Acceleration (2019)

 

Acceleration (2019)- * * *

Directed by: Daniel Zirilli and Michael Merino

Starring: Natalie Burn, Dolph Lundgren, Sean Patrick Flannery, Chuck Liddell, Quinton "Rampage Jackson, Sally Kirkland, and Danny Trejo






Vladik (Dolph) is a Los Angeles-based criminal mastermind. He has kidnapped a young tot named Mika (Mashukov) because he wants his mother Rhona (Burn) to run down a laundry list of his criminal enemies and either kill them, get something from them, beat them up, or some other task - all this in one grueling night for Rhona. With her beloved son's life hanging in the balance, Rhona will have to summon all her grit and tenacity as she faces a colorful cast of criminal characters such as mob boss Kane (Flanery), his top goon Hannibal (Liddell), Eli (Jackson), Santos (Trejo), among many others. There's also Richie (London), and sympathetic waitress Betty (Kirkland) - but will Rhona survive the night of her nightmares? More importantly, will Mika? And might there be one final twist in this tale?




We know what you're thinking. You're surprised Vinnie Jones and Bai Ling were not in the cast along with everyone else. Well, we were too, but Acceleration is pretty colorful without them - not just the varied cast of characters but the cinematography as well. There are lots of pinks, purples, greens, and neon hues. All this keeps Acceleration from feeling flat like a lot of its DTV brethren. So we've got to give it credit for that.




The simple, streamlined plot allows for the introduction of new characters one after another, and you don't know what you're going to get. Will it be a fight scene, a shootout, or simply a bit of brief dialogue? You don't actually know, which adds an edge of unpredictability to the proceedings. Natalie Burn puts in a good, tough performance that's easy to like. Comparisons to Gina Carano are perhaps unfair but it's hard for your mind not to go there at times. She's credited as a producer, and with casting, on the film and it's a nice showcase for her talent.




Sean Patrick Flanery plays the seemingly Tommy DeVito-influenced gangster with plenty of verve. If Flanery wasn't available, Tom Sizemore easily could have stepped in. Trejo, Rampage, London, and Kirkland all have cameos. Maybe in the case of Kirkland it's a glorified cameo. But Acceleration centers on Burn, with a secondary emphasis on Dolph, with a lot of Flanery in between. As far as Liddell, at least his voice isn't high-pitched, like certain other people we could name. The kid Mashukov holds his own with Dolph and it's pretty cute to watch. Mika could be the new Bin Bin.




Acceleration gives us some classic action movie cliches, such as characters searching for both a ledger and a disc, someone says "We got company!", and in the Trejo scene, there is dialogue to the effect of "We go way back, you and me". The puzzling thing about Acceleration is, after a stylish opening, and an adherence to maintaining that style throughout, plus an obvious dedication to the action genre, the filmmakers also decided on cringey CGI muzzle flashes for all the gun-shootin' scenes, which looks terrible and comes off looking stupid and lazy. Perhaps it's a minor quibble, but it comes into conflict with the style that the filmmakers have shown a tendency towards.




It was co-directed by the late Daniel Zirilli - who will forever be known as the man who made Phoenix (2023) - and Michael Merino, who also wrote the film. Why this is a co-direct we're not exactly sure, as both men seem quite capable on their own. But Acceleration is kind of a "By the Fans, For the Fans" type of DTV action movie and is more than simply "John Chick", as certain wags out there have labeled it. It's better than a lot of its competitors and, except for those muzzle flashes, appears to be trying to rise above its station, which we very much appreciated.




All wrapping up at a brisk 80 minutes before the credits roll, Acceleration is a solid and entertaining entry into the modern day DTV canon.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

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

Double Threat (1993)

Double Threat (1993)-* * *

Directed by: David A. Prior

Starring: Andrew Stevens, Sally Kirkland, Richard Lynch, Anthony Franciosa, Chick Vennera, and Sherrie Rose












Monica Martel (Kirkland) was once hot property in Hollywood, but now her career is on the downslide because, unfortunately, she is aging. But she’s working on a movie that should revive her fortunes. The producer, a man blessed with the name Crocker Scott (Franciosa) tells the director, Ross (Vennera) to spice up the film and make it “sexier”. The only problem is, Monica proudly proclaims she has never done nudity in her career and isn’t going to budge now. So the filmmakers call in a body double, Lisa Shane (Rose), and you’d think that would solve the problem. But that’s just the beginning, as Monica’s younger boy-toy Eric Cline (Stevens) lusts after the super-hot Lisa in a big way. But Monica is very controlling and Eric can’t really escape her clutches. But once a murder plot erupts, and cars start exploding and people start being shot at, Detective Fenich (Lynch) is on the case, and he’s highly suspicious of Eric and his motives. But does he have good reason? After many twists and turns, the fiendish plot is revealed. Just how many threats will there be? Find out today?

The “Erotic Thriller”, as it came to be known (or “Sizzlers”, as a local video store chain, Tommy K’s, called them) were one of the last “video store genres”. While others such as the DieHardInA, the El Presidente slog, the Ninja Boom movie, the teen sex romp, among others, had been around in video stores for years, it seemed it took until the mid-90’s for the Erotic Thriller to truly find its own space on local store shelves. They became so prevalent on pay-cable, Cinemax became known as “Skinemax” and even the movies themselves got the adopted title of “Skinemax Movies”. Here, David A. Prior, Mr. AIP himself, tries his hand at one. While the obvious influence is Body Double (1984), Prior isn’t quite the virtuosic filmmaker De Palma was in his prime. But maybe he’s not trying to be. Maybe his aim was to make a humble, low-budget, noir-ish thriller for a more undemanding video market. If that was the case, he definitely succeeded.

Andrew Stevens’ mullet and sleeveless denim shirt star in the movie, and when he puts on his Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses, he becomes the ultimate coolguy. He seems to be some sort of cross between Patrick Swayze and David Hasselhoff, so it’s plain to see why he starred in so many of these “Sizzlers”. Connecticut’s own Sherrie Rose has never looked better. Maybe when she does roles that require Martial Arts, she feels the need to be less feminine. The linchpin of the movie is her sex appeal, so unfortunately no Martial Arts is on hand. But her car’s license plate is “MUVIES”. In the fictional world of Double Threat, was “MOVIES”, spelled properly, taken? Is her phone’s ringtone the song from the old Starz channel commercial (set to Beethoven’s 9th Symphony 4th Movement AKA Ode To Joy): “movies-movies-movies-movies-movies-movies-moooo-ooooovies”? She also wears a Seinfeld-style puffy shirt for a decent chunk of Double Threat’s running time. Ted Prior makes a brief appearance as “Thug #1”, a Van Halen-loving street tough who gets in a quick fight with Stevens. Even though there wasn’t really room for him after this one scene, the movie still could have used more Prior.

We always like to point out when there is a disco scene, and there is a good one here, with a generic C + C Music Factory knockoff for a song with a Freedom Williams soundalike commanding us to “Dance” over and over again. Yes, that is what we’re here to do, sir. Thank you. As for the tape itself, it looks quite good, with bright colors. It has no AIP trailers, but we suspect that is because it was released by West Side Studios Home Video, and it was not an entirely in-house AIP release. Regardless, it’s of good quality. But the important thing to know is that there is a longer unrated version. Should you want to add Double Threat to your collection, make sure you track down the unrated edition.

Double Threat has some familiar faces and isn’t a bad way to spend the time. Fans of the Erotic Thriller genre will probably get the most enjoyment out of the movie, but DTV fans in general should like it too.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty