arcanearchivist
Joined Jan 2020
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arcanearchivist's rating
You don't find movies like this anymore. These are the kind of films that really take you back, transport you to an entirely different time and place. The world revealed in this film is so far gone and so out of our range, that movies like these are almost an historical artifact. This separation from our time is what makes films like these so interesting. Not every day do you get to see how old-time computers worked, and it's amazing that Danny's dad was able to send him a message on his computer console through the phone line (basically the precursor of texting, probably something that phone phreaks used to do). I love any movies that show computer terminal text, as it gives a glimpse into the development of the Unix system, the ancestors of modern day Mac OS and Linux. Also, not every day does one see old Conan the Barbarian posters-which papers Danny's dorm room. One also gets a glimpse of a hot babe swimsuit model poster - and it's not Farrah Fawcett either!
The film is basically about a boy, Danny Greene, whose father, Rob, is an (ex-)CIA agent, and whom he never sees, since Rob and Danny's mother are apparently divorced. Rob just wants a relationship with his son, a thing that Danny does not want, as he feels hurt from his father's absence in his life up to that point (Danny doesn't know what his dad did for a living). Rob reaches out to Danny to spend more time with him now that Danny is almost done with college, and wants to hunt and fish, offers that Danny refuses, as he is not interested in such activities. Nonetheless, assassins are out to get Rob. Rob urgently sends Denny a message on the phone line system mentioned above to not trust anyone and to find someone named Dog Thompson. Hooked already?
The bad guys intercept the data message transferred over the phone line (encrypt your messages). While Danny is gone, they send a hit-woman posing as an escort to his room, who seduces and slays his roommate. Da fuq? Now, they are watching him from every angle and have him cornered. Can Danny escape?
He runs to his mom's place. Suddenly there is a knock at the door. "Please mom, don't answer that," Danny pleads. But too late, mom doesn't believe him, and suddenly two "firemen" who need to do a fire inspection are at the door, and inside the house. They take out Bowie knives and slay his mom. He hides under the bed, then runs out. Will they find him? You'll have to watch to find out!
This movie may have the only instance of a first-person, POV shot of a man holding a gun, i.e., the camera is at the rear of the gun, and shows the hands holding it, just like Halo style. If not, Halo got it's inspiration from this movie.
The gratuitous violence in this movie is off the charts; each character seems to be shot with at least 20 shots. It's hard to generalize, but this movie seems more violent than many modern movies, including Tarantino; although I haven't seen the Crank or John Wick series. This movie also reinforces for me the idea that guys in the '80s loved guns--guns, guns, guns. This film spots the most intense and large number of guns of all styles, tiny ones, big ones, and all sizes in between. There is one extended scene where Rob has to go to a crime boss to purchase a large amount of weapons, and another where members of the good guys squad bring in an AR to a diner and show it to the waiter, who fondles it for many minutes even as other customers come in. Apparently, in the '80s it was common fare for waiters to examine guns in restaurants. You don't see so many automatic guns like this in movies these days. At other times, it almost feels like a horror movie (e.g., the firemen scene). You gotta give '80s movies their due; if not anything, '80s movies had a lot of guts and gusto.
This movie obviously wasn't well-known, as it seems it went straight to video in the US, whereas in Brazil it actually opened in theatres. Despite its flaws, this film is a great addition to one's VHS collection, especially those that like the '80s, like movies in the DIE HARD/SILENT TRIGGER vein, or want to see retro-tech involved in an espionage/assassin-type plot.
The film is basically about a boy, Danny Greene, whose father, Rob, is an (ex-)CIA agent, and whom he never sees, since Rob and Danny's mother are apparently divorced. Rob just wants a relationship with his son, a thing that Danny does not want, as he feels hurt from his father's absence in his life up to that point (Danny doesn't know what his dad did for a living). Rob reaches out to Danny to spend more time with him now that Danny is almost done with college, and wants to hunt and fish, offers that Danny refuses, as he is not interested in such activities. Nonetheless, assassins are out to get Rob. Rob urgently sends Denny a message on the phone line system mentioned above to not trust anyone and to find someone named Dog Thompson. Hooked already?
The bad guys intercept the data message transferred over the phone line (encrypt your messages). While Danny is gone, they send a hit-woman posing as an escort to his room, who seduces and slays his roommate. Da fuq? Now, they are watching him from every angle and have him cornered. Can Danny escape?
He runs to his mom's place. Suddenly there is a knock at the door. "Please mom, don't answer that," Danny pleads. But too late, mom doesn't believe him, and suddenly two "firemen" who need to do a fire inspection are at the door, and inside the house. They take out Bowie knives and slay his mom. He hides under the bed, then runs out. Will they find him? You'll have to watch to find out!
This movie may have the only instance of a first-person, POV shot of a man holding a gun, i.e., the camera is at the rear of the gun, and shows the hands holding it, just like Halo style. If not, Halo got it's inspiration from this movie.
The gratuitous violence in this movie is off the charts; each character seems to be shot with at least 20 shots. It's hard to generalize, but this movie seems more violent than many modern movies, including Tarantino; although I haven't seen the Crank or John Wick series. This movie also reinforces for me the idea that guys in the '80s loved guns--guns, guns, guns. This film spots the most intense and large number of guns of all styles, tiny ones, big ones, and all sizes in between. There is one extended scene where Rob has to go to a crime boss to purchase a large amount of weapons, and another where members of the good guys squad bring in an AR to a diner and show it to the waiter, who fondles it for many minutes even as other customers come in. Apparently, in the '80s it was common fare for waiters to examine guns in restaurants. You don't see so many automatic guns like this in movies these days. At other times, it almost feels like a horror movie (e.g., the firemen scene). You gotta give '80s movies their due; if not anything, '80s movies had a lot of guts and gusto.
This movie obviously wasn't well-known, as it seems it went straight to video in the US, whereas in Brazil it actually opened in theatres. Despite its flaws, this film is a great addition to one's VHS collection, especially those that like the '80s, like movies in the DIE HARD/SILENT TRIGGER vein, or want to see retro-tech involved in an espionage/assassin-type plot.
This film felt like a mix of LA FEMME NIKITA, another early '90s piece, and BLADERUNNER, in both aesthetics, mood, and plot elements. The whole 'crawling-around-in-shafts-and-elevators' reminded me of DIE HARD, as well. This film has a welcome female presence, unlike Die Hard. I found this film very enjoyable. The endless rain and lighting, as well as just '90s vibes, were enough to make me keep watching. I found the repeated flashbacks to a previous mission bothersome to the narrative present; I thought the opening scene was enough to establish the relationship between Gina Bellman and Lundgren, although they did a good job maintaining the tension between them throughout the film. On a side note, people forget how gritty the '90s were, and this film shows that (not that people were sniping each other all the time), similar to La Femme Nikita. I have yet to see Russel Mulcahy's HIGHLANDER (I have the VHS on my shelf!) nor have I seen any other Dolph Lundgren films, but watching this one made me want to see all his other films. I don't know what else to say, except the opening music rocks, the CGI is bad (typical '90s), and it was confusing why such a large, important tower would have been left vacant like that. Now, if you don't mind, I have some unfinished industrial buildings to climb around in.
This is a great film. Here are some highlights:
The film has scenes directly recycled from DEATHSTALKER I as well as BARBARIAN QUEEN, but portrayed as if they were brand-new scenes.
Unlike Deathstalker I, there are no pig-men, but there are lion-men and wolf-men and -women, who seem to be recurring villains in the film. Like the first film, the protagonist is played by Rick Hill, which is fun to see his deadpan-delivered lines. His female sidekick/love interest is Dionara (Maria Ford). The duo basically make their way to another tournament, which evil Queen Kana is holding for the warriors in the whole kingdom.
At one point, Deathstalker meets a Tommy Wiseau-look alike who does 50 pushups. Named Vaniat (Brett Baxter Clark), he sort of follows Hill and Ford to the tournament. We later learn that Vaniat is the first no-fapper (which I didn't know existed in 1991): he tells Deathstalker that sleeping with women saps one's vital energy; hee also eats a whole pig and likes cardio. He was basically a crossfitter before cross fit existed. To add to the greatness, this character's non-exposure to women becomes a hilarious plot point later on in the film.
We also get to see the early '90s fascination with lesbian-esque women clad in leather, one of whom has a buzzcut and befriends the main girl Dionara. One of the secondary villains whom we meet midway into the film is a lesbian, who basically forces herself on a younger girl after killing her female guardian.
The music sounds as if the composer was having a seizure on the keyboard.
With so much greatness, DEATHSTALKER IV is a much-watch!
The film has scenes directly recycled from DEATHSTALKER I as well as BARBARIAN QUEEN, but portrayed as if they were brand-new scenes.
Unlike Deathstalker I, there are no pig-men, but there are lion-men and wolf-men and -women, who seem to be recurring villains in the film. Like the first film, the protagonist is played by Rick Hill, which is fun to see his deadpan-delivered lines. His female sidekick/love interest is Dionara (Maria Ford). The duo basically make their way to another tournament, which evil Queen Kana is holding for the warriors in the whole kingdom.
At one point, Deathstalker meets a Tommy Wiseau-look alike who does 50 pushups. Named Vaniat (Brett Baxter Clark), he sort of follows Hill and Ford to the tournament. We later learn that Vaniat is the first no-fapper (which I didn't know existed in 1991): he tells Deathstalker that sleeping with women saps one's vital energy; hee also eats a whole pig and likes cardio. He was basically a crossfitter before cross fit existed. To add to the greatness, this character's non-exposure to women becomes a hilarious plot point later on in the film.
We also get to see the early '90s fascination with lesbian-esque women clad in leather, one of whom has a buzzcut and befriends the main girl Dionara. One of the secondary villains whom we meet midway into the film is a lesbian, who basically forces herself on a younger girl after killing her female guardian.
The music sounds as if the composer was having a seizure on the keyboard.
With so much greatness, DEATHSTALKER IV is a much-watch!