Shadow Of The Dragon (1992)

Shadow Of The Dragon (1992)- * *

Directed by: Jimmy Williams 

Starring: Robert Z'Dar, William Smith, Gerald Okamura, Sandy Palm, Donna Cherry, Trudy Adams, and Jimmy Williams

Vietnam, 1974: Three soldiers on patrol, Tony Baker (Williams), Brian O'Malley (Palm), and Eric Brunner (Smith), come across an ancient Buddha statue. Unbeknownst to Baker and O'Malley, Brunner later steals a priceless ruby from the statue's forehead, then slaughters a local family. After this intro, we're now in Los Angeles, present day. Baker and O'Malley have become LAPD officers, and they're hot on the trail of some warehouse heists.


While Captain Washington (Z'Dar), their classic WYC, wants results, it appears their job is going to be tougher than they thought. A mysterious, ninja-like character known only as Mekong Dragon is ruling the streets. So our two detectives turn to a man known only as Temple Priest (Okamura) for help. Things come full circle when members of the Vietnamese-American community also pitch in so our two heroes can finally unmask Mekong Dragon. But who will it be? And why are they doing what they're doing? Who is in the SHADOW OF THE DRAGON?


What Jimmy Williams, the man primarily responsible for Shadow of the Dragon, should have done, is cut the first hour of the film. Just highlight it and press delete. It should have started with the final, whackadoo 37 minutes, and then they could have fashioned something after that for another 40 minutes or so.


The post-dubbing of all the characters' voices, and the rock-bottom budget are not the problems here, although they may put some people off. Asking audiences to sit through 97 minutes of almost-total technical ineptitude is a tall order, however. To say this movie has pacing problems is a huge understatement. Fan favorites William Smith, Robert Z'Dar and Gerald Okamura are not in it enough to raise the quality level. Most people's home movies are shot and paced better. Hell, they're even plotted better.


Before you watch a movie called "Shadow of the Dragon", you think you will be getting certain things. That's why it's fairly surprising when the film takes time out to show a man who looks to be in his seventies eating a chocolate ice cream cone.


One of the better aspects of 'Shadow is that our two heroes are senior citizens. Rather than follow the modern-day trend of getting young kids like Sean Locke and Sean Faris to do all the action, they seemingly got some extras from Keaton's Cop (1990) back on screen again. O'Malley and Baker look very much alike, so it's hard to tell which one is the dad from Seinfeld and which one is the elderly Dan Lauria. Their love interests, Margie McGee (Cherry) and Ellen O'Malley (Adams) look to be about a third of their ages.


The movie takes some crazy and long-winded diversions, such as when one of our heroes goes to Chicago for no discernible reason. 97 minutes may not seem like a long running time for a "normal" movie, but Shadow of the Dragon is not a normal movie. That's why these asides should have been cut entirely. They just slow things down. If you went out of your way to watch Shadow of the Dragon, this is not how you should be rewarded.


The main baddie, Mekong Dragon, is basically a ninja with a voice box. His voice and his mysterious nature are very "Dr. Claw" from Inspector Gadget. There are some amusing and ridiculous moments in the movie overall, but they're swimming in a soup of stupidity that really tests the viewers' patience. Yet, somehow, this got into video stores in America and abroad. It is rare now, but, as we sometimes say, sometimes things are rare for a reason.


The end-credits title song by Curt Harpel is probably the best thing about the whole experience and shouldn't have been saved for last. It should have been played during the movie at least once. It's not at all uncommon for the best thing about a movie to be the final song. This is a contender for one of those times.


In the end, Shadow of the Dragon is an amateurish oddity that should have been shorter. There's cult potential somewhere in there, but it's obscured by some serious incompetence.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Enter The Blood Ring (1995)

Enter The Blood Ring (1995)- * *1\2

Directed by: Tom Oliver

Starring: Benjamin Kobby, Robert Z'Dar, Robert Chapin, Rod Kei, T.J. Storm, and Malibu

After the death of his wife, Punchfighter Luke Genera (Kobby) is struggling to take care of their son, Adam. Sadly, Adam has a brain tumor and Luke's day job as a cab driver isn't making ends meet, so he fights in underground Punchfighting matches at night. His goal is to save up enough money to move from L.A. to Australia because they're working on an experimental new treatment for tumors there. When gangster/fight promoter Sal D'Angelo (Z'Dar) announces a tournament where the winner walks away with $500,000, Luke trains like he's never trained before. Will Luke come out victorious after he decides to ENTER THE BLOOD RING?

Enter The Blood Ring appears to be one of the lesser-seen entries in the Punchfighting genre, at least here in America. It seems its low-budget origins ensured that it didn't get much penetration into the marketplace, even though video stores were hungry for this sort of thing at the time. You'd think that the presence of Malibu alone would guarantee it would be on every video store shelf in the U.S., but unfortunately that didn't turn out to be the case.

Star Benjamin Kobby (AKA Ben Maccabee) puts in a very Steven Niijar-esque performance. While he does tend to mumble (and have an accent), the audience warms to him because he has a likable personality and he's not fighting for personal or monetary gain, he's doing it to save his son's life. 

Apparently this was based on a true story, but is that itself true? We may never know. He also wears a suede vest and no shirt, and that is something we do know for sure. The fact that he's a likable cab driver/fighter drawn into the world of L.A. gangsters will inevitably draw comparisons to Lee Canalito and The Glass Jungle (1988). 

One thing The Glass Jungle doesn't have - or any other movie that we can name, for that matter - is a gangster who looks like Jerry Seinfeld but speaks like Marlon Brando. This very unusual and jarring combination of traits is something you just have to see. His scenes with Z'Dar are quite bizarre (or should we say B'Zar?) 

Further setting itself apart from others of its ilk, ETBR has these interstitial black and white bits where different fighters are being interviewed. There's a subplot about a writer named Thompson who is writing a book about underground fighting, so he goes around with his video camera conducting interviews. Interpolating this "mockumentary" into the main thrust of the film was a nice idea and it helped to move things along. It almost could have been a full movie unto itself.

There's the classic sax on the soundtrack and the classic wailing guitar on the soundtrack - sometimes these things are much louder in the sound mix than the dialogue, which seems to have been recorded quietly. But, any sound issues aside, the chance to see Ben Kobby, Malibu, Robert Z'Dar, Robert Chapin of Ring of Steel (1994) fame, Rod Kei of Ring of Fire (1991) fame, and T.J. Storm of The Ultimate Game (2001) fame all together is surely worth your time. (Storm and Chapin also starred together in Dragon Fury, for those keeping track at home).


For some classic mid-90's Punchfighting, do check out Enter the Blood Ring.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Equal Impact (1995)

Equal Impact (1995)- * *

Directed by: Jon Steven Ward

Starring: Joe Gates, Jay Gates, Nikka Bailey, Krist Geriene, Robert Z'Dar and Joe Estevez

Dave Conner (Joe Gates) and Josh Conner (Jay Gates) are twin brothers who also just happen to both be Tae Kwon Do experts. During their latest Martial Arts competition, they run afoul of evil Tae Kwon Do man Bobby Souk (Geriene). Souk may be a malevolent mulleted muttonhead, but he’s the least of the Conner brothers’ problems. It turns out that criminal mastermind Donald Moss (Estevez) is using Souk’s dojo as cover for his counterfeit ring. 

After a brawl in an alley with the Moss gang, Josh Conner takes some of the counterfeit money from one of the baddies. Now Moss is hoppin’ mad so he kidnaps not just Dave Conner (come to think of it, isn’t he a character on Roseanne?) but also Josh’s new love interest – and potential Bobby Souk bride – Alison (Nikka Bailey). Just when all seems hopeless, help arrives in the form of the mysterious and taciturn Ray Tobin (Z’Dar). Will our unlikely allies, as well as the baddies, both put forth an EQUAL IMPACT? And who will come out victorious?

We know we say this a lot, but where are the McNamara brothers when you really need them? Just when you thought the stars of Twin Dragon Encounter (1986) and Dragon Hunt (1990) had cornered the market on low-budget, twin-based kicking and punching, along come the Gates brothers. They seem downright plain by comparison. Even their names, Joe and Jay, seem lackluster. That being said, we’ll do our best to get over our pro-McNamara bias and try to be objective here.



As far as the quality level, try to imagine a cross between Radical Jack (2000) and Warrior Of Justice (1995). Some people may call it amateurish just because its budget is low and it isn’t structured very well. These same people might note that the lighting, sound, and acting are also not the best. But we choose to point out that there is entertainment value to be had with Equal Impact. There are some definite “laffs” along the way.



For example, not only does the movie feature the aforementioned twin brothers, but the baddie looks exactly like them. Why they cast yet another skinny Tae Kwon Do nerd who looks exactly like the supposed heroes is inexplicable. Add to that the poor lighting and the viewer quickly is seeing triple. They could have called the movie Triple Impact but that title was already taken. And yes, apparently there is such a thing as a Tae Kwon Do nerd. If you’ve never seen one, watch Equal Impact. You’ll soon see three. And you can’t even tell who’s who by their voices, because all of them have soft, reedy, non-intimidating pipes that wouldn’t even cause a mouse to flee away from them.



Naturally, the whole thing ends with a classic Final Warehouse Fight, and earlier on in the proceedings we get to witness one of the silliest barfights we’ve seen in years. They should really give out awards for these things. Maybe we could do it and call them “The Actionies”. Equal Impact could at least be nominated in many categories, and very well could win “Silliest Barfight”.



Of course, Joe Estevez and Robert Z’Dar are on hand as well. Hey, a job’s a job, and these guys clearly like to work. They seem not to be influenced by how small a film production may be. I guess if the price is right, they’ll appear. We’re happy they’re here, because they raise the interest level pretty considerably. Even though Z’Dar does more smoking and drinking than talking this time around, we remain big Z’Dar fans and will watch the movies he’s in with as little prejudice as he has when choosing his roles.



Because it was the 90’s, the whole thing ends with a wussy song. Gone were the days of driving AOR anthems to pump you up on the soundtrack. That was a strike against the movie, but the biggest problem with Equal Impact is its 108-minute running time. Why, why, WHY is this movie so long? Even glossy Hollywood blockbusters often fail to justify a movie with that length. What hope does Equal Impact have? What were they thinking? Because it has a bunch of funny/entertaining moments, if it was trimmed down to 80 minutes, we would be looking at a gem. As it is, it’s pretty overlong.

It should also be noted that, according to the credits, Flight Choreography is by a man named Edgar Bailey. Let’s put it this way: The Blue Angels are nowhere in sight. Nor is any aircraft. We’re pretty sure they simply misspelled the word “Fight”. Not a good sign for an action movie. 

As stated earlier, Equal Impact does contain some entertainment value, but it should have been shorter. It was also in dire need of some Steven Nijjar. But, then again, what movie isn’t?

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Young Rebels (1989)

Young Rebels (1989)- * * *

Directed by: Amir Shervan

Starring: Robert Z'Dar, Aldo Ray, Christine Lunde, Jon Greene, and Tadashi Yamashita

Mr. Vincenzo (Rivas) is a local California mob boss. His son Joey (Z’Dar) and his goons are causing havoc all over town. The Sheriff (Ray) (That’s all he’s credited as) is ineffectual against the reign of terror caused by the Vincenzo family. That is, until Charlie (Greene) shows up. And, to a lesser extent, his girlfriend Liz (Lunde). They decide to take on the mob family the only way they know how – extended scenes of mindless shooting. Of course, Joey Vincenzo is the scary final boss…will Charlie be man enough to take him down?

One of our favorite directors of silly movies, Amir Shervan, once again provides silly dubbing, silly editing, silly plotting, silly performances, and filmmaking that is from every angle – not to put too fine a point on it – just downright silly. Sure, while it may be a bit amateurish and repetitive, it’s also a ridiculous good time that you can’t help but love. Or at least appreciate, especially considering they really don’t make movies like this anymore. Whether that’s a good thing or not is up to you…well, we’re the ones writing the review, and we say it’s a bad thing that they don’t make absurd gems like this anymore. So there. 

Yes, there are countless shootouts, chases, barfights, and stripping scenes, and some unfathomable subplot about smuggling illegals into the U.S., but really a lot of the running time of the film consists of weird-looking people beating up other weird-looking people.



Aldo Ray is in two scenes, attired in an ill-fitting Sheriff’s getup. He steals both scenes. There should have been more instances where a confused and angry Aldo Ray yells at people. Shervan mainstay and fan favorite Robert Z’Dar is also here, as chinny as ever, but the real question is: why is this movie called Young Rebels? Who are the Young Rebels? And what are they rebelling against?



Maybe it was this unanswered question that caused the lack of a wide release for this movie (although it is entirely fitting because it makes just as little sense as anything else on show here). As far as we can tell, it never got any kind of release at all, even though it was made in the golden video store year of 1989. It’s available, as of this writing, on Amazon Prime, and pretty much nowhere else. For its rarity alone (if not any of its other qualities) it’s worth seeing.


So, if you’ve seen the other Shervan Classics and are missing out, you pretty much know what to expect. It’s funny, it’s ridiculous, it’s absurd, and…forget seeing a boom mike at the top of the frame or its shadows, those can be seen in lots of low-budget efforts. Only in Young Rebels do you see a crew member clack the slate before a scene begins (It happens towards the end).

For a laughable and ludicrous good time, do check out Young Rebels.

Red Line (1995)

Red Line (1995)- *1\2

Directed by: John Sjogren

Starring: Chad McQueen, Dom DeLuise, Michael Madsen, Jan-Michael Vincent, Roxana Zal, Corey Feldman, Robert Z'Dar, Julie Strain, and Chuck Zito

Jimmy (McQueen) is an auto mechanic and part-time stick-up man who uses the cars people drop off to speed away in after he finishes his petty heists. Despite the disapproval of his boss, Jerry (DeLuise), Jimmy ends up working for crime boss Keller (Vincent) as a driver. 

While doing this, a series of events occurs: He discovers the truth about Tony (Feldman) and Crystal (Strain) – the brother and wife respectively of rival crime boss Mr. Lawrence (Madsen), and he also gains possession of a special Corvette with a surprise inside. Even though Gene (Z’Dar), one of Keller’s goons, is on his trail, Jimmy manages to go on the run with Gem (Zal), who is escaping the clutches of her abusive boyfriend Dick (Zito). Is any of this making sense? Or, when it comes to seeing this movie, will you be drawing a RED LINE in the sand?

The Lone Tiger effect, as we call it, seems to be something we can never escape. Any time we see a cast list of this many B-Movie faces, it draws us in and proves impossible to resist. Yet again, sadly, we were disappointed. Despite the star power involved, Red Line just isn’t that…well…involving. 

One of the bright spots was the brief appearance of Dom DeLuise, who is just too talented to be hemmed in by a dire production like this. The supposed hero, Jimmy, is an unlikable criminal and he’s the guy we’re supposed to be rooting for? Evidently Chad McQueen thought so, as not only was he the star, he’s also credited with stunt driving, casting, and producing. He was really involved with this project, and while, on the whole, it’s probably a better movie than Money to Burn (1996) - produced by and starring a lot of the same people – it’s not as funny as MTB. But it’s about as dumb, so that equation doesn’t really work out well in the viewer’s favor. Most of Chad’s shirts have sleeves this time around, so it looks like our Chad is finally growing up. 

Jan-Michael Vincent’s grotesque appearance – apparently the result of a real-life car accident – only helps his character, but it’s all pretty unpleasant. Chuck Zito’s line readings are pure gold, and the presences of Robert Z’Dar and Julie Strain are always welcome. Even Joe Estevez and none other than Ron Jeremy have cameos. Corey Feldman wears a silly jacket and holds his gun sideways. Roxana Zal plays the inexplicably pretty car wash girl. What drew all these people to be in this substandard movie? Maybe director Sjogren has a lot of charisma. Frankly, we’re surprised Ian Jacklin isn’t involved. 

Ron Jeremy plays a gardener whose name is Gardner. So, that’s the level of intelligence on display here…but did you expect anything else going in? We, as viewers, have to wait a whopping 63 minutes until we get to Michael Madsen to be in the mix of this broth. But really, there are no surprises on show with Red Line. It’s a very long 90 minutes. It’s similar to Sjogren’s Strip N’ Run (2000), also starring Madsen.

There should have been scenes of Chad McQueen beating up the many goons the crime bosses send after him, or some such action setpieces. But aside from some driving stuff and a few mild blow-ups, the action factor is low. Just imagine No Man’s Land (1987) but with no Charlie Sheen, nothing really interesting happens, and there are boom mike shadows on the walls. This could have been a really easy fix: make the hero likable and give him goons to fight. Boom. Better movie. But no, sadly, Red Line opts for the stupider road less traveled (that’s less-traveled for a reason). 

In the end, despite the stellar cast, Red Line stalls out.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Soultaker (1990)

Soultaker (1990)- * *1\2

Directed by: Michael Rissi

Starring: Joe Estevez, Vivian Schilling, Gregg Thomsen, David "Shark" Fralick, and Robert Z'Dar

Natalie McMillan (Schilling) is the “rich girl” in her small town, and Zach Taylor (Thomsen) is the poor local mechanic. Before this West Side Story/Romeo & Juliet-like romance can get off the ground, their buddy Brad Deville (Fralick), who appears to be a cross between a lunkhead and a meathead, drives drunk and they all die (?) - but before “The Man” (Estevez) can collect their souls, they realize what’s going on and they all run away from The Man and his partner (again a ?), Angel of Death (Z’Dar). 

This race between life and death intensifies because Natalie reminds The Man of a woman he used to love in a past life. Who will win - those who collect the souls of the recently deceased, or mulleted, 37 year old teens on the run?

Okay, we all know Soultaker was famously tackled by the MST3K guys. Let’s try and put that aside for a moment, if possible, and realize that it is indeed AIP April once again, so we have to put in our two cents as well. Rather than mercilessly bash the poor movie, we choose to dwell on the positive: the first half. Any scenes with Brad Deville - and David “Shark” Fralick does indeed look like a dude named Brad Deville - are gold. 

The “Summerfest” sequences provide solid entertainment/laughs/80’s nostalgia, and the presences of Robert Z’Dar and Joe Estevez are comforting and familiar. To see them working and walking together as an “afterlife team” was pretty cool. And we applaud the effort all around, even if the final result is (pleasantly?) amateurish. But that’s what we look for. Not everything has to be absolutely perfect and we cherish the quirks. But it’s not all a Summerfest bash…

The second half of the movie is boring, dull, and repetitive. Even the powerhouse team of Z’Dar with his unintelligible electronically-lowered voice and Joe Estevez with his black guyliner can’t remedy that. Their characters are supposed to be menacing because of these things, not to mention their black coats. They also disappear and reappear quickly thanks to what can only be described as “Blip-cuts”. There’s also a green special effect that will remind you not of Slimer from Ghostbusters, but of his Hi-C Ecto-Cooler. Zach Thomsen gives Billy Warlock a run for his money, and Vivian Schilling, interestingly enough, is credited with screenplay/story on the film.

So as a glimpse of the end of the acid-washed 80’s, with plenty of 80’s coolguys and coolgirls and their various fashions, Soultaker has some value for that reason alone. Pounding, generic 80’s rock/metal seems central to their lives, though the end credits song, “Somewhere in Paradise” by Karen Lawrence, would seem to contradict that. Yet again we have a movie of two halves - the first being better, of course - but it’s largely sunk by the dull second half.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Also check out write-ups from our buddies, The Video Vacuum and DTVC!

Trained To Kill (1989)

Trained To Kill (1989)- * * *

Directed by: H. Kaye Dyal

Starring: Frank Zagarino, Chuck Connors, Ron O'Neal, Harold Diamond, Lisa Aliff, Marshall Teague, Glen Eaton, Arlene Golonka, Henry Silva, and Robert Z'Dar











Ed Cooper (Connors) is a former Vietnam vet who had a son many years ago with a Cambodian woman. Now, Sam (Eaton) has come home to the Cooper family in Los Angeles. He’s welcomed to the U.S.A. by the Coopers’ biological son Matt (Zagarino), family friend Cotton (O’Neal) and Matt’s girlfriend Jessie (Aliff of Damned River fame). However, spoiling all this newfound family bliss is a gang of baddies, the head of which is the slick Ace Duran (Silva). 

Dispatching his best heavies, Felix (Teague), Loc Syn (Diamond), and Majyk (Z’Dar) to the Cooper household after breaking out of prison, they aim to get revenge on Ed for putting them behind bars. They were running heroin back from Vietnam, and Cooper simply reported them. After attacking Ed and Martha (Golonka) Cooper, Sam, Matt, Cotton and Jessie decide to forgo the police and get revenge themselves. Will they do it?

Mindless, nonsensical and brain-numbing, Trained To Kill gives new meaning to the word “stupid” - and we mean that in a good way! Fan favorite and personal hero Chuck Connors is back once again with his Brooklyn Dodgers jacket, and thankfully this is Frank Zags’ least annoying major role that we’ve seen to date. There’s a triumphant training sequence, Eaton puts in a lot of much-needed energy, and it features Robert Z’Dar with a flamethrower. His name in the movie, Majyk (pronounced as “Magic”) isn’t the most intimidating name for a bad guy, however. There’s the prerequisite torture, and Harold Diamond is a top-notch meathead.

The fact that the movie starts in Cambodia with some guy with the most obvious piece of cotton glued to his chin as some sort of facial hair, then moves to the U.S. with Chuck Connors as a guy who takes in foster children and decorates his home solely with travel posters should give you a hint of the ridiculous nature of this movie. 

Ron O’Neal gets into a swordfight, there’s at least one exploding helicopter, and Frank Zagarino sets a new standard in ripped shirt technology by the end of the film. This is a movie that, by all rights, SHOULD have been simply shelf-filler, but, by its sheer silliness, rises above its station to become an entertaining movie.

Released on VHS by Malofilm, a company we’re not familiar with, on EP mode, the quality is not the best. But if you ever see Trained To Kill anywhere, pick it up. For the star-power alone, it’s worth having.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Also check out a write-up from our buddy, Fist Of B-List!

The Divine Enforcer (1992)

The Divine Enforcer (1992)-* *

Directed by: Robert Rundle

Starring: Erik Estrada, Jan-Michael Vincent, Michael Foley, Jim Brown, Judy Landers, Hiroko, Don Stroud, and Robert Z'Dar












The Monsignor (Estrada), Father Thomas (Vincent) and their helpful assistant Merna (Landers) live and work at a church in a “bad part” of L.A. One day, a man named Father Daniel (Foley) comes to join their parish. The only thing about Father Daniel is, he’s a Martial Arts expert who uses his Cross-emblazoned gun, knives and even throwing stars to take out the trash of the city. He even uses the confessional for tips on where to go. But if the parishioners don’t give him enough info, he uses his psychic powers to find out more. 

While trying to keep his double life secret, he meets a fellow psychic, Kim (Chambers), who he takes a liking to. Meanwhile, there’s a sadistic serial killer stalking the city named Otis (Stroud), who drains his victims of blood and saves their skulls. But Father Daniel saves people’s souls, so the two men are mortal enemies. When Otis kidnaps Kim, the ultimate showdown ensues. Or something like that.

You would think a movie about a psychic priest who kills his enemies with throwing stars with the Cross on them would be a surefire hit. But in the hands of director/co-writer Rundle, this one idea is not enough to sustain a 90 minute movie. Thus there is plenty of filler which dilutes this killer idea. A wise man once said “you cannot intentionally make a cult film” and that seems to be the case here. 

Sure, the movie is loaded up with quality B-movie names, but it could definitely be argued that they are not used to their full potential. Add to that some muddy, muffled sound where the music is louder than the dialogue and a lot of repetitive scenes (such as the oft-repeated “Breakfast” scene) and, far from a unique winner, we’re bordering dangerously on dud.

The credits of the movie misspell Erik Estrada’s name (crediting him as “Eric” with a C), while the VHS box (released by Prism) has it correctly. He does more-or-less a “sit-down” role, as does Jan-Michael Vincent, who does an out-and-out sit-down. Vincent just sits at the breakfast table with his newspaper and slurs a few lines. Sure, there’s something endearing about it, but he’s so under-used. And speaking of under-used, Jim Brown and Robert Z’Dar are on screen for literally seconds as incidental drug-dealers. More should have been made of them. Don Stroud plays the deranged killer with aplomb, but his scenes contain the most filler.

And who is this Michael Foley, who plays the main role of Father Daniel, you ask? He was in Lionheart (1990), Karate Cop (1991) and Intent To Kill (1992) - but he’s still kind of an odd choice for a leading role. 

Some of the better moments in The Divine Enforcer comes from the random scenes - plenty of parts have no explanation, and that combined with the amateurish acting usually provides the VHS gold we’re always looking for. But it’s a battle against filler. Ken Davitian shows up in an uncredited role as a club owner watching the singer Hiroko (and her stellar backup dancers) do a performance. Her song “My Love’s Waiting” temporarily livens things up, but this movie is still fairly disappointing.

In all, the idea of the Father Daniel character is excellent, but, sadly, the movie as a whole is mishandled, not getting the maximum bang for the buck from the idea.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Fugitive X: Innocent Target (1996)

Fugitive X: Innocent Target (1996)-* *1\2

Directed by: David Heavener

Starring: David Heavener, Richard Norton,Clement Von Franckenstein, William Windom, Chris Mitchum, and Robert Z'Dar













Adam Trent (Heavener) is a mild-mannered ex-cop who is now a businessman. He thought he left the unpredictable and violent world of the streets behind him. It turns out he was wrong, because Trent becomes the unwitting and unwilling participant in something called “The Game”. He’s truly having the worst birthday ever - not only is he thinking about the troubles in his past, he now has to fight for his life. Run by the sinister Lindsay (Von Franckenstein of American Ninja V (1993) and Lionheart, 1990) and his son Winters (Norton), the two operate a betting parlor out of a castle in Hollywood. 

Patrons bet on how long “the target” will live, meanwhile goons are chasing after him with guns at every turn. They even have a serum they can inject into you to track your movements. But Trent proves too clever and outwits them, utilizing his favorite tactics, those of shooting, punching and kicking, and maybe a few blow-ups along the way. Will Adam Trent survive to drink one of his uncle Billy’s (Windom) fruit-and-beer milkshakes again?

Not to be confused with Hard Target (1993) - no, wait - TO be confused with Hard Target, Heavener has fashioned a cross between that movie and The Game (1997) even though Fugitive X pre-dated The Game by a year! We’re definitely fans of Mr. Heavener - we keep coming back to his movies  because we admire his talent - he acts in, writes, directs, produces and does the music for the majority of his movies. And this is one of the more professional-looking outings we’ve seen from him to date. 

Yes, there is some clunkiness here and there, what with awkward fight staging, odd-looking muzzle flashes and explosions and maybe a boom mic or two, but Heavener is basically single-handedly releasing decent-to-good direct-to-video B-movie product, and it is very impressive.

Fugitive X: Innocent Target could have been a UPN show in the 90’s like The Point Man, The Lazarus Man, or any number of their action-based shows. Although it is somewhat surprising that this came out in ‘96, it looks like it could have been released in ‘87 or earlier. 

It even pre-dates the online gambling craze, because that’s pretty much what people are doing in this movie. It should also be said that Fug X (as we call it) is highly repetitive, most of the running time is spent on baddies chasing Heavener, and Heavener eluding them. Even still, the goons have ample chances to shoot Trent, but fail constantly. They must have a fear of success. Heavener jumps on the “slicked-back hair” craze for action stars of the 90’s, unfortunately started by Steven Seagal, and wears a tuxedo for a large part of the movie. So there’s plenty of silliness to go around.

Robert Z’Dar is here looking even odder than usual with long hair and a homemade-looking shirt that says “Love Child”. Why they felt the need to put him in a shirt that says this is unknown. Also inexplicably, footage from his one scene ended up in the later Heavener movie Outlaw Prophet (2001). Chris Mitchum has a nothing role as a cop. Blink and you’ll miss him. As anyone who reads this site knows, we’re huge Richard Norton fans, and he does a decent job as Winters, but this isn’t the best Norton movie. It’s also kind of funny how Lindsay’s son is Australian but Lindsay isn’t. It’s nice to see all these B-movie names together, but Mitchum and Z’Dar needed more screen time, and Norton a meatier role.

Plus, similar to the infamous “He’s gone AOL” line from Direct Contact (2009), at one point Heavener says the line “is there a police station around here?” but he slurs his words and speaks quickly so it sounds like he says “Is there a PlayStation around here?” Either that, or that IS what he said. It was the mid-90’s after all. PlayStation 1 was huge. Maybe he wanted to play Crash Bandicoot to relieve some of his stress.

For an entertainingly dumb DTV outing using some of the favorite themes of the 90’s, Fugitive X: Innocent Target is more than watchable.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Killing American Style (1990)

Killing American Style (1990)-* *1\2

Directed by: Amir Shervan

Starring: Robert Z'Dar, Jimmy Williams, Joselito Rescober, Harold Diamond and Jim Brown













Arch-criminal Tony Stone (Z’Dar), along with his underworld buddies Lynch (Diamond), Uncle Loony (Williams), and Jesse (???), pull off a heist, netting themselves a cool 150,000 dollars. But soon the law catches up to them and they are sent to prison. But before they go away, Tony gives the money to a mysterious woman named Stepmom. While en route to jail, in a classic prison transfer mishap (maybe they should just stop transporting prisoners altogether; it never goes as planned), the baddies escape. They go on the lam for a while and eventually end up at the house of the Morgan family. That includes father John, young son Brendan, plus a mother and daughter. The thugs hold the family hostage while they figure out a way to get their stashed-away money and go back out on the run. Meanwhile, Lt. Sunset (Brown) is on their trail. Unfortunately for the hostage-takers, papa Morgan is a hulking meathead in his own right and is a master kickboxer. Will he use his skills to free his family, as well as a doctor (Rescober) also taken hostage? Find out today!

We’re huge Amir Shervan fans and we were thrilled to finally track down this “lost” movie of his. Killing American Style even uses many of the same locations as his prior masterpieces Hollywood Cop (1987) and Samurai Cop (1989) - the house where most of the action takes place, for example, and the restaurant where Matt Hannon gives his immortal speech in SC. He re-uses some of his stock company, such as Z’Dar, Rescober, and the kid that plays Brendan. He even recycles exact snippets of dialogue (“keep it warm”, “no, you shut up”, etc.) So to recap: the same actors, locations and dialogue as used previously - and we have only one thing to say: THANK GOODNESS! If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and our favorite Shervanities are on full display here. The synth score is also very similar, if not exactly the same as before, as well. Maybe that’s why KAS didn’t get widely distributed in the U.S. Perhaps video companies felt it was too similar to his earlier works. But perhaps Shervan should have stuck the word “Cop” somewhere in the title, because out of his three main works, this one is the weakest.

But it didn’t have to be. The movie is on the long side at an hour and 41 minutes, and a lot of it could have been trimmed. Towards the midpoint, it slows down and loses momentum, and a Fear (1988)-style hostage drama needs all the pep it can get. Yes, there is a ton of silly dialogue, wacky line readings, off-kilter direction, downright misguided hair, amazing outfits, and all the things that make Shervan movies great, but he pushed it too far this time. But the length is really our only complaint. The movie is a great showcase for fan favorite Z’Dar, who gets a lot of killer screentime and seems to be enjoying himself as he chews the scenery to smithereens. Harold Diamond, last seen in Trained to Kill (1989) along with Zagarino, is on board as well, alongside Jim Brown, who seems to be sleepwalking through his role. More than usual.

The unknown (to us, at least) actor who plays John Morgan was a nice discovery. As a meathead, and a dad, or meatdad, it proves you can still fight Fabio lookalikes at your local kickboxing gym at the drop of a hat and still be a good father to your son.

In the 60’s, we had Love American Style. At the dawn of the 90’s, we had Killing American Style. Amir Shervan once again shows us the direction our society is taking. Fans of his two “Cop” movies will certainly find more of the same here, but non-fans might find the rarity of this film too daunting to try to track down.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

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

Double Blast (1994)

Double Blast (1994)-* * *

Directed by: Tim Spring

Starring: Dale "Apollo" Cook, Linda Blair, Joe Estevez, Ron Hall, Ned Hourani, John Barrett, Crystal Summer, Stephen Brouse, Lorne Berfield, and Robert Z'Dar











Greg (Cook) is a professional kickboxer who has a son, Jimmy (Berfield), and a daughter, Lisa (Summer), who take after their father and also are proficient in Martial Arts. When a gang of no-goodniks led by Nadir (Estevez) and his number one goon Mongoose (Z’Dar) kidnap archaeologist Claudia (Blair) because she can translate an ancient stone tablet said to lead to the whereabouts of great riches, the kidnapping is witnessed by Lisa and Jimmy. They follow the baddies into the jungle, and are soon followed by their dad. So now everyone, good guys and bad guys alike, are trekking through jungles and caves to try and find the treasure. Who will end up with it?

Ah, to be a kid in the 90’s. You could go to your local video store, rent Double Blast and maybe a Genesis game, then go home and watch Wild and Crazy Kids while eating your Fruit By The Foot. It’s a nice scenario, and surely one that the filmmakers at Davian International (the people behind most of Dale “Apollo” Cook’s movies) were aiming for. Double Blast is nothing if not an attempt to crack the market of younger kids seeking action thrills, and in the attempt making a sort of cross between Home Alone (1990), The Goonies (1985) and Three Ninjas (1992) (one of Berfield’s only credits is a “thank you” on Three Ninjas - was he a young consultant, a stunt-kid, or was he in the running to be one of the Ninjas? We may never know...) Seeing as how the Martial Arts fights aren’t all that different from Cook’s other movies, if such a designation exists, this movie would surely be a hard PG.

Cook carries over his time-honored sweatpants-and-fannypack look into this movie. Why an acknowledged action star of the time insisted on dressing like a tourist in every one of his films remains a mystery. Lorne Berfield, the kid who played Jimmy, was very good and seemed to have a promising career ahead of him. Sadly it never materialized. Linda Blair is along for the silly ride, and Joe Estevez chews scenery as the main baddie. Robert Z’Dar holds up his end of the wackiness on show, and this is the only credited performance of Crystal Summer, who’s not a porn star as far as we know. There are some other names in the cast fans will know, such as Ron Hall, who flips around and fights in a full suit, John Barrett, who’s Cook’s fight trainer, and Ned Hourani, who plays one of the baddies who is constantly getting beat up by children.

Director Tim Spring was certainly on a tear in the mid-90’s, having directed Reason to Die (1990), Double Blast, and Raw Target (1995) all in a row. The golden age of the video store brought out the best in people, and gave us more choices than ever before. What’s good about Double Blast is that it’s at least upbeat, and there’s no annoying kid, which there easily could have been. There are zany “BOING!” sound effects while the children are beating up the grown-ups, and characters read newspapers with grammatical errors in them. Lisa has a boyfriend (Lisa has a boyfriend!) named Charlie (Stephen Brause, in his only role) who looks exactly like TV’s Zack Morris. Maybe that’s why Brause never went on to anything else. The world already had a Zack.

But perhaps the most interesting thing, from today’s standpoint, about Double Blast is how characters call each other “retard” as an insult. You CANNOT do that today. Or maybe you could, but your movie would be rated R, and you’d be accused of bullying and defamation and sued within an inch of your life. It’s all done without malice, it truly was a more innocent time back then, people didn’t know what they were saying. In the end, we watched Double Blast because of the very impressive cast, but the movie is certainly geared for younger viewers. Not unlike Little Ninjas (1990). It’s pretty dumb, but the cast basically keeps it afloat. If you have occasion to watch something of this kind, you could probably do worse than Double Blast.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Dragonfight (1990)

Dragonfight (1990)-*1\2

Directed by: Warren A. Stevens

Starring: Michael Paré, Robert Z'Dar, Charles Napier, Paul Coufos, George "Buck" Flower, Tom Magee, Fawna MacLaren, James Hong, and Joe Cortese











In the deserts of Arizona, two men face off in a battle to the death: the maniacal Lochaber (Z’Dar) and the honorable Falchion (Coufos). Because this is the future, the two men are being controlled by their corporate masters. One big corporation, led by the smarmy, ponytail-wearing businessman Michael Moorpark (Paré) and his associates Asawa (Hong) and the creatively-named Kyoto (Aleong), have millions of dollars riding on the success of their chosen fighter. The other businessmen, led by Baybington (Cortese) are their rivals, backing their own guy. They sit in their cushy offices watching the proceedings play out on TV monitors. Falchion decides he’s had enough and defects. He goes on the run, refusing to fight. It’s on his travels away from Lochaber that he meets a desert Ranger, Moochow (Napier) (who presumably, based on his name, will get a Chicago-based talk radio show) and a drunken stranger, Jericho (Flower), who decides to narrate the whole story. There’s also the magical hot chick, Dark Servant (MacLaren), who has the power to heal. But the time comes when all men must fight, and Falchion realizes he must face off against the murderous Lochaber (who has gone rogue and started killing innocent civilians). Who will be victorious in this so-called “Dragonfight”?

Oh dear. Dragonfight is one choppy, nonsensical mess of a movie. It’s more an off-kilter mishmash of stupidity and half-baked concepts than a fully-fleshed out film. We were happy to see a top-billed Robert Z’Dar, and a second-billed Paul Coufos, especially on a tape released by a major label (Warner Brothers, though we don’t understand why; this definitely seems like something that would come out on a much smaller label - but then again, we’re happy some of our fan-favorite actors got wider distribution than normal, even if it’s not an ideal vehicle for them). Paul Coufos, star of Busted Up (1986), strongly resembles Huey Lewis - we suppose this is as close as we’ll get to seeing Lewis in an “action” film, though Falchion needed more goons to fight, not just one, and he spends most of the movie running from the fight. That’s bad policy for a supposed action movie with the word “fight” somewhere in the title.

Michael Pare has a very limited amount of screen time, and of that, his ponytail steals his performance away from him. The movie as a whole has some classic line readings, some of which are said by James Hong, but just about every character says a stupid and/or confusingly-written piece of dialogue in an appropriately-confused manner. That’s why the first 30 minutes or so of Dragonfight is so wacky and funny. But the desert sequences are mostly slogs and have an unfortunate Albert Pyun feel, and things slow down tremendously then. Some nice cinematography can’t fix the egregious problems this movie has.

Z’Dar runs around the desert yelling “RAAAAAHHH!!!!” and wearing a too-small suit of chainmail, complete with codpiece. Charles Napier has a cap with the word “Ranger” on it in tiny type, so small you can barely read it. Were smaller-than-average chainmail suits and “Ranger” embroidered patches cheaper than normal-sized ones?  Then George “Buck” Flower (or is it Randall “Tex” Cobb? Not really sure...) shows up, and most of his dialogue (and inexplicable narration) is so grumbly, mumbly, and slurred, he makes William Smith seem like a master of elocution. And lest we forget Tom Magee as Bull, the token meathead. Naturally a movie about mystical sorcery wouldn’t be complete without the Canadian 1982 World Powerlifiting Champion. Also he was in Stone Cold (1991) and Street Knight (1993).

Director Warren Stevens also is responsible for Lone Tiger (1999) - how does he keep assembling impressive B-movie casts for these nonsensical movies? Sure, the writing, editing, and directing are very off, but our question is: did Stevens think it made sense? Did he think it would make sense to audiences? Or does he know it makes no sense, and he doesn’t care? These are the questions we’re curious about. But naturally, there is a lot of repetition to pad out the running time. We also noted that the movie Digital Man (1995) is very similar to this. Of all the movies to imitate, why Dragonfight? Is it really that inspirational? Add in a little Cyber Vengeance (1997) and you have...well, something.

The first half-hour is fairly mind-boggling, but then the silliness subsides for most of the rest of the film. We felt the corporate-based scenes were more interesting than the desert slog scenes, of course. So that led to an overall feeling of dissatisfaction. Featuring the song “Take My Stand” by Velvet Hammer, Dragonfight is, despite author John Stanley giving it a glowingly positive review in his book Creature Features, a confusing disappointment after its opening promise. But there are some unintentional laughs along the way.

Also check out a review by our buddy, The Video Vacuum!

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

The Killing Game (1988)

The Killing Game (1988)-* * *

Directed by: Joesph Merhi

Starring: Chard Hayward, Geoffrey Sadwith, and Robert Z'Dar














Max Gilton (Hayward) seemingly has it all: he lives in a huge house in a ritzy part of L.A., and he conducts illegal gambling operations from his house, which earn him millions from an upper crust clientele. Women are constantly coming and going from his mansion, which has his lawyer friend Jeff (Geoffrey Sadwith) jealous. But Max’s life isn’t all fancy parties and working out in his home gym. To supplement his income, he works as a hit man to his rich casino patrons. One day, he receives some photos in the mail of himself caught in the act of execution. Paranoia seizes Max, and eventually he travels to Las Vegas, where mob boss Antonio Markaze (Z’Dar) is more than willing to take advantage of the situation. Adding to that, Max has been accused of killing his wife and sister in law. The police are hot on his trail, but he maintains his innocence. What’s Max going to do?

The Killing Game is a City Lights production - for those who don’t know, it’s PM entertainment’s Richard Pepin and Joseph Merhi’s company in their pre-PM years. Looking back now, you can see them finding their footing. For instance, there are plenty of amateurish moments, especially in the technical department, and the movie is filled with strange-looking non-actors. But that’s all part of the overall vibe, which the video look helps convey.  It certainly adds to the unique feel of this movie. But it’s almost as if they were learning on the job, as The Killing Game certainly gets better as it goes along. You have to wait 54 minutes until Robert Z’Dar shows up, but once he does, the movie is in high gear.

Chard “Why Is My Name CHARD” Hayward puts in a surprisingly strong performance. He could have not taken the role seriously, but it seems he did. He’s a suave fellow with a light British accent. There are numerous scenes of him working out, but with no song behind it. Wardrobe-wise, he seems to have a penchant for bowties and short shorts (though not necessarily at the same time). Because of this, as well as his awesome shades and his rockin’ jeep, he seems to make the ultimate 80’s blackmail target. Chard carries this role rather well.  Complementing him is his friend Jeff, and the guy who played him, Sadwith, as far as we know, has never been in any other movies. He definitely could have had a career as an actor. It’s a real shame. He even could have played Raymond on Everybody Loves Raymond.

As far as fan favorite Robert Z’Dar (which is credited without the apostrophe), he’s reasonably menacing here, and to make him more “Mafia-like”, they put some gray touches in his hair and he speaks in a raspy voice. His fate in the movie is definitely worth watching out for. But like all mob bosses, he spends his days in a theater watching dancers rehearse. Nothing says “don’t cross me” like admiring men mincing around in spandex and leggings. But the good news is, just as we thought that this movie couldn’t possibly rival its fellow City Lights production, the awesome Dance Or Die (1987), it actually does! The climax of the movie is even very similar to Dance Or Die, with the action intercut with the dancing! Apparently Pepin and Merhi felt this was an amazingly winning formula, because they went with it on TWO occasions that we know of. Wow. Now that’s something.

In the end, The Killing Game does have its flaws, and it takes a while to get going, but for the prehistory of PM, Robert Z’Dar, Chard, and the sheer 80’s-ness, it’s certainly worth a look. It won’t change your life, but it’s not a bad way to spend 90 minutes or so.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Fresh Kill (1987)

Fresh Kill (1987)-* *1\2

Directed by: Joesph Merhi

Starring: Flint Keller, Del Zamora, Pamela Dixon, Ron Preston, Tricia Parks, and Robert Z'Dar













Allen Chester (Keller) is an aspiring actor who moves from his hometown of Chicago to Hollywood to pursue his dream. While he works on breaking into the movie biz, he works at a butcher shop. His co-worker is blonde weirdo Carter (Preston) who assesses his work performance by how many times he sneezes in people’s meat purchases. One night while waiting until midnight for the meat truck to arrive (is this common practice?), a mysterious woman pops into the shop and asks for Allen’s help. Her name is Leona Alexander (Parks), and it seems she’s trying to escape the clutches of criminal overlord Manny (Z’Dar). After accidentally killing some goons, the pair go on the run. Manny is especially mad because he believes Leona has two million dollars worth of his money and drugs. Meanwhile, Allen and Leona work through their mistrust issues and form a bond. Eventually Allen, Carter and a friend of theirs who is a street swindler act as makeshift mercenaries and stage a raid on Manny’s compound. Who will then become the FRESH KILL?

Fresh Kill is one of the better City Lights titles we’ve seen in terms of quality of acting, and technically as well it’s an improvement over past efforts. As we’ve discussed before, we find something inexplicably alluring about City Lights movies, and despite no-nothings bashing some of the more amateurish aspects of their output, we’ve seen almost all of them as of the time of this writing. Many of the CL regulars are in front of and behind the camera, and John Gonzales’ score is one of his best and helps the movie a lot.

Flint Keller as Allen Chester (or is it Allen Chester as Flint Keller?) is actually a likable main character, as opposed to the unlikable central characters in City Lights’ Mayhem (1986). He even goes through a character arc. Like Allen Chester, The Flintster should have done more in his acting career. Another draw for this movie is the presence of the great Robert Z’Dar. It was an early role and he looks svelte. Better things were yet to come in his career, but he does add a lot here. Also adding to the strength of the cast is Steve Welles as Mike, who runs an airplane hanger. This man is an American hero, as well as an American treasure.

Besides Mike, Fresh Kill is filled with odd characters and off-kilter situations. This comes through in the scene when Allen and Leona go to hide out at Leona’s mother’s house, and she and her mother smoke a pipe while the three of them watch torture porn. It seems pretty awkward for Allen. And the way writer/director Joseph Merhi depicts L.A. as crime-ridden, even lawless is also very entertaining. Merhi once again seems influenced by the classic Film Noir era - but Fresh Kill was shot during the L.A. big hair era. The mashup is amusing. And while the film does get a bit boring before the climax (a very common problem), there is also some over-the-top violence to keep things afloat.

Featuring the pounding song “Lost In the City“ by Gonzales (sung by Paul Shortino) - not to be confused with L.A. Crackdown II‘s “Lost In the Night”(doesn’t every City Lights movie have a song like this?), we want to know when a CD is coming out of all these songs. After all, this one is a movie highlight, and even plays during the first couple of scenes in the movie! Also it should be noted that there is a trailer for Heat Street after the movie. Fresh Kill remains one of the better gems in the tennis bracelet that is the City Lights Canon. It probably won’t be to everyone’s taste, but there are those of you out there who will want to check it out, if only for Robert Z’Dar. You know who you are. Flint Keller, we hardly knew ye.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Code Name: Zebra (1987)

Code Name: Zebra (1987)-* * *1\2

Directed by: Joe Tornatore

Starring: James Mitchum, Mike Lane, Joe Donte, Timmy Brown, Chuck Morell, Charles Dierkop, George "Buck" Flower, Robert Z'Dar, and Frank Sinatra Jr.


“I’mnotababyI’mfiveyearsold.”-Anthony









Carmine Longo (Lane) has just been released from prison after a seven year stretch. He’s a dangerous Mafia hitman who’s going around L.A. killing members of a secret squad of justice-doers named “The Zebra Force”. Longo blames them for his incarceration. When Frank Barnes (Mitchum) gets wind of this, he’s not happy. With the help of second in command Jim Bob Cougar (Brown), who, despite the redneck-sounding name is actually a Black guy, he re-assembles the Zebra Force to rally the troops against Longo, his benefactor Voce (Donte) and a whole panoply of baddies they’re now embroiled in a war with. On the side of the law, Lt. Dietrich (Morrell) is tired of the corrupt system that lets criminals back on the streets, so he secretly applauds what The Zebra Force is doing, as does cop Bundy (Flower). Will the awesome power of The Zebra Force and their too-tight black bomber jackets prevail?

Now this is the type of movie we’re always championing here at Comeuppance Reviews - a street-level revenge actioner from the 80’s that got lost in the video-store shuffle of the day, with a ton of unintentional comedy and amateurish gaffes, that’s hugely entertaining and a complete product of its time. Movies like Code Name: Zebra will NEVER be made again and are windows into a world long past, never to return.
 They should be treasured, or, if not that, at least given a fresh look today.

 
Starting with alternating white-on-black, then black-on-white credits (get it?) with some classic 80’s blaring sax on the soundtrack, before the movie even properly starts, we’re totally in the spirit. Then we see a street scene with some kids breakdancing, and we’re in VHS heaven. And once we realize a bunch of Vietnam vets are fighting the Mafia, which includes Frank Sinatra Jr. and Robert Z’Dar (playing a character with the classic Italian name of “Shigaru”) of all people, you just have to surrender to the charms of Code Name: Zebra. There’s also a character named “Crazy” (played by Charles Dierkop of Blood Red, 1989 and Liberty & Bash, 1989) - not “Crazy Jim” or “Crazy Uncle Stuart”, just Crazy. You gotta love it.

Plus there is some priceless dialogue which is filled with odd turns of phrase and confusing malapropisms. Gems include “He’s the finger”, “Let’s go bye bye” and personal favorite “He’s a thumbs-up guy.” Not a stand-up guy, a thumbs-up guy. Who wrote the dialogue, the afore-quoted five year old who’s not a baby anymore? Because if so, he should get a Writer’s Guild award. Eggheads with Master’s Degrees in writing couldn’t come up with such priceless material.

And it’s not just the lines being said, it’s how the audience hears them - the ADR is truly laugh-out-loud funny here. Voices come out of nowhere, from odd directions, and are certainly not being said by (or matched to) the actors on screen. Thankfully fan favorite George “Buck” Flower was not a victim of this, because his voice in the movie is very unique and memorable. We also like Jim Mitchum, but to most people this probably wouldn’t be considered his finest hour. We tend to disagree. He puts in such a hilariously phoned-in, uncaring performance, you have to respect the man. We haven’t seen such obvious disdain and contempt for even having to be on set since Burt Reynolds in Malone (1987). Totally awesome.

The VHS tape released by TransWorld is sharp, bright and colorful even today. They did a great job.  Much more fun than The Zebra Force (1976), the movie that this is a sequel to, we definitely recommend Code Name: Zebra.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

The Killer's Edge (1991)

The Killer's Edge (1991)-* * *

Directed by: Joseph Merhi

Starring: Wings Hauser, Karen Black, Gino Dentie, Joe Palese, and Robert Z'Dar












Detective Jack Saxon (Wings) is a cop who shoots first...and doesn’t bother to ask any questions later. Some people in his department don’t approve of his methods, but he gets results. That’s why Barrett (Black) hand-picks him to break up a counterfeiting ring and bring the culprits to justice. His partner Burt (Palese) is a good guy, but unlike Jack, is afraid to fire his gun. This odd couple of sorts must get to the truth about the gangster Miller Richardson (Z’Dar). As it turns out, Jack and Miller were in Vietnam together and have a deep history. But they ended up on opposite sides of the law. Try to imagine a Luc Deveraux-Andrew Scott (Universal Soldier series)- sort of relationship, but instead of later being turned into SuperSoldiers, they fight it out man-to-man in the streets of L.A. Through it all, Jack must keep his relationship with fiance Dorothy (Elaine Pelino) afloat. Can he do it?

The Killer’s Edge is what would happen if Joseph Merhi directed To Live and Die in L.A. (1985). It’s cops vs. counterfeiters, PM style. And while Merhi would improve to a higher level later in his career with awesome classics like Zero Tolerance (1994), Last Man Standing (1996), and The Sweeper (1996), The Killer’s Edge is like laying the groundwork for those later masterpieces. It’s not quite up to those titles because his talents were still improving. Looking back from today’s standpoint, you can see his evolution.

This could be a sequel to the same year’s  The Art of Dying - Wings plays a cop named Jack who seems to have some mild issues with women. He plays by his own rules, and they even have the same catchphrase: “Owwww!” Since we don’t know for sure, we’ll just pretend both movies are chapters in the ongoing tale of Jack Saxon. It’s great to see Wings interact with Robert Z’Dar. Truly it’s the clash of the titans, and it’s enjoyable to watch their interplay. We get to see Wings struggle on ice skates, but we get Z’Dar with a rocket launcher. So it’s pretty much a wash.

Miller’s sidekick, Tony (Dentie) - who looks exactly like Tony Curtis (probably a coincidence with the name) - has a really interesting history that’s worth looking up. He was a disco artist that released “Direct Disco”, the first (and possibly only) disco album recorded “direct to disc”, meaning the musicians all play live and the final product is released that way. And speaking of incidental characters, the guy that works at the airstrip has a hat that says “helicopters inc.” - does said helicopter explode? You’ll have to watch the movie to find out...

While The Killer’s Edge wasn’t shot all that long ago, there are plenty of cool, nostalgic things in the movie that don’t exist anymore: people smoking in government buildings without a second thought, they have pagers that they must respond to by using the nearest pay phone, there’s a reference to how the U.S. dollar is “strong”, and there’s even a Fotomat in a parking lot. Remember those little huts where people used to get their film developed?  Truly those around in 1991 didn’t know the fool’s paradise we were living in. Especially when we had Jack Saxon to protect us all.

The Killer’s Edge is a solid, quality DTV film that signaled the further quality to come from PM.

Also check our buddy DTVC's review!

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

The Final Sanction (1990)

The Final Sanction (1990)-* *1\2

Directed by: David A. Prior

Starring: Ted Prior, Renee Cline, Robert Z'Dar and William Smith


 “The sanity of our nation’s leaders is certainly in question."

Thousands of people have died after nuclear missiles have launched in the ongoing war between the U.S. and Russia. Rather than risk any more human life, both sides agree to send one of their best soldiers to fight the other in a mano-a-mano duel to the death. Representing America is Sgt. Tom Batanic (Prior), a dude with a bad attitude. Despite his insubordinate ways, the Army chooses him because...you guessed it...he’s “The Best”. Representing Russia is Sgt. Sergei Schvackov (Z’Dar), a SuperSoldier of sorts. Having trained to be an emotionless killing machine by his trainer Maj. Galashkin (Smith), his higher-ups assume he can withstand any challenge. But he has yet to face the wisecracking Tom Batanic, the best the U.S. has to offer.

Also on Batanic’s side is the fact that the Army has installed a device in his brain that can allow him to automatically communicate with Lt. Tavlin (Cline), who is helping him out via computer. If he talks out loud, she can hear him, and she can tell him things directly into his skull. Naturally, at first they don’t get along, but Tavlin begins to fall for Batanic’s unshaven, jaded, one-linery charm. Set loose in a forest to chase and kill each other, who will be victorious?

We have to quote a section of the description on the back of the box: “Armed with every high tech killing device in existence, the renegade American (Ted Prior) and the committed communist (Robert Z’Dar) wage a war to determine the fate of mankind. Democratic Freedom or Communist Slavery...the answer will be written in blood by the last man alive.”

Wow. Sounds awesome, right? While it can’t possibly live up to those overblown claims (every device IN EXISTENCE?), The Final Sanction is really not that bad. Especially considering it’s basically Prior and Z’Dar playing hide and go seek in a forest for 80 minutes. It’s amazing the mileage that David A. Prior gets out of this simple concept. And considering his filmmaking abilities had improved considerably by this point, he should be applauded.

The movie starts with some bomb-blast stock footage, and they spell “Leavenworth” incorrectly, so it gets off to something of a rocky start. But the silliness comes in quickly thereafter to soothe us all, when a delegation of “world leaders” vote on what is presumably nuclear annihilation of the planet by putting scraps of paper with their vote in a grandma-style pewter candy dish! We then move to William Smith doing all sorts of psych and stress tests on Robert Z’Dar, who makes a lot of funny faces. We always have trouble understanding Smith anyway, what with his low, gravelly voice, but add to that a pseudo-Russian accent, and he’s completely unintelligible. It’s almost as if Prior told him, “eh, do what you think sounds Russian”. So he does this kind of gobbledygook that is pretty funny.

As for Ted Prior, he looks a lot like Don Johnson here, and his attitude is pretty Bruce Willis-y in this sort of “Die Hard in a forest” scenario. Tavlin is helping him on a classic old computer screen and it looks like she’s playing Battleship. But with Batanic’s Ozzy Osbourne patch on his uniform, he represents the ramshackle spirit of the U.S. vs. the tightly-controlled training of the USSR.

Try to imagine Deadly Prey (1987) but with no goons, just one enemy for Prior to fight. And the fact that Z’Dar attacks Prior with a series of gardening spades. This could have been one of the many “paintball gone wrong” movies that were surprisingly popular around this time, but they decided on actual weaponry. Nothing much actually HAPPENS in this movie, but it has something of a message at the end, and at 80 minutes (not 88 as the box claims), it never gets boring. It’s all pretty stupid (but you knew it would be going in, so it’s no real surprise) but it’s not BAD. Plus Prior and AIP deliver yet another catchy Steve McClintock song, “The View From Here” for the closing credits.

It should also be noted that the movie’s tagline, “The Only Rule Is There Are No Rules”, is a quote originally stated by Wayne Newton in Best of the Best 2 (1993). How dare they steal from The Newt.

For a simple, undemanding tale where titans clash one-on-one, The Final Sanction fits the bill.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty