent of the aforementioned The Running Man - crossed with further Italian versions such as Castellari's Warriors of the Wasteland (1983) and Lucio Fulci's The New Gladiators (1984) (the latter of which also featured Cliver and Yamanouchi) - because of the 'game controlled by sinister overlords' plotline, Endgame dispenses with that after the first third and switches gears entirely to a more traditional Post-Ap scenario.

What's not so traditional is the idea of 'telepathic mutants', especially if the main two are Laura Gemser and a little boy. Some others call them "'mutes", for short (i.e., "let's go get those 'mutes!"). But because this is an Italian Post-Ap from 1983, which seemed to be the golden year for such things, we get the ragtag costumes, absurd makeup, and roughshod-slipshod vehicles driven by the crazy cast of characters. All the ingredients are there if you're a fan of this particular subgenre. Other ideas shine through as well, such as "Life Plus", a sponsor of the Endgame TV show and what would today be called an energy drink. Reality shows? Energy drinks? Mutants? Clearly D'Amato was well ahead of his time in 1983.

While we believe Endgame will satisfy Post-Ap fans, it can get a little slow and the pacing issues are exacerbated by the 97-minute running time. The budget does seem extra-low this time around, which isn't a problem for us but it may be for some people. But the cast and some of the crazier elements more or less paper over most of the flaws.

While it was originally released on the Media label on VHS, today it's streaming on Amazon Prime (as of this writing), so it can't hurt to check out Endgame. But you'd most likely have to already be a fan of the subgenre first before diving in.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

SFX Retaliator (1987)

SFX Retaliator (1987)- * * *1\2

Directed by: Jun Gallardo

Starring: Chris Mitchum, Linda Blair, and Gordon Mitchell

Steve Baker (Mitchum) has anyone’s dream job: he’s a special effects technician on movie sets, specializing in pyro. In other words, he travels to jungles far and wide in his tricked-out van and sets up the controls that provide the explosions. When the director calls “action!”, that’s exactly what Baker provides. His life gets more complicated, however, when he has a chance meeting with a woman named Doris (Blair). It seems Doris is on the run from mobsters, the lead baddie being Morgan (Mitchell). So, Baker fights off the baddies the only way he knows how – using his bag of “SFX” tricks. You’d think the bad guys would learn not to mess with Steve Baker, but at least they get one valuable takeaway: don’t upset his cobra.

The ever-reliable and ever-laconic Chris Mitchum teams up with The Firing Line (1988) director Gallardo to turn in this entertaining winner of a movie. There are some extremely cool sequences, and, speaking of cool, it’s hard to get much cooler than Chris Mitchum, especially in this movie. His nonchalant attitude is a joy to watch. He’s surrounded by a swirl of silly accents, sillier dialogue, and plenty of mindless shooting. That’s what highlights the “SFX” scenes that much more; other exploding-hut-type movies don’t have that type of innovation, so ‘Retaliator stands out from the crowd. Much like how Steve Baker’s awesome van would stand out in traffic. 

Besides sporting a canny concept, SFX Retaliator boasts some other benefits as well. Firstly the cast, with the always-welcome Mitchum supported by fan favorites Linda Blair and Gordon Mitchell. Unfortunately, Blair doesn’t get to do a heck of a lot, but Mitchell resembles an angrier Hugh Hefner as he barks orders to his underlings. Which is pretty much all he does here. On top of our three leads, another great aspect is the soundtrack. Not just the incidental music, which is quite enjoyable, but the main theme song heard during the opening credits as well. Featuring the lyrics “Retaliate, retaliate, retaliate…RETALIATE!!!” it’s hard to go wrong.

The whole outing is like something Arizal would direct, and features a low-budget exploding helicopter. Criminally, SFX Retaliator has never been released on any format in the U.S. (or even in the U.K. as far as we know). This could have been, at the very least, a cult classic if someone like Vestron or Lightning Video had put it onto video store shelves in 1987. Sadly, that was not to be, and as of this writing, SFX Retaliator sits patiently waiting for rediscovery. A company like Roninflix or Vinegar Syndrome should release it on Blu-Ray. Until that happens, there’s always YouTube. 

SFX Retaliator is a lot of fun and well worth your time.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Slaughter Day (1973)

Slaughter Day (1973)- * *

AKA: Situation and Deadline

Directed by: Peter Patzak

Starring: Rita Tushingham, Gordon Mitchell and Michael Hausserman





Set in Germany, Slaughter Day tells the tale of Michael (Hausserman), a mysterious man with an elaborate plan for a big bank heist. He's pretty handy with radios, so he assembles his ragtag team of accomplices by placing little communication devices in packs of cigarettes, car radios and other places so his team never sees his face. While he is meticulously planning his "perfect crime", he finds the time to fall in love with Rita (Tushingham) and they spend plenty of time at his isolated cabin in the woods. Unbeknownst to Rita, Michael is planning on finally meeting up with his fellow baddies at the cabin. So she and her group of friends show up there for some fun, and unpleasantness ensues.

Hausserman resembles 70's/80's porn legend John Holmes and it seems a bit on the odd side that he would have this whole big romance with doe-eyed, pixyish Tushingham, who seems confused most of the time. She tells him "Too bad you always think of money when you talk of love", tying together one of the many romance sequences.

As for the other characters, it seems Michael's sole criteria for putting together his team is that they have funny facial hair. Veteran of this type of film Gordon Mitchell almost steals the show as one of the thieves. He has a great face and the film could have used more of him. He easily could have played the Michael character.

I would be remiss if I were to leave out one of Rita's friends she takes to the cabin: an obese man obsessed with fishing. ALL of his lines in the film mention how bad he wants to go fishing. Why is she friends with him? He would be much more at home as the token fat guy in an 80's sex romp.

There are some interesting locations, but the color on the U.S. VHS tape is drab and flat, doing a disservice to the cinematography. The silly dubbing and slow pace of the film also don't do it any favors, but that's a two-sided coin, as the 70's European flair is one of the better aspects of Slaughter Day.

Not a very uplifting experience, Slaughter Day might be of interest to heist-film fans (are there any?) who have seen every other heist film ever made. Or possibly fans of Rita Tushingham. Otherwise, I wouldn't put it at the top of your list of things to see.

Comeuppance review by: Brett