Six direct-to-video (in the US at least) action flicks make up a fantastic throwback set of cheese-filled Saturday afternoons. Arrow’s ENTER THE VIDEO STORE: VIDEO VENGEANCE is out now.
Intro
Three years ago, Arrow Video released “Enter the Video Store: Empire of Screams.” It was a set that focused on direct-to-video, or at least slightly cheapie goodness. That volume featured a handful of Empire horror and sci-fi films (Dungeonmaster, Dolls, Arena, RobotoJox, and Cellar Dweller). Now Arrow returns to the video store with a new volume, subtitled “Video Vengeance.” This time, you come home from the musty mom-and-pop with six direct-to-video actioners, often focused on some kind of vengeance. Grasp those clunky plastic VHS rental boxes (I can still feel the little pop as the tabs come out) and join me as we take a look at another jam-packed box.
Here I will admit, DTV action (or even theatrical) isn’t wholly my forte; the first volume’s genre work was more up my alley. But I can appreciate what justice is delivered by our muscle-bound men, sexy (sometimes also muscle-bound) ladies, piles of guns, and more than one Yaphet Kotto, James Tolkan, George Kennedy, and Ken Foree role (a few other smaller faces appear a few times across the films). This time we have: Ministry of Justice, The Final Alliance, Interzone, R.O.T.O.R., Hangfire, and Joshua Tree (and its other cut: Army of One).
This sucker is big, so I have to be a little shorter than normal, but I’ll still give it all.
But the TL;DR is: if the idea of this box set gave you a smile remembering TNT on bored afternoons, 11 pm after Joe Bob, or sliding around sun-faded boxes in the corner of the video store, this will work for you. None of them are particularly GOOD per se, with Joshua Tree the best of them, but damned if they aren’t nostalgia throwbacks of wasted youth of the early 90s.
The FIlms
Trigger warnings: it should be noted that most of these films feature sexual assault in some way.
Ministry of Vengeance (1989, Dir. Peter Maris)
Duke boy John Schneider is a preacher out for revenge! After an experience in Vietnam made him and others he served with, including George Kennedy, into men of the cloth, he puts peace aside and picks up a gun when his wife and daughter are murdered by terrorists in front of his eyes. Arab terrorists, because it’s 1989 and Islamophobia in action movies is running high. He gets new training from James Tolkan at a camp; the recently passed character actor of masters of the Universe runs to get back in the mindset and heads back to Lebanon to get his revenge, with the help of Ned Beatty as another preacher man.
There he takes on the man who killed his family. Kinda poorly; he’s bad at it and makes it fun. The film is rather self-serious without being inward (no thoughts about the difference between being a man of the cloth and getting bloody revenge). Like the whole box, it works for what it is. Cheesy, without being winky, and decently done, it’s a good start ot the box.
The Final Alliance (1990, Dir. Mario DiLeo)
David Hasselhoff! With a pet cougar! Bo Hopkins! John Freakin’ Saxon in albino make-up overacting like hell as a character named Ghost! South Africa poorly standing in for Texas! A home-made tank! Yeah, this was so much stupid fun. Hasselhoff pulls into a Texas town and starts to clean it up from the bandits controlling it, samurai or Leone style.
It’s a fun push and pull of the sides of the story, with everyone fully committed, especially Saxon and Hopkins. A whole lot of squinting and acting through gritted teeth. I mean, they have mouthfuls of scenery; what do you expect? Absolutely delightful, like that sort of 5th-pick flick from the video store this whole set embodies.
(Because I like to think of these things, the town is decently sized and seems to be running okay otherwise, outside of the dozen or so characters. What are the other thousands of citizens thinking)
Interzone (1989, Directed by Deran Sarafian)
Technically, this is a special feature on the disc with Fatal Alliance. Fun to compare how it looks, as the source is lost and thus no restoration. Interzone is in full-frame with faded, artifact-laden SD elements. So a VHS. Anyway, as for the film itself, Bruce Abbott of Re-Animator and Tag is the warrior in a Mad Max rip-off. He does well in the spot, though Abbott doesn’t quite have the charisma that took his Re-Animator costar to the top of the cults. The cheapness of the adventure is a joy, as Sarafian gets everything he can from the tiny budget. Some inventive stuff as Abbott meets a monk guarding a treasure, goes into an enemy camp (with a hilarious seduction scene), and roves the desert. Silly and knowing, it excels at what it is.
R.O.T.O.R. (1987, Dir. Cullen Blaine)
Feeling like a lost member of the last box set, R.O.T.O.R. is total trash, but say it with me: “entertaining trash!” It’s a bottom-of-the-barrel RoboCop and Terminator mashup (to be fair: RoboCop was in production at the same time, so not a rip-off but coincidence) as robot cop goes haywire and chases a woman across the desert. Well, eventually. That happens 42 minutes into the film as the scientist who made him goes about his business. During the chase, the scientist and his buff lady-scientist friend poorly try to figure out where he’s going (I couldn’t help but laugh that while she’s frantically sleeping in the car, the pair hang out in hotels and move with little drive). This is a movie where everyone is inept. That’s in front of and behind the camera.
It’s ridiculous, with such ADR that makes Madame Web sound good. It’s the worst, flattest readings over already flat performances. I giggled like a madman with the ineptness of it all.
Hangfire (1991, directed by Peter Maris)
More Peter Maris! More George Kennedy! More James Tolkan! More Yaphet Kotto! And the bad guy from Ministry of Vengeance! But now with Brad Davis, Jan Michael-Vincent, Lou Ferrigno, and KEN FOREE. And Kim Delaney of NYPD Blue and various soaps. In this one, the day after her marriage, a woman is taken hostage by a gang of escaped prisoners. And it so happens they take her to her own town, taking everyone else there hostage. A town that is clearly a Wild West movie set.
Only husband Brad Davis and his bestie Ken Foree, for reasons of plot not taken hostage, can break the stranglehold and rescue the hostages. It goes as you’d expect, and does so well. Like Ministry of Vengeance from the same director, it keeps a serious tone but works as a low-grade action film hitting the marks with a talented cast that brings it up a few notches.
Joshua Tree (1993, directed by Vic Armstrong)
Freakin’ Dolph Lundgren! Hell yes. And more Ken Foree! I found this the best of the bunch, a thrilling button to the just-right pitch of the films before it. I think it helps that director Vic Armstrong is one of Hollywood’s most experienced stuntmen and stunt coordinators. He knows what he’s doing. Here, Dolph is a truck driver who busts out of prison, where he’s serving a sentence for cop killing; something he claims he didn’t do. Perhaps he was set up for this and Ken Foree, his trucking partner’s death? Of course he was, as a conspiracy to unravel involves some drug running he was part of with some dirty cops: George Segal chomping cigars and scenery, Halloween 4’s Beau Starr, and Geoffrey Lewis as a cop stuck between them. Along the way, he kidnaps a woman played by soap star Kristian Alfonso, who he doesn’t know is a cop, giving it a The Getaway feel. It’s good stuff, exactly the TNT afternoon fare (that version would edit the bewbs though). The action is well done, the characters are interesting, and it has a nice drive that keeps it up and entertaining. Got a whole lot going on, so much I thought we were at the climax and hit the remote… one hour in, with forty to go! Here, that’s a good thing. Note: This also includes a 6-minute longer cut called Army of One. I’ll admit, I’ve not watched it. I was planning to, but time got away from me.
Packaging and Presentation
Like the previous entry, Video Vengeance comes in an oversized box. It still fits on most film shelves, but not so big that it sticks out. Laurie Greasley’s wonderful video-store art, featuring the films’ characters, is emblazoned all over. Inside are five clear Blu-ray cases, each with its own film, except Final Alliance, which includes Interzone as a special feature. As a result, all but Interzone have reversible sleeves with original posters and new art by Yvan Quinet. Also within the thick, bound booklet. Impressive setup.
The five main films look damned good, even for their production values and scrappy budgets. The transfers are clean and detailed, with all to be seen. The audio is all English, with English subtitles.
The Features
As to be expected, this may be height-of-VHS based, but it’s got a height-of-Blu-ray set of features. The five films all have commentary and film-specific features, plus wider looks at DTV Action and niche essays. A fantastic package!
Below I’ll break down the discs, but each is nicely filled. Except for some Joshua Tree features ported from a Shout Factory release, all are new.
Disc 1: Ministry of Vengeance
Commentary
Rob Hill, author of the Bad Movie Bible, offers his appreciation of the film, while still honestly assessing it as a not-so-good flick. But in a great touch, much of it focuses on the writing issues and how it was a draft or two away from something much better, instead of “haha this shot is weird!” type.
Act Like It’s Warmer
John Schneider discusses this part of his career, working on this film, and how it fits into his oeuvre. He notes mostly getting noticed for Dukes of Hazzard and Smokey & the Bandit, so nice on the honesty. (23m)
Lebanon in California
DP Mark Morris talks about the locations and how he had to work around not obviously showing we’re dealing with US locations for Nam and Lebanon. A good talk of how the sausage gets made (11m).
Apocalypse Then
Douglas E. Winter gives appreciation of Vietnam vet subgenre. Wide-reaching with quite the insight (19m)
Trailer (2m)
Stills gallery (9 images)
Disc 2: The Final Alliance
Interzone – the sixth film on the set is given as a special feature. Arrow lists it as on ROTOR (which would be more fitting), but my check disc had it here. Perhaps the finished product is on the other disc.
Commentary
Mike Hewitt, Russell Lee, and Jim Smith from EatMyBrains are highly enjoyable, honestly discussing the film’s oddities, clearly enjoying it, and talking through the who’s and hows (much love to John Saxon)!
Hassling The Hoff
Screenwriter and producer Harel Goldstein gets into the details about how they made the film in South Africa, the issues of the production, but how they worked through it all. A solid chat (15m)
The Rise of DTV
Dave Wain of The Schlock Pit gives an overview of the sorts of films we’re looking at here. Energetic and informative. (17m)
Trailer (2m)
Disc 3: R.O.T.O.R.
Commentary
Matty Budrewicz and Dave Wain from The Schlock Pit discuss less about ROTOR and more about bad movies. The wide-ranging, layered talk looks at the concept of “so bad it’s good,” how the public perceives these films, and different ways to do so. They seem to dislike MST3K and Rifftrax and claim that, overall, by making fun of bad movies, they don’t respect them for what they are. I disagree; as an MST3K fan, I deeply appreciate bad movies. I can watch them with or without riffing and be just as entertained; and honestly, I don’t think you can hate B-movies and truly enjoy MST3K and Rifftrax.
A Matter of Character
Actor Bill Blair, who played several roles in the film, including the titular character, talks jovially about his career and the movie. Seems like a nice fellow. (10m)
Machine Head: Potted History of Robo-Schlock
The guys in the commentary give a full, detailed history of this subgenre. So many films in the Terminator, RoboCop, and others mold! I swear half of this was Albert Pym films. Highly entertaining. (40m)
Gallery has 5 photos
Trailer (2m) is hilarious in how serious it is.
Disc 4: Hangfire
Commentary
Six members of the Edinburgh Zombie Club talk about the film. As expected with so many, it’s a sort of hanging with friends and watching together. They’ve clearly seen it before and done research, but it’s less about the how and who and more about enjoying a cheesy movie.
Brothers in Arms
Surprised to see a Ken Foree interview that’s only 9 minutes! Man can talk! Anyway, he looks at this film and the similar works he’s done. He has great appreciation for his castmates and the process. (9m)
Crash and Burn
DP Mark Morris walks through how he approached filming Hangfire on its obvious set, and how he tried to get more out of it with noir lighting. He speaks to the cast and how they made the film work, especially the lead Brad, who seemed to be a unifying force. (11m)
Trailer (33s)
Gallery: 9 images.
Disc 5: Joshua Tree
Commentary (archival)
Vic & Andy Armstrong, the only people involved with the films to be on the commentaries, give a fantastic view on directing the film, moving from stunt work and how that approached their design (and returned to still do stunts after), filming on location, and making the most of the quick filming.
Vic Armstrong
Armstrong talks about his career and this film. He’s got such a long career and really knows his stuff, which translates into fantastic stories and a great outlook on it all. Could hear him go longer. (26m)
A Look Back (archival)
Vic & Andy Armstrong, along with Dolph, reminisce about flick. So much fun, maybe a little misogyny (gulp), but overall a fine look. As noted above, they can talk for days (24m)
Alternate Ending
Played with commentary, it’s slightly different but not much. Don’t worry about the commentary; it doesn’t go over too loudly, and it gives context (12m)
Vic Armstrong on his career (archival)
Like the above, needs to be longer! What a career in stunts. (3m)
Andy Armstrong (archival)
The same, working with his brother across their career, they’ve done just about everything you can imagine. (4m)
Trailer 3 minutes
Stills 16 photos
Book
The 80-page bound book contains the usual suspects and more. Fear, Faith, and Revnge in Ministry of Vengance by Paul Le. Defying Genre: The Many Facets of The Final Alliance by Jennie Kermode. ROTOR High Tech Rock and Roll to the Rescue of Civil Law and Order by Tasmina Ketita. Hangfire: Detonation Time Unknown by Russell Lee. Joshua Tree: A Video Store Gem from the Desert by John Torrani. Finally, it has Joshua Tree Production Notes. Another solid collection of essays, some appreciating the film itself, some looking at the DTV nature of it all, and others delving into sub-genres.
Final Thoughts
Arrow again makes a great box, whether it’s a single film or a full-on, six-film box. What a box for those who dig DTV action flicks. Six highly entertaining films and a whole ton of features to go with them. Highly recommended box. Arrow Video’s Enter the Video Store: Video Vengeance is out now.