DVD review: The Terror Within (1989)

In the gruelling aftermath of a chemically induced plague that wipes out most of the world, the only survivors are a small group of scientists trapped in a laboratory 500 feet below in the Mojave Desert. But they are not alone... David (Andrew Stevens) rescues a lone woman survivor, only to make the shocking discovery she´s pregnant.. she´s due.. and it´s not human! The dwindling survivors - mankind´s last hope - must fight a desperate battle against the ever growing even bolder mutant. The Terror Within is written by Thomas McKelvey Cleaver and is directed by Thierry Notz. The acting is decent, the camerawork and editing is good. The pacing is a little bit uneven and there are some dull parts. The setting, both the bunker and the desert, is actually pretty good for a low budget feature. There is some gore (all practical make-up fx), the high-light is the birth of the monster, but I wish The Terror Within would have been more graphic. The creatures make-up fx designs are pretty cool. There is not much to report in the T & A department, there is a scene when a female character is raped by a mutant/creature.
This review is based upon the UK region 2 DVD from STAX Entertainment.
Rating: 2 out of 7. It is a enjoyable film, it´s pretty decent for a low budget Alien rip-off. Give it a try.

/JL

DVD review: Search and Destroy (1979)

Ex-GIs Kip Moore (Perry King) and (Buddy Grant) Don Stroud fight for their lives as members of their elite combat unit are picked off one by one by the embittered soldier (Park Jong Soo) they left behind enemy lines. Search and Destroy is written by Don Enright and directed by William Fruet  The acting is all around great with notable good performances from Perry King and George Kennedy. It´s professionally shot and edited. William Fruet delivers the goods and towards the end of the movie a small war breaks out on the streets of Niagara Falls. This flick has some pretty impressive action set pieces, both martial arts and shoot outs. The soundtrack is very very good. I like it a lot!! It´s brutal action flick but there is only some very brief gore in this. There is no T & A in this.
This review is based upon the region all (Region 0) DVD release from Dark Sky Films.
Rating: 7 out of 7. I have been a big fan of this movie ever since I first rented it on VHS some time during the 1980s. Search and Destroy is a well made, suspenseful little thriller with a nice gritty feel to it and well-executed action scenes. William Fruet gets a lot of production value despite a obviously limited budget. Perry King does a very nice job and is a very believable action hero. This flick gets my highest recommendations!!

/JL

DVD review: The Losers (1970)

It was a mission no one in their right mind would take: rescue a captured CIA operative from a highly-fortified Red Chinese compound in Cambodia at the height of the Vietnam War, Enter The Devil´s Advocates -- a red knuckled, freewheeling, hellraising biker gang comprised largely of war veterans. Led by Link Thomas (William Smith) and loosely supervised by U.S. Army Capt. Jackson (Bernie Hamilton), the curiously good-hearted gang drink and laugh and love and fight their way through the scenic countryside before retrofitting a slew of Yamaha motorcycles into armor-plated machines of death and destruction. And that´s when the real fun begins but at a high price! The Losers is written by Alan Caillou and is directed by Jack Starrett. The acting is decent, it´s professionally shot and edited. Sadly the flick is pretty boring as it takes almost an hour from the opening action-sequence before our heroes gets going and the action ensues again. Too much running time is spent on romantic subplots and so on which is a bit letdown and kinda sad as the action set pieces are quite good. There is gore in the form of big squibs, often occuring during firefights that takes place in slow motion. In the T & A department I can report that there is some topless nudity.
This review is based upon the region all (Region 0) DVD release from Dark Sky Films.
Rating: 3½ out of 7. The Losers is kinda disappointing based on the plot description, there´s a lot of talking, drinking and fooling around with hookers and very little action.

/JL