Tweet
Released by: Scorpion Releasing
Released on: August 21, 2012.
Director: Ivan Hall
Cast: James Ryan, Anneline Kriel, Michael Mayer, Marloe Scott Wilson, Bill Flynn
Year: 1981
Purchase From Amazon
THE MOVIE:
Producer Edward L. Montoro's unofficial follow up to KILL OR BE KILLED (the leading character's name was simply changed) tells the tale of martial arts master Steve Chase (James Ryan) who has been hired by Kandy Kane (Anneline Kriel) to rescue her father genius scientist Dr. Horatio Kane (John Ramsbottom). The good doctor has been kidnapped by evil mastermind Marduk (Michael Mayer) who wants to use the man's knowledge to create a an army of brainwashed karate killers under his command. The ultimate goal? To take over the world of course!
The plot is quite simple - Chase (who of course just isn't one of the best - he IS the best) recruits some of his martial arts friends to begin a quest to free Dr. Kane. The group is comprised of The Fly (Stan Schmidt), Gypsy Billy (Norman Robinson), Gorilla (Ken Gampu) and Hot Dog (Bill Flynn). In addition to all being skilled martial artists some have special abilities like The Fly's ability to levitate. The whole setup here is a mash-up of ENTER THE NINJA, THE SEVEN SAMURAI and the DEADLY DOZEN. Mix in a cheesy Austin Powers style villain with a hilariously bad fake beard and a love interest/evil sidekick with Cindy Lauper style hair and a brash mouth and you have some endearingly goofy fun. Full disclosure here however I must tell you that my cousin (John Crowther) actually wrote this film and so I may be a little biased!
Lantern jawed Ryan isn't the most expressive actor but he looks solid and is a gifted martial artist. And while the acting from the other players is a bit uneven the key members are fine and the overall group banter is fun. In addition to Ryan, Mayer's Marduk is the lynchpin of this one however. His crazy and outrageous outfits are a total hoot and his facial hair outstanding. He also has excellent comic timing and his exchanges with his girlfriend/sidekick are pretty funny. Kriel, on the other hand, is pretty much a stick of wood, but a hot-looking one. Hey, she didn't get into the South African Playboy for being unattractive folks. The movie is also skillfully directed. This is the type of film that can be absolutely killed (pun fully intended) by slack pacing or inept execution of the many fight scenes. But director Hall knows to keep things at a brisk clip - and the fights, especially some of the hand-to-hand combat, are terrific and nearly the equal of films like ENTER THE DRAGON. The pacing really is top-notch and builds inexorably to just the kind of final showdown you want in a flick like this.
What makes KILL AND KILL AGAIN so much fun is the mix of a purposefully comedic script with fight sequences that are actually quite well done and thrilling to watch. While some of the gags fall flat, screenwriter Crowther just goes for the gonzo elements with gusto. One could even say that buried under all the silliness is some pointed commentary about brainwashing and the importance of the individual standing up to conformity... though that would probably be pushing it. The end result though is an extremely entertaining movie that manages a strong mix of over-the-top humor and cool action scenes.
VIDEO/AUDIO/EXTRAS:
Walter Olsen and Scorpion Releasing just keep proving their worth consistently. This is another solid transfer of a title that hasn't received the best treatment in the past. The anamorphic 1.78.1 image is colorful and robust with what appears to be the film's natural grain structure. Skin tones are fine, print damage virtually non-existent and transfer anomalies (like compression artifacts) are not present. Audio is a perfectly reasonable well-adjusted English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono track with no damage or drop-outs. There are no subtitles or alternate language tracks however.
Writer Crowther sits for an almost half hour chat about his career in cult films, his time in Italy, his work as a painter, actor and cartoonist as well as the time he spent on the set of THE EVIL THAT MEN DO. Crowther was quite fond of Bronson and has a nice story about the climax of that film. He's an enjoyable storyteller and full of good cheer. Its a fun interview. Star Ryan also phones in an interview which is used as a commentary track for the beginning of the film. At 40 minutes long its a decent length for the man to give a career overview and talk about how he got started on the stage and wound up working in the martial arts genre. He spends a great deal of time talking about the various people involved in KILL AND KILL AGAIN and is both informative and entertaining. Finally we get the film's theatrical trailer and isolated score as well as some additional Scorpion Releasing trailers.
THE FINAL WORD:
KILL AND KILL AGAIN is ridiculous fun. While it has many absurd elements this is no inept production. Ably directed and filled with exciting action sequences, a strong hero and an awesome íœber-villain, aficionados of goofy but entertaining action flicks should dig this one. Recommended.
