Hero and the Terror (1988)

Hero and the Terror (1988)- * * *

Directed by: William Tannen

Starring: Chuck Norris, Steve James, Billy Drago, Branscombe Richmond, Jack O'Halloran, Brynn Thayer, and Ron O'Neal












Danny O’Brien (Chuck) is an L.A. area cop who is still reeling from his encounter with a psychopathic, murderous maniac named Simon Moon (O’Halloran). O’Brien exorcises his demons pumping iron in the weight room. Moon is so scary, he’s been nicknamed “The Terror” by the press. However, O’Brien has also been nicknamed. To the residents of L.A., he’s “The Hero”. Starting to see where this is going? Anyway, Chuck hates his nickname, and  just wants to spend time with his lovely wife Kay (Thayer), who is pregnant. But the Mayor of L.A. (O’Neal) wants results on The Terror case. 

So O’Brien calls in his buddy Robinson (James) to help out. The two suspect that the baddie is hiding out in the bowels of the Wiltern Theater, which sets the stage for the final battle. Who will prevail: The Hero or The Terror? Find out today…

Simply speaking, The Hero and The Terror is classic 80’s Chuck. It might not be one of his more talked-about titles, but it’s well worth seeing. It’s kind of like a better version of Silent Rage (1982), insofar as it’s about a psycho killer and Chuck’s chasing him, while doing minimal Martial Arts. If you have to see one of those two movies, see this one. 

It’s a quality production: it’s excellently shot, with very nice cinematography, the cast is top-notch, and it all exudes an aura of professionalism. It’s not at all junky, and it would have been very cool to see this in the theater in ’88.

Chuck puts in a great performance, that of a troubled hero haunted by The Terror, while still striving to be a rock of stability and companionship for his wife. Fan favorite Steve James is as charismatic as ever, and is always a joy to watch. He even wears the same WrestleMania hat as he does in McBain (1991). That must make us truly hardcore Steve James fans to notice a detail like that. Ron O’Neal does a decent job as “The Mayor”, and Billy Drago has a glorified cameo as a doctor. Come to think of it, it’s not all that glorified.

We very much enjoyed the slower pace of this film. Slow pace doesn’t equal bad: bad equals bad. We’re against the notion that MTV-style fast cuts and ADD-afflicted editing should be the standard we all have to now live by. So by that logic if a movie isn’t moving at a breakneck pace, it’s no good? We reject that entirely. 

Bring us back to the days when a pace was meant to draw you in and you could get to know the characters. So we applaud director Tannen for that. He went on to be a co-director of Inside Edge (1992), which also featured Branscombe Richmond, as does HATT, as all the cool kids call it (i.e., this movie).

For straight down-the-line and above board Chuck, Hero and the Terror is a great choice. 

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Slaughter in San Francisco (1974)

Slaughter in San Francisco (1974)- * * *

Directed by: Wei Lo

Starring: Don Wong and Chuck Norris



“I only know two kinds of people. Those who obey me and those who die." - Chuck Slaughter








Officer Don Wong (Wong) is a San Francisco cop who is proficient in Martial Arts. Frustrated by the growing menace of gangs in the area, one day all his anger is unleashed and he gets into a big brawl. The brass back at the precinct aren’t happy about this, and he has to turn in his badge and gun, and is actually busted down to waiter, working in, what else, a Chinese restaurant. It’s there he comes into contact for the first time with crime lord Chuck Slaughter (Norris). After Wong’s former partner gets caught up in the crossfire, Wong really has a yen for revenge and goes after Slaughter and his minions. Will his next brawl put him back on the police force? Find out today!

Just so no one gets confused, Don Wong plays Don Wong and Chuck Norris plays Chuck Slaughter. Get it? Slaughter in San Francisco? Heh heh. Now that the formalities are out of the way, we can say what a silly - yet entertaining - movie this is. It’s filled to the brim with big, plaid-centered 70’s fashions, a nice, fuzzy, funky soundtrack with cool drums, and, seeing how it was a very mustachioed time back then, those are on just about every male face as well. 

Even though the film is ostensibly American, because it is a Golden Harvest production and everyone (including Chuck) is dubbed, somehow, things get lost in translation. And it’s not just the overdubbed, loud, “classic” 70’s Kung Fu-style dubbing, it’s also the sound effects, like fist and foot blows sounding like someone smacking a cardboard box with an aluminum baseball bat. If someone hits you and that sound comes out of your body, you are in serious trouble.

Speaking of things that are over-inflated, the role of Chuck Norris in this movie comes to mind. His role is pretty small, but packaging was retrofitted to make this a Chuck movie after his success. Meanwhile, Don Wong, who is a real Don Juan, gives the Chuckster a run for his money. Additionally, we believe one of the thugs towards the beginning of the film (the guy in the brown leather jacket, though that doesn’t narrow things down much) is none other than Ron Marchini. He’s not credited, but we strongly believe it’s him. Maybe someone out there can help confirm this for us. 

Nevertheless, Mr. Norris and his bizarre body hair situation Chucking it up to the soundtrack which sounds like a funky version of the music from NES’ Lode Runner makes this worthwhile, never mind all the other ridiculousness herein.

As for buying this movie, the options available are not great. There’s the version, under the title Karate Cop - not to be confused with the Ron Marchini-starring movie from 1991 - that was released on the low-budget label MNTEX, which is unfortunately in EP mode. Then there’s the version on Rhino, under the Slaughter in San Francisco moniker, but that’s a pan-and-scan barbarity. Nevertheless, we’d probably say go with the Rhino version, given the choices at hand.

For Chuck Norris fans and/or those who like their Martial Arts movies on the light and dippy side, only the most cruel among moviegoers would truly dislike Slaughter in San Francisco.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Also check out a write-up from our buddy, The Video Vacuum!