The Killing Device (1993)

The Killing Device (1993)- * * *1\2

Directed by: Paul McFarlane 

Starring: Antony Alda, Lee Gideon, Gig Rauch, Tom Berenson, and Clu Gulager 

We're told right off the bat that whoever has THE KILLING DEVICE will become the "sole world power" on earth. Naturally that means a bearded inventor named Bob Sloan (Berenson) and his partner, Dr. Jack Finney (Gideon). Both men are past middle-aged, and Finney looks exactly like our 34th President, Dwight D. Eisenhower. Their 'device' is a microchip with a long antenna that is inserted directly into the subject's brain. This causes them to be an emotionless killing machine who will murder on command, then kill themselves. The two men operate in the back of a dentist's office, where they implant devices (they have a lot of them) into people so they can commit political hits, and no one's the wiser.

After being told their secret government funding is going to be cut, Sloane and Finney go rogue. Soon thereafter, many U.S. Senators are found dead, and a newspaper reporter named Kyle Summers (Alda) gets a tip about the nefarious deeds of Sloane and Finney. He takes a killing device for himself, but then has to go on the run when he's discovered. Both Kyle and a woman named Sara Richmond (Rauch) are hiding out because they might be next on the hit list. But what does a politician named Smitty (Gulager) have to do with any of this? Find out today!


With a vibe like R.O.T.O.R. (1987) or perhaps a Mats Helge movie, The Killing Device is an undiscovered gem. It has a lot of fun political dialogue in between the wackier 'killing device' scenes, and it's a bit reminiscent of AIP's Lock and Load (1990), but The Killing Device is better. The boardroom fight scene towards the beginning is clearly a highlight, which is why they put the nameless soldier front and center on the VHS box art. It's a little misleading (because the guy with the gun isn't the main hero of the piece), but we see what they must have been thinking.


There are many unusual things about The Killing Device. One is that the Finney and Sloan characters are concentrated on heavily, and it's not often you see two older men capering around doing bad stuff as the main focal point of a movie. Another odd thing is that it appears certain scenes were just cut out, regardless of how that would affect the continuity or flow of what would follow. This adds to a very fun "lack of logic" feeling that is quite enjoyable and puts The Killing Device ahead of its more standard contemporaries.


The idea that our villains could put the killing device into anybody was an interesting idea. In one scene, they turn a seemingly-harmless old biddy into a ruthless assassin. It's scary to think anybody could be a killing machine.


Antony Alda is Alan's half-brother. He plays the news reporter/hunk, of course. Somehow Kyle falls in love with Sara, even though she wears what just may be the most unflattering outfit seen on film for quite some time. Clu Gulager - not to be confused with Eb Lottimer - shows up as Smitty, but he blends in with a lot of characters that look a lot like him. So we got Clu and Gig together at last. But the man who steals the movie is Gary Wayne Cooper as Rod, Kyle's friend and co-worker. We would have liked to have seen more from him.


Speaking of which, The Killing Device is the only credit for director Paul McFarlane, Gig Rauch, Tom Berenson, and of course Gary Wayne Cooper, and probably a lot of the other cast and crew. For many others, it's only one of two credits (including the writer Kliff Keuhl, who must be cool because it's Kliff with a K, and his last name is probably said as "cool").


Another thing in the win column is the music. Not only does it have an engaging score, it also features a very memorable title song (we always love those) by an artist named Andy Gravity, and a Georgia Satellites-esque rocker called "Messy World" by Nick Two Barrada.


While The Killing Device has a final release date of 1993, there is a copyright date of 1990. It has a very late 80's feel to it, so it was likely shot in 1989 or earlier. Another possible clue about that comes when we see that a side character (a TV news cameraman) is wearing a Genesis Invisible Touch tour shirt for '87-88. Regardless of the release date, the film itself is well worth seeing. Like Cole Justice (1989), it was shot in Oklahoma. There are plenty of "rewindable" moments and the viewer wins all around.


Released by VCI Home Video back in the golden age of video stores, The Killing Device clearly shows that when it comes to tracking down obscure VHS - and we must quote the highly appropriate tagline - The hunt is on!

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Brawler (2011)

 

Brawler (2011)- *1\2

Directed by: Chris Sivertson

Starring: Nathan Grubbs, Marc Senter, Dane Rhodes, Pell James, and Michael Bowen 

Charlie Fontaine (Grubbs) and Bobby Fontaine (Senter) are brothers who, in their spare time, enter into Punchfighting matches on New Orleans riverboats. The mob is involved in the form of Atwater (Rhodes), but Charlie has a high-quality trainer in the form of Rex Baker (Bowen). When Charlie catches Bobby engaging in "the ultimate betrayal" (to quote the back of the DVD box) with his wife Kat (James), it's clear that the only way to resolve this dispute is in the Punchfighting ring. So, eventually, the two brothers square off against each other. Who will be the ultimate BRAWLER?


Hey, look! It's another Punchfighter! Beloved reader, you can rest assured that as long as they keep making movies with shirtless men punching each other, we here at Comeuppance reviews will continue to watch them and review them. Curiously, filmmakers out there don't seem to realize that this sort of thing has been done before. A lot.


Brawler was writer/director Chris Sivertson's follow-up to his I Know Who Killed Me (2007), the Lindsay Lohan epic that seems to have been much maligned but is actually fairly entertaining. In that film, there are many, many stupid moments but they somehow add to the overall watchability factor. In Brawler, just the stupid remains. He seems to be going for drama and atmosphere over anything else - and that includes scenes of fighting. There are surprisingly few brawls in Brawler.


In I Know Who Killed Me, there are many colorful lighting schemes and some flashy editing to keep the viewer's eye glued to the screen. In Brawler, they forgot to turn on the lights at all. Yes, it's one of those. There are many scenes with low - or seemingly no - lights. Filmmakers should know that not turning on the lights doesn't help the viewer like your movie. It actually annoys us.


There are long sections with no fighting, and the movie takes itself way too seriously. Even with all the endless dialogue scenes, somehow the writers of Brawler forgot to include an antagonist. Something every story should have, especially a Punchfighter. There's no Brakus, Tong Po, or some such memorable villain that our heroes must face off against and work up towards.


The character of Bobby is very Zac Efron-like. In other words, a prissy millennial. He doesn't seem like your typical tough guy. The best character in the movie was Rex, played by Michael Bowen. Much like Sly Stallone in his TV show The Contender, he's a fight trainer who wears a fedora. Considering Brawler's limited resources, their best move would have been to increase the role of Rex if they wanted to improve things. 

What would have been even better is if they had gotten one more character actor in there, perhaps someone for Bowen to play off of - someone like Lou Ferrigno, Christopher Lambert, Nick Mancuso, Vincent Spano - anybody! But no, it's just a bunch of fumbling around in the dark. Literally.


There's a scene early on where a group of frat bros comes to assault Bobby and he has to beat them all up. This shouldn't have been one scene - it should have been the basis for the plot. Brawler should have been: An evil fighter (the Brakus character) commands an army of frat bros. He has a secret lair and the bros do his bidding, whatever that may be. The baddie wants to take over the town so he sends the bros to trash businesses and cause mayhem. 

The Fontaine brothers must fight through wave after wave of frat bros with backwards or sideways baseball caps until they make it to the final battle - the toughest battle of their lives - with the evil baddie. Now is that so freakin' hard? Rather than tease us with that one scene, that's what Brawler should have been in its entirety.


Probably the best example of a fight film that's more of a drama is Scorpion (2007). Probably the weakest is The Fight (2001). Brawler leans more to the latter. Thank the lord it's only 84 minutes. You can find it at your local Dollar Tree or other dollar store, as we did, but the real question is, would you want to?

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty