Face The Evil (1996)

Face The Evil (1996)- * *

AKA: No Contest II

Directed by: Paul Lynch

Starring: Shannon Tweed, Jayne Heitmeyer, Bruce Payne, and Lance Henriksen

When actress Sharon Bell (Tweed) goes to visit her sister Bobbi (Heitmeyer), a curator at the Holman Gallery, at said art gallery, it’s not going to be a dejeuner sur l’herbe. Not at all. You see, a group of terrorist baddies under the command of Eric Dane (Henriksen) has – you guessed it – taken over the gallery. Part of their plan for world domination involves a highly potent and toxic nerve gas and the key to unlocking its potential lies in the art gallery. But rather than submit to these goons, Sharon and Bobbi – along with gallery worker Jack Terry (Payne) – decide to fight their way out of the situation. After all, Sharon is an action movie star, not to mention she’s been through all this before…

When the world cried out for a sequel to the Shannon Tweed-Andrew Dice Clay Die Hard knockoff No Contest, director Paul Lynch answered the call. Just why it’s called Face The Evil in the U.S. when in most other places it’s called No Contest II (its production company was named NCII Productions, not surprisingly) isn’t really known, but it doesn’t matter. Out of all the “DieHardInA” movies we’ve seen to date, we can honestly say this is the first one to take place in an art gallery. It’s easy to see why filmmakers used this formula so much in the 90’s – most of the action takes place in one location so it’s relatively easy and inexpensive to shoot one of these things. “Sequel to No Contest? Sure, what the heck, why not?”

One notable element this movie has that its predecessor did not is the employment of some horror elements. Perhaps that’s not surprising, as Lynch is the director of 80’s-horror fan favorites Prom Night (1980) and Humongous (1982). He tries to inject some style as well, and the fact that at least one person dies by a sculpture would seem to indicate Mr. Lynch has been watching his Dario Argento, especially The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (1970) and Tenebre (1982). However, if this floats your boat, don’t get too excited. The vast majority of the movie is standard Die Hard stuff. Yes, there are some shootouts, fights, a throat slash, and the time-honored catfight between Shannon Tweed and some other chick. Even though some of the practical effects are well-executed, they’re not front and center here. 

The whole thing has a somewhat campy, “we’re not taking this entirely seriously” vibe. There’s also a lot of stupid/childish dialogue. And it’s really obvious it was shot in Canada. Even still, Shannon Tweed was probably psyched to not have to do yet another “erotic thriller”. She doesn’t take her clothes off and she’s the action heroine. She even gets to show off her comic timing. As crazy as it may sound, she probably wanted to do more movies like Face The Evil. As much as we enjoyed the team-up of Tweed and Heitmeyer, why has no one ever made a movie where both Shannon and Tracy Tweed are sisters who have to bust the heads of the bad guys? It’s too good of an idea. And in true Batman (1989) style, the baddies deface priceless works of art with spray paint. Perhaps they should have called the movie “Deface The Evil”? Groan. 

While it was nice to see Tweed, Heitmeyer, Henriksen, and Payne working together, is it really worth going out of your way to track down and watch Face The Evil if it isn’t readily at hand? Two words: No Dice.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett 

Felony (1995)

Felony (1995)- * * *

Directed by: David A. Prior

Starring: Lance Henriksen, Leo Rossi, Charles Napier, David Warner, Jeffrey Combs, Cory Everson, Ashley Laurence, and Joe Don Baker












When a “Cops”-like reality show films a drug bust, and said bust goes sideways, everyone in town wants the tape it was filmed on. The heinous massacre of twelve police officers caught on video was masterminded by arch-baddie Cooper (Warner), and the cameraman who barely made it out of there alive, a guy named Bill Knight (Combs) finds the next couple of days quite trying indeed. 

Everyone from Cooper’s right-hand man Taft (Henriksen) to the mysterious Donovan (Baker) wants a piece of Knight. Meanwhile, Detectives Duke (Napier) and Kincade (Rossi) are working the case and trying to get to the truth of this tangled web. But when Knight meets an attractive nurse named Laura (Laurence), things seem to be looking up for Mr. Knight...but in this complicated web of twists, turns, and constantly changing allegiances, who can really tell? And who is going to commit the ultimate FELONY?

David A. Prior, known to action fans all over as the AIP guy, here corrals an amazing B-movie cast for this non-AIP outing. It was 1995, video stores were booming, and with the right cast, they had a place for Felony on their shelves. With Jeffrey Combs as the main character, Ashley Laurence as the female lead and sidekick, and Lance Henriksen with an impressive array of multi-colored shirts, that was just the beginning. 

We get Joe Don Baker with a triumphant introduction to his character, with an alley rescue scene that is really a lot like the one in Ring of Steel (1994), also with Baker. Maybe rescuing people in alleys is his “thing”. And with his fringed jacket that he no doubt bought at the local buckskinnery, he gives Seagal a run for his money. Then there’s Napier playing a guy named Duke, as he would right around the same time on The Critic, and Leo Rossi doing his best southern accent. Add to that David Warner with a grenade launcher and a small role from Cory Everson, and you have a recipe that raises Felony above the average dreck.

Prior was surely going big-time with this one, indicated by not just the cast, and the fact that it was released by New Line, but also the level of stunt work, with PM-style car-flipping and blow-ups. Cooper even kills off a lot of cops just like baddies do in PM movies. And of course there is the standard pew-pew bullet shooting. He was aiming high, and it works for the most part. At least it’s better-acted than usual, thanks to the experienced cast of familiar names. 

It’s basically as dumb as an AIP movie (and we mean that in the best possible way, of course), with plot holes so big, Stephen Hawking has warned us all that they could potentially slow down the space-time continuum. But this time Mr. Prior has more resources at his disposal than usual. There are even some interesting contemporary references, like to the Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan hoo-hah that everyone was talking about at the time. If only we could have heard David Warner utter the name “Gillooly”, Felony would have shot up a few points.

So go back to a time when strippers stripped to sleazy heavy metal (presumably this is the song “Dynamite” by a band called Psychic Underground listed in the end credits), and to a time when an array of B-movie stars such as this could assemble for a project like this.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

The Last Samurai (1991)

The Last Samurai (1991)- * *

Directed by: Paul Mayersberg

Starring: Lance Henriksen, John Fujioka, Arabella Holzbog, Lisa Eilbacher, and John Saxon











Yasujiro Endo (Fujioka) is a Japanese businessman who decides to go to the African nation of Imtazi. He believes an ancestor of his was a samurai warrior who somehow got lost in Africa, and he is searching for answers. But for him it becomes a sort of spiritual quest to reconnect with his past. Meanwhile, he is surrounded by other colorful characters, such as Johnny Congo (Henriksen), a Vietnam vet, and Al-Hakim (Saxon), an Arab sheik. Caro and Susan (Holzbog and Eilbacher) have their own reasons for being there as well. 

Things really start to heat up when, surprisingly enough, strife occurs in Africa. That seems to give everyone the excuse for violence they’re looking for (or maybe that’s just the audience). Will Endo truly be THE LAST SAMURAI?

Not to be confused with the Tom Cruise movie of the same name, here the Last Samurai in question seems to be John Fujioka. He was a prolific actor that appeared in American Ninja (1985), American Ninja 2 (1987), American Samurai (1992) and American Yakuza (1993). He was obviously as obsessed with “American”-based action movies as we are here at Comeuppance Reviews, and for that we salute him. Clearly Tom Cruise is jealous of this guy. 

But here’s the problem: The Last Samurai is a case of the old “bait and switch”. With a title like that, and with a picture of Fujioka on the front brandishing a giant sword, you think you know what you’re in for. But you’d be wrong: this movie is an Africa Slog. Much like a Space Slog, a Submarine Slog, an Airplane Slog, or perhaps a Sci-Fi Slog, An Africa Slog might be fun for the cast and crew of the movie, but it’s not for the audience. After sitting there restlessly throughout most of the running time, you’re GLAD he’s the Last Samurai.

Even the great Lance Henriksen cannot save this. He does his absolute best, and his bolo tie is pretty awesome, but he’s struggling against a wall of incoherent plotting and incompetent direction, which is surprising for the normally talented Paul Mayersberg. Knowing his history, he may have been going for the artier end of things, but it all seems to fall flat. It’s hard to tell what’s going on here and why. Simply putting a bunch of characters in Africa is not the same thing as a plot. But Henriksen - whose name is Johnny Congo, it feels important to reiterate - had faced very similar challenges before, namely with Savage Dawn (1985). 

Interestingly enough, his co-star here, Arabella Holzbog, would appear with him again the same year in Stone Cold (1991), which was sort of like a biker do-over to correct the mistakes of Savage Dawn. It was also interesting to see fellow fan favorite John Saxon as some sort of Arab sheik. Saxon’s accent, or Saxccent, set him apart and showed his acting range.

Yes, the beginning of the film has a classy black and white Kendo match, and the climax has some good action, but it’s too little too late, as there’s not much of any in the middle of the movie. The Last Samurai is closer in spirit to Danger Zone (1996), Sweepers (1998), and even, heaven help us, High Explosive (2001), but it’s not that bad. 

We don’t want to malign the movie too much, but we felt it did not deliver on its promises. It lacks surprises or excitement. We really wanted to like the movie, but not much happens that makes it easy to like.

We found the Front Row Entertainment VHS at the Salvation Army, and we were excited at first, but it may get put back into circulation there.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty 

Savage Dawn (1985)

Savage Dawn (1985)- * *

Directed by: Simon Nuchtern

Starring: Lance Henriksen, Karen Black, George Kennedy, Claudia Udy, Leo Gordon, William Forsythe, Mickey Jones, and Richard Lynch












Ben Stryker (Henriksen) is a former soldier who rolls in on his motorcycle into the dusty ol’ Western town of Agua Dulce. He’s a man of few words, and lets his short spiky blonde hair do the talking. Or, failing that, he’s pretty handy in a fight. He goes to see his wheelchair-bound buddy Tick (Kennedy), and his son (?) Danny, and reconnects with his old girlfriend Katie (Udy). But breaking up all the fond camaraderie is the notorious Savages biker gang. 

They come to the quiet town and start raising all sorts of hell. Led by Pigiron (Forsythe) and Zero (Jones), their growing presence in the town is pushing the residents to the breaking point. Even the local bar-mistress, Rachel (Black) has taken up with Pigiron, and no one, from the Sheriff (Gordon) to Rev. Romano (Lynch) can do anything about it. That’s when Stryker is pushed to do what he does best: Stryke. Will he drive the Savages out of town forever?

The first thing you’ll notice about Savage Dawn is the amazing cast. Lance Henriksen is very good as the sly Stryker (who’s also a byker) - another in a long line of men named Stryker or Striker that we’ve seen over the years. He makes a nice addition to the Stryker family. And because he co-stars with William Forsythe and the movie is about bikers, this can be considered as a sort of precursor to Stone Cold (1991). But here they’re at odds, in Stone Cold they’re buddies. But this is like a dry run for that, and in our opinion Stone Cold is the better movie. 

Karen Black was in Hostage (1987) with Wings Hauser, who was...Striker. Coincidence? George Kennedy put in a sympathetic performance as Tick, and fan favorite Richard Lynch is on board as the creepy reverend. Claudia Udy of Nightforce (1987) and To the Death (1993) gets into a catfight with Karen Black, and Mickey Jones plays Zero, as opposed to Wash Pot. We think he only plays dudes with nicknames. Lockdown (1990)’s Elizabeth Kaitan has a small role, as does, supposedly, Sam Kinison (?) and with all this star-power, you can’t go wrong...right?

As we’ve mentioned too many times before, we invented the phrase “Lone Tiger Syndrome” to describe the incidences when you get suckered into watching a movie because there are a lot of names you like or recognize in the cast, but then the movie itself is not that great, and you realize that having a lot of talented actors on board doesn’t mean the writing and directing is good. Too often the scales are tipped too far in one direction. We believe that is the case with Savage Dawn - a movie with a lot of filler that doesn’t live up to its potential. Which is a real shame, because it was SO CLOSE to being a winner: Henriksen is cool as the renegade “good biker” with all the great lines, George Kennedy has a rocket launcher, and there’s even some surprise Punchfighting, but here are the problems...

The movie is too long and too slowly paced, which might be more tolerable if it didn’t primarily take place in one location. It seems the majority of the film takes place in basically a backyard. The choppy editing doesn’t really help matters, and, to add insult to injury, Claudia Udy has a very unflattering hairstyle. 

All this movie would have needed is a snappier running time, and more Stryker mowing down baddies. Then we’d really have something. But the movie is bloated and sabotages itself at almost every turn. But at one point there is a fruit-cart fistfight, as opposed to a fruit cart car chase, so that’s something different. And stunt genius John Stewart of Action USA fame is here as “Blood” and behind the scenes as stunt coordinator. Plus the score is by Pino Donaggio, but somehow all these elements never work together to make a forceful statement.

As for the Image DVD, it’s an obvious “needle-drop” job (for those that don’t know, at least in the world of CD’s, fans use that term to mean when companies don’t go back to the master tapes, don’t remaster anything, or do anything technical to improve matters, they literally just “drop the needle” on the original vinyl and then release that as a “finished” product - too often that is done in the world of DVD as well) - it’s basically a rip of the VHS, complete with tracking lines. Luckily, we don’t care, we’re die-hard VHS watchers, but others out there might take issue with that. It’s also highly unusual for a company like Image to release something like that. What happened?

In the end, despite some worthwhile moments, Savage Dawn is a disappointing missed opportunity.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty 

Pistol Whipped (2008)

Pistol Whipped (2008)-*1\2

Directed by: Roel Reine

Starring: Steven Seagal, Lance Henriksen, Renee Goldsberry, Mark Elliot Wilson, Arthur J. Nascarella, and Paul Calderon











Matt Conner (Seagal) was a good cop, but he got kicked off the force. Now a gambler and alcoholic, he still wants to be a good dad to his daughter Becky (Jordan). 

When a shadowy figure known only as “The Old Man” (Henriksen) offers to clear his gambling debts in exchange for a few “favors”, i.e., killing some gangsters around town, Conner agrees.  Now dealing with complicated alliances between The Old Man’s henchman Blue (Calderon), Drea (Goldsberry), and fellow cop and husband to his ex-wife, Lt. Steve Shacter (Wilson), Conner has only  his wits, propensity for violence, and considerable girth to help him through this mess.

Connecticut is a small state and not a lot of movies (at least with high visibility) are shot here. So the good news is, they shot a movie in our lovely state. The bad news is...it’s Pistol Whipped! Yes, Steven Seagal comes to the Nutmeg state, and, well, left with all the Nutmeg. While, oddly enough, the CT can boast having the movies Friday the 13th (1980), I Spit on Your Grave (1978), and Last House on the Left (1972) shot here, thus becoming a hub for twisted “video nasties” of the 80’s, how far we’ve fallen when we now have to play host to a sullen Seagal.

While shot in the towns of Bridgeport, Stamford and Norwalk (all fairly close to New York City), for some reason Matt Conner (or perhaps Seagal making an acting choice) has a Cajun accent. On top of that, he whispers most of his lines unintelligibly. You actually need the subtitles on the DVD. And when you read what he supposedly said, you say, “he said that? I didn’t hear it.” How did the subtitle people know he said that? And we watched it in surround sound! Dripping water was louder than Seagal’s voice. Or whoever’s voice it was. You actually need the subtitles so you don’t miss lines like “Clean as a Safeway chicken!”, whatever that means. But the point is, it seems Seagal was trying to channel the coolness of Michael Madsen here. But Seagal is so low-energy, he makes Madsen look like Richard Simmons.

But it’s funny to watch not only his daughter, but the characters of Drea, and his ex-wife fall for his mumbly, unlikable charm. On top of struggling with the gangsters, he’s also struggling with his weight issues, as his flowy bowling shirts prove. But we don’t want to be mean and pile on with the “Seagal is fat” narrative (any more than we already have), because there’s plenty of other things we can talk about. Such as his odd hair, for example.

Now, for Seagal standards, this movie is okay, but because it is an action movie from the 2000’s, it must have CGI silliness, fast motion, editing tricks, and green screen stuff. All of which, needless to say, detract from the movie. We suppose it was trying to be gritty, but the overall effect is more cheap and junky. Plus, the movie is repetitive and goes around in circles. And it’s repetitive. It would have been cooler if Lance Henriksen played the Matt Conner part, and Seagal played “The Old Man”. It was nice of Henriksen to show up for the few days he must have been there, but the movie could have used more of him.

You probably have a decent idea of what to expect with Pistol Whipped (Spoiler alert: no one gets actually pistol whipped in the movie), so if you can convince a friend or two to spend some time with a newer Seagal (and a lot of alcohol), this might just be the pick for you. Go Connecticut!

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Also check out write-ups by our buddies: DTVC and The Video Vacuum!

Comrades In Arms (1992)

Comrades In Arms (1992)-* * *

Directed by: J. Christian Ingvordsen

Starring: Rick Washburn, Lyle Alzado,  J. Christian Ingvordsen, John Weiner, Steven Kaman, and Lance Henriksen




"Unlikely Allies. Unbeatable Force."








Khaleel (Weiner) is a terrorist, drug trafficker, and America-hater that’s causing so much trouble, CIA director Reed (Henriksen), and his Russian associates decide that taking him down is going to take the teamwork of the U.S. and the Russians. Recruited to execute the mission is Delta Force Commanding Officer Frank “Bone” White (Ingvordsen). Naturally, he’s a cool dude with a bad attitude. His Russian counterpart is Spetsnaz officer Kotshov (Kaman). He’s a ruthless, “Kill ‘em All” type. But, for the good of both their countries, they must learn to get along and trust each other. With tensions rising, will they be able to take down Khaleel - before they kill each other first?

Comrades In Arms is a military shoot-em-up with a pretty serious tone. It starts off with some hi-tech (for the time) green night vision and “thermo” vision (as in, when a character says, “we’re switchin’ to thermo!”), and plenty of technical combat lingo. Even though the concept of the U.S. and the Russians working together may remind you of Red Heat (1988), or maybe even Red Scorpion (1988), or possibly some other “Red” movies, the idea that, at this point in time, that they would both have to go into the field of combat together and rely on each other, is pretty forward-thinking. This is a war movie for a new kind of war - the war on terror - with all the technology that would entail, and Comrades In Arms probably will receive little to no credit for being one of the first (maybe the first?) movie to deal with this kind of war in the modern age.

But it still carries over some much-loved cliches from the past, seeing as how the Russians are gruff and emotionless, and Frank White (presumably not the same Frank White from King of New York  from two years earlier), is called a “loose cannon” by his superiors. And it just wouldn’t be complete without the climax in an abandoned warehouse. Similar to how Robert Z’Dar in The Final Sanction (1990) played a Russian, here Lyle Alzado does the same. Despite the fact that Alzado is top-billed, he’s only in it for a scant few minutes. Remember, back in the 80’s, Alzado was a name. A movie about cold war ideals with Lyle Alzado is certainly a product of its time, but as said earlier, it’s more forward-thinking than you might think.

Steven Kaman co-wrote, co-produced, co-stars, and shot the movie, and probably had a grand old time with Ingvordsen, as they seemed to have given themselves the two leads in the movie. Kaman is responsible for utter dreck like Soul Of The Avenger (1997) and Total Force (1997), so luckily he did not direct this movie. Lance Henriksen gives gravity to his relatively small role, and he brightens the film. Keep in mind a big portion of this movie is mindless shooting, with plenty of machine guns and rocket launchers. So there is a bit of filler. Also it should be noted that Bone has a team of equally coolly-nicknamed warriors: Top Kick, Spook Show, Thor, Bigfoot, Ironman and Cowboy.  They’re fighting Khaleel and his guys in Colombia, and some of this may remind you of Delta Force 2 (1990). As far as John Weiner is concerned, who plays Khaleel, he does a great job of being evil. We don’t know much about him, except for the fact that he was in Cyber Vengeance (1997). We’ll have to keep an eye out for him.

In all, Comrades In Arms is a reasonably good way to spend 90 minutes.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

The Outfit (1993)

The Outfit (1993)-* * *

Directed by: J. Christian Ingvordsen

Starring: Lance Henriksen, Billy Drago, J. Christian Ingvordsen, Rick Washburn, Josh Mosby, and Martin Kove










Set in the 1930’s, The Outfit is a tale of gangsters and prohibition. The notorious Legs Diamond (Mosby) is at odds with equally-infamous Dutch Schultz (Henriksen). Lucky Luciano (Drago) is trying to hold it all together so their bootlegging and other illegal activities can “become as big as U.S. Steel” (which is based on an actual quote). Sensing the brewing hostilities between the two “public enemies” and their camps, G-Man Bone Conn (Ingvordsen) infiltrates the operations and sets off a mob war. Conn’s boss, Agent Baker (Kove) doesn’t necessarily like his rogue ways, but he needs results to show J. Edgar Hoover. But will playing both ends against the middle get Bone in a whole heap o’ trouble? It just may, because you don’t want to get on the bad side of some of the most feared gangsters in history. Dare you try on THE OUTFIT?

Ignore any negative things you may have heard about this movie (if you heard anything at all - it seems to be one of the lesser-seen movies in the canons of Henriksen, Drago and Kove). For a DTV item that clearly took its cues from Bugsy (1991), Mobsters (1991), and The Untouchables (1987), the latter of which also featured Billy Drago, but with a fraction of the budget of these Hollywood movies, The Outfit comes out an entertaining and worthwhile piece.

From the team of Ingvordsen and Kaman, the dudes behind Comrades In Arms (1992), they’ve upped the ante and admirably attempted - and succeeded - making a period piece with a low budget for the Direct-To-Video market. Ingvordsen once again stars as the hero/badass named Bone (just like he did in Comrades), and Kaman, who shot the movie, does a nice job using some lenses and grain that help with the period feel. As long as Kaman isn’t directing, he usually does a good job. Drago was a great choice for Lucky Luciano - Drago has made a career of being a professional villain, why not try him as a real life gangster?

Plus there’s the currency Ingvordsen and Kaman could leverage from Drago’s turn as Frank Nitti in The Untouchables. Fan favorite Henriksen goes all-out in his portrayal of Schultz. It’s great to see him get angry, yell and be tough and intimidating in that role. Kove is also winning in his relatively small role as the FBI boss. Together with Josh Mosby as Diamond and the aforementioned Ingvordsen as Bone, not to mention Rick Washburn and others, the strong cast helps a lot and puts this movie in the winner column.

There was obviously an attempt to get some authenticity and some real-life events in, and the writing shows that. But they also didn’t skimp on the Tommy guns. It’s really a nice mix of good writing and action violence, and if they had more money, they would have made Public Enemies (2009) 16 years before Public Enemies. 

Some minor negatives include: the film starts to lose focus at times, especially in the brief Punchfighting scene (yes, there is some quick Punchfighting - it did exist in the 30’s), and some of the acting from a few of the non-principals and some staging got a bit wonky at times, as it is wont to happen in some DTV products. But really that’s all we can say as to a down side to this movie. We applaud their ambition to make a historically-based period piece with the resources they had.

If you’re seeking some different fare but with some familiar faces, do check out The Outfit.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Hard Target (1993)

Hard Target (1993)-* * * *

Directed by: John Woo

Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Yancy Butler, Arnold Vosloo, Lance Henriksen, Kasi Lemmons, and Wilford Brimley

Chance Boudreaux (Van Damme) is a New Orleans longshoreman who is down on his luck and struggling to find work. Opportunity comes his way when Nat (Butler) hires him to help her find her missing father. As it turns out, her father isn’t missing, necessarily, he was a victim of a malevolent gang of “human hunters”. Led by Fouchon (Henriksen), and with his second in command Pik Van Cleef (Vosloo), they get their kicks (and get rich) letting weekend warriors pay them to go on the ultimate hunting expedition: for man! But they meet their match with the fearless Chance, a man they cannot kill. Along for the ride is Chance’s uncle Douvee (Brimley). Will Chance get his chance at glory? Or, to the human hunters, is he just another HARD TARGET?

Hard Target is hands-down one of Van Damme’s best. It’s explosively entertaining and lives up to the promise of a Van Damme and John Woo team-up. It’s everything a combination of those two men could be and should be, and doesn’t let the audience down.

Once again, this is classic 90’s action fun from the golden time when Van Damme movies went to the theater. Back then, we remember joking with our friends that because there’s so much slow motion in this movie, if it was all played at regular speed, the film would be about 20 minutes. And it’s true, there is a lot of dramatic slo-mo, but it’s all for the best. And Van Damme and others get a lot of unnecessarily portentous entrances and exits, which just adds to the style of Hard Target, which is just a tad bit off-kilter. But that’s far from a bad thing. It separates itself from its many competitors that way.

Besides Van Damme and his absurd hair, the cast assembled for this is just killer: Lance Henriksen is great as the baddie who’s so bad, even his piano-playing is evil. Vosloo is also adept at being bad, and his quasi-Scottish (?) accent, well, accentuates his sinister glares. Yancy Butler gives a bug-eyed performance who always seems surprised at the proceedings. But top marks must go to the great Wilford Brimley. In a strange role for him, the barely-intelligible, bow-and-arrow toting, horseback riding uncle is truly lovable and you root for him, even though he doesn’t appear until late in the film. That’s a tribute to Brimley that the audience can grow to love him so quickly.

This movie puts a twist on the time-honored Most Dangerous Game (1932) idea. The formula’s been tried before, with varying degrees of success, in everything from Death Ring (1992) to Avenging Force (1986). But Hard Target has plenty of awesome moments, including the extended climax in (what else) an abandoned warehouse. Never one to be afraid of wasting bullets, Woo pulls out all the stops in an extended feast of overkill. It’s over-the-top fun everyone should see.

On a technical note, the British DVD is longer than the American cut, including more violence. So try to track that down if you can, for the complete picture.

Go down to the bayou tonight for some high-octane, high-quality Van Damme at his absolute best.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Hit List (1989)

Hit List (1989)-* * * *

Directed by: William Lustig

Starring: Jan-Michael Vincent, Leo Rossi, Rip Torn, Charles Napier, Ken Lerner, Frank Pesce, Junior Richard, and Lance Henriksen













Vic Luca (Torn) is a John Gotti-like mob boss who is going to be convicted in court - if his mob underlings can testify. But Luca sends a shoe salesman/psychopathic hit man, Caleek (Henriksen) to kill them so they can’t spill the beans. Purely by chance, Caleek invades the home of innocent man Jack Collins (Vincent), intent on killing him, believing him to be potential informant Frank DeSalvo (Rossi). DeSalvo is being protected before the trial by Tom Mitchum (Napier), an FBI agent on the edge, in a house across the street. When Caleek kidnaps Collins’ son and puts his wife in the hospital - and Luca’s goons cross DeSalvo as well - the two guys create an unlikely partnership to get revenge.

Why is this movie so under-appreciated and unrecognized? If you said to someone “Oh, I watched Hit List last night”, more than likely, they would say, “Huh?” That’s unfortunate, as a movie with the star quality this movie has, directed by William Lustig SHOULD be a well-known “video store classic” as we say. Maybe now that can start to be corrected.

Here we get to see Lance Henriksen as you really want to see him - in a very meaty role as an incredibly brutal bad guy. It’s truly “Lance Unleashed” as he has an evil beret and an evil crossbow/grappling hook/zipline, as well as some nasty martial arts moves.  Leo Rossi is also memorable as DeSalvo, a man who still believes in the codes of honor of the mafia - at least for a while. Vincent mainly just says “Gimme back my son” many times, which, of course, predates Ransom (1996). Rip Torn, who doesn’t often appear in movies like this, puts in an off-kilter, energetic role. Even Charles Napier gets to flex some muscle.

But, by far, the two best things about Hit List are 1. This movie is really politically incorrect - it was made in a time before PC stuff existed and it’s really beautiful to watch. Thank God things like this were preserved for posterity. and 2. the scene in the Photon arcade. (For those that don’t know, Photon was a competitor to Laser Tag, and in some places was replaced by Q-Zar, where kids run around with laser guns and shoot each other). Another awesome preservation.

In all, Hit List is an enjoyable film with a nice pace with a lot of familiar faces. What’s not to like?

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Excessive Force (1993)

Excessive Force (1993)-* * *

Directed by: Jon Hess

Starring: Thomas Ian Griffith, Lance Henriksen, Tony Todd, Charlotte Lewis, W. Earl Brown, Burt Young and James Earl Jones











Terry McCain (Griffith) is a Chicago cop who is pretty much on the edge. A member of the Tactical Narcotics Unit, he’s obsessed with taking down the slick mobster drug dealer Sal DiMarco, who, like John Gotti, seems to be made of “Teflon” and always manages to avoid jail time. During a shootout with the DiMarco mob, three million dollars in a suitcase goes missing. Naturally, DiMarco wants it back, and he assumes McCain and his team are behind the missing loot. So now the mobsters are after the cops, and McCain and his girlfriend (Lewis) must go on the run. Luckily Police Chief Devlin (Henriksen) has given McCain a wide berth to go off on his own (not necessarily “rogue”) and catch/punch/kick/kill the baddies. After some mild twists and turns in the plot, we see who is the true dispenser of EXCESSIVE FORCE.

The good news is, this is a movie that lives up to its title. There’s some hilariously, unnecessarily brutal violence, as if the writer (T.I.G. himself, interestingly enough) felt he HAD to live up to the title. Like he thought, “well, I already spent all day coming up with this title, better make sure the movie has an excessive amount of force”. Well played, Mr. Ian Griffith. Well played.

The real reason to watch this movie isn't Thomas Ian Griffith's constant roundhouse and jump kicks, but the killer cast! For starters, what is James Earl Jones doing here? This might make an action movie first: a Shakespearean actor on hand to play Jazz with Thomas Ian Griffith! Terry McCain is a pretty in-the-pocket Jazz pianist, just so you know. (McCain also has an earring, so you know he’s cool, long, greasy hair , resembles Christian TV evangelist Joel Osteen and might be a member of the Trenchcoat Mafia. Research is still being done).

 Then we have Lance Henriksen, doing his best as Devlin, Tony Todd as Frankie, again, struggling against some potential mediocrity and coming out quite well, the awesome Burt Young doing what he does best  - being Burt Young. The movie could have used more Burt. The presence of Charlotte Lewis as the model Anna Gilmour was appreciated. And of course all the lesser-known names in the cast performed admirably as well. 

Additionally, the Martial Arts Technical Advisor on the film was Benny “The Jet” Urquidez. Sadly he doesn’t appear on screen. So you have a much better than average cast for this sort of thing, which is nice, and they help to sell the more inane aspects of the plot without you even realizing it, because that’s what good actors do. And, yes, this movie is riddled with cliches, but for the most part they are the FUN cliches you want (You mean Terry McCain‘s use of excessive force is always getting him in trouble? No way!). Amazingly enough, this movie went to the theater! It never would today. Maybe the cast is part of the reason why.

But the movie is enjoyable, if not groundbreaking, and, yes, much of the brutality is fairly unwarranted, but this is EXCESSIVE FORCE people! While not nearly as violent as, say, Wardogs (1986), perhaps Griffith felt he went too far and didn’t want to be pigeonholed, so the follow-up, Ulterior Motives (1993), is less impactful. ‘Motives does not consistently and strongly follow up Excessive Force properly and a lot of steam was taken out of the T.I.G. train. That might explain why he isn’t really a household name, even among action movie fans.

For a fun beat/shoot ‘em up, try Excessive Force.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Unspeakable (2002)

Unspeakable (2002) -* * 

Directed By: Thomas J. Wright

Starring: Dennis Hopper, Dina Meyer, Lance Henriksen, and Jeff Fahey










Unspeakable is a laughable but entertaining horror\thriller.

Jesse Mowatt (Pavan Grover) is a serial killer who is sent to the toughest prison in New Mexico. The Warden (Hopper) is one mean guy who spouts lines like "I am God!". The only person who could save him (I don't know why someone would do that but okay...) is Diana Purlow (Meyer) a scientist who has a device that can look into people's minds. Does she find the truth?



This movie is hilarious. Dennis Hopper goes so over the top you can't believe it. He also has a couple more "great" lines like ("I want to kill you a hundred times over!" and "I will barbeque your soul!") He really wants to do a lot of stuff. But, then again, he is the evil warden. Meyer goes through the motions. Grover, who also wrote this mess, is very self-absorbed in the role. Fahey and Lance both make cameo appearances and they put in their usual good work. The ending is completely ridiculous. It involves ghosts, Fahey's character and abortion.

Overall, if you want to laugh, watch Unspeakable.





Comeuppance Review by: Ty

Stone Cold (1991)

Stone Cold (1991)- * * *1\2

Directed By: Craig R. Baxley

Starring: Brian Bosworth, Lance Henriksen, Sam McMurray, Arabella Holzbog, Gregory Scott Cummins, and William Forsythe












Ah, Stone Cold. What a classic! In the tradition of Cobra, he puts the "force" in "enforcement"! It has a very similar style of highly entertaining macho-stupidity as seen in fellow classic Road House (1989), a period in our nation's history where such things flourished.

John Stone (The Boz) is a cop who goes undercover in a biker gang to weed out the leader, Chains (Henriksen) and his dangerous crew.



Okay, the plot isn't much, but how 'bout that Mullet! Only in 1991 can you get away with that hair. Boz has a couple of good lines like "Cleanup on aisle 4", very reminiscent of Cobra's "I don't shop here".

Henriksen always puts in an excellent performance. He's at his best as the villain. Forsythe looks young (and a little heavy) here, but he doesn't disappoint. The climax at the courthouse is hilarious! You gotta see it to believe it!

On top of everything else, there are many quotable lines. They truly don't make movies like this anymore,  which is a travesty. Stone Cold will always hold a special place in my heart.



Comeuppance Review by: Ty

Madhouse (2004)

Madhouse (2004) -* * *

Directed By: William Butler

Starring: Joshua Leonard, Jordan Ladd, Natasha Lyonne and Lance Henriksen








Madhouse is an entertaining horror movie. The plot is: Clark Stevens (Leonard) is hired at Cunningham Hall, a mental facility. It's run by Dr. Franks (Henriksen). At first Stevens suspects nothing, until he sees ghosts. He wants to find out more about this, but the "red tape" at Cunningham Hall intrudes upon him. He realizes one more secret about Franks and then all hell breaks loose. Or does it...?



Leonard does a really good job as Clark, you feel for him. Henriksen doesn't really get to do much, but his presence is welcome. Natasha Lyonne makes a cameo appearance as a mental patient. She doesn't advance the plot. The gore scenes are exciting, but it's mostly a psychological thriller.

Madhouse shouldn't die a quick death at video stores. Check it out.




Comeuppance Review by: Ty