Lost in the 90s: Collection 01

In the 1990s, I hit the video store multiple times a week. It was my church, and the films that lay dormant in its hollowed isles, where my religion. I watched everything that caught my eye, and I watched so many films that will forever live in my head. Whether they live up to the fond memories or not. Often times, it’s a ‘not’.

But over the years, with the advent of DVD, Blu-Ray and streaming services, I began to notice that some of these titles where nowhere to be found anymore. But with many of these films being slowly released on YouTube, free services like Tubi, and even Amazon Prime, I have been able to relive the days when I began my film education and obsession. Some have become cult classics, either major or minor, or should really have been forgotten.

So, with this Lost in the 90s, I’m going to look at someone of these weird little oddities.

Felony (1994)

Felony is an action thriller from writer/director David A. Prior. The man responsible for the unintentionally hilarious action film Deadly Prey (1987), the gym slasher film Killer Workout (1987), and the action comedy Good Cop, Bad Cop (1994). He is a maestro of low budget genre flicks that often went straight to the video store shelves in the 80s and 90s. And I loved them.

You may scuff, but before streaming, you would take a chance on anything that looked appealing. It was a classier type of exploitation flick. Explosions, T&A, moustache twirling villains, and take no shit heroes were a mainstay, but every now then you would get something different. Felony is in that category.  And cast alone would draw anyone’s attention.

At a taping of a “Cops” style reality show, cameraman Bill Knight (Jeffery Combs) and sound tech Robby (Patrick Gallagher) get more than they bargained for when, following the SWAT team in with the raid, the well-dressed Cooper (David Warner) appears with his henchmen and guns down the cops. The two TV tag-alongs barely escape as the house explodes, but Knight is knocked unconscious. Before he is taken away in the ambulance, Knight tells Robby to get the tape from the camera.

The killing makes the news and pisses off a lot of people. Especially when they all find out there could be a video tape of the event. Taft (Lance Henriksen) screams at his henchman, the well-dressed Cooper, over the incident, while creepily sexy bodyguard Sondra (Corinna Everson) looks on. They are a rogue element in the CIA that is selling drugs and all manner of illegal evil shit, to raise money to get some of their colleagues out of a South American prison.

On the other side of town, New Orleans Police Chief Edwards (Red West), and the detectives in charge of the case, Kincade (Leo Rossi) and Duke (Charles Napier) start making a plan of action. And on the top of the list in the currently hospitalised cameraman Knight. And guess what, the bad guys have the same idea.

At the hospital Knight wakes up, and meets one of his nurses, Laura (Ashley Laurence). Who tells him he is being discharged. There is much banter as Knight tries to pick her up. The cops arrive to question him, before he leaves. Laura gives him her phone number. And he is wheeled out of the hospital. Right in the path of two of Taft’s killers. After a brief chase in which Knight is shot in the arm, he is rescued by a Federal agent for Texas named Donovan (Joe Don Baker), who bundles him in his truck and lays out the whole story for him. And that Taft may not be raising the money to rescue fellow CIA, but keeping the cash. Knight, not trusting the big Texan, jumps out of the truck and off a bridge.

And after Robby tries to sell the tape to the bad guys and gets killed for it in a bonkers action chase sequence that makes on sense, Knight turns to the only person he can, Laura. And they go on the offensive. But they are in a world of spies, betrayal, big guns, and are out of their depths. There is also a trip to a strip club for no other reason to get a little T&A in the film. The climax is not a big one, giving over to tension and intrigue like the ending of a murder mystery, despite the nonsensical action that preceded it.

Seriously, I’m surprised Prior got so many amazing character actors to be in this little film, seen as either through away entertainment or now forgotten completely by most. I mean, wow. And having Henriksen in a film going nuts and chewing the scenery, and still being less menacing than Warner’s Cooper. It’s impressive. Rossi and Napier as cops is easy for these guys at this point, and Baker’s Donovan is riffing on modern day cowboy action stars he has already played.

But the hero of this film, Knight, played by cult horror icon Jeffery Combs which is the highlight. This kind of movie and this kind of role is something he rarely did. Combs carries the film well, and makes me wish he did more heroic action roles. I just wish it was a better film.

The movie, while a little baffling (both in story and the cast), will hold your attention for the 93-minute running time. But after the credits roll, you would have forgotten the whole thing. Fun but disposable.

Currently free to watch on YouTube.

Time Runner (1993)

When I first saw the box art for this film, I was instantly excited. A sci-fi action film with Mark Freakin’ Hamill looking badass holding an awesome gun in front of a futuristic cityscape. I knew this was not going to be a good film, but I was hoping a fun one. I was right on both counts. Looking back, this film did not age well.

It starts off set in the futuristic time of 2022. On the 6th October, an alien race invades the Earth and cleans the planet’s clock. Aboard a military space station, a specialist (specialist of what, I still don’t know) Captain Michael Raynor (Hamill) not taking enough time to deal with the loss of the crew (his wife among them), escapes in a pod headed to Earth. But as plot convenience would have it a wormhole appears and sends the pod to the past time of 1992. And crashes.

When Dr Karen Donaldson (Rae Dawn Chong) is pulled off the assignment of investigating the crash by MIBs with bad haircuts, she ends up helping Raynor stop the future invasion, with the help of mechanic Arnie (Gordon Tripple). But the MIBs are after them lead by Neila (Brion James) and henchman Freeman (Mark Baur).

I used to call films like this Idea or Concept Films. Because there is always a good idea at the centre of the story, but because these are smaller budget, straight to video releases, the quality or impact always falls by the wayside. These ideas would be done better in other studio films. And you can see elements of the story in the film 12 Monkeys and Looper.

Apart from Hamill, everyone is sleepwalking through this film, even Brion James who is usually amazing. And I love Hamills old James Dean look with stoner surfer dude hair.  Weird but memorable.

The direction is uninspiring, the action scenes are pedestrian, there is weak optical compositing, lazy staging, and dumb dialogue. The music is repetitive and adds nothing to the story, and it’s so annoying. Time and money seem to have gone into the space sequences at the beginning, even if they lasted only five minutes.

Full of potential, fun to riff on, but ultimately forgettable. Rating: Limp Lightsaber.

Gunfighter’s Moon (1995)

I love Lance Henriksen. He is an actor who has never let me down in a film. Ever. And he did a little bit of everything in the 1990s. Even Westerns.

Gunfighter’s Moon is a Dramatic Western thriller written and directed by Larry Ferguson, who also wrote and directed the cop undercover in a biker gang movie Beyond the Law (aka Fixing The Shadow) in 1993.

In the film Henriksen plays Frank Morgan, a veteran gunslinger trying to become anonymous in Mexico. But his reputation still follows him as men and boys turn up to test their metal. When Frank gets a message from his former lover, he races back over the border to help. He arrives in Red Pine, Wyoming, and finds that Linda (Kay Lenz) does want him, but wants ‘The Frank Morgan’ to protect her new husband Jordan (David McIlwraith), store owner and temporary sheriff. Jordan refuses to release a member of an outlaw gang that killed the previous sheriff from the town jail at the bequest of the gang leader.

Frank doesn’t want to get involved, and is heartbroken because he still loves his former flame. But his reputation, the thing she left him for, still hangs over his neck. And things get tricker when he finds out that Linda’s daughter Kristen (Nikki Deloach) is also his. So, to keep this family unit together, Frank faces off against the gang. And after all is done, wounded, he rides off into the desert.

The sweepy cinematography is here showing off the landscape. But the violence has a feel of a samurai film of the 70s. It feels like a mix of the classic romantic style western and the harder and grittier modern westerns. There is a good story here, unlike many other straight-to-video or TV movie westerns, and uses everything that Henriksen brings to the table. Some remember his villains, more than his broken heroes or anti-heroes, which he was just as good at playing. And this is just such a role. It’s worth a watch for Henriksen alone.

With a larger budget and a few larger names in supporting, this could have been a massive box office hit.  Currently on YouTube for free.

Silencers (1996)

I mentioned before that there are films that hit straight to video that contained plots, ideas, characters and scenes that would influence other, big budgeted studio films. I called them concept films. Well, this is a good example of one. Coming out in the middle of X-Files’ reign, The Silencers (not to be confused with the 1966 spy comedy) is a sci-fi action thriller, directed by Richard Pepin, and released straight to video from the awesome PM Entertainment.

The story sees Secret Service agent Rafferty (Jack Scalia) who, after losing a senator he was assigned to protect from terrorists with unusual abilities, is loaned out to the military to transport a mysterious cargo to a black site. That being Comdor (Dennis Christopher) an alien peace officer from the Pleiades system who is here to stop evil extraterrestrials, who have made a secret deal with the American government. Fearing the humans will back out of the deal (something they themselves plan to do) they attack the transport. With Comdor released, he had Rafferty team up to stop the alien threat.  The alien leader looks like a buff evil Michael Jackson. Tell me I’m wrong.

The teaming up of a hard-bitten agent and his alien equivalent, is definitely buddy cop material. It’s a tried-and-true formula, and works well here. Comdor’s fish out of water observations and reactions could be overdone or overplayed for comedy, but seems natural and subdued compared to other films. Scalia has played roles like this before in the 90s, so he has the part down. But Dennis Christopher stands out in a role he doesn’t usually take on. I fell in love with this actor after the IT mini-series in 1990, and will always watch him. Seriously, check out Fade To Black (1980).

While the story is a simple one, the stunt work and pyrotechnics are above and beyond, rivalling anything the studios were doing at the time, and in a much smaller budget.  The gun battles are dynamic, even if the fist-to-cuffs are pedestrian.

If you watch the cast of characters, the story structure and set pieces, your mind will automatically think of Men In Black, and The Matrix franchise. Not a great flick, but it’s fun. Deserves to be seen.

The Raven Red Kiss-Off (1990)

This film is a wonderful call back to the pulp detective film-noir thrillers of the 30s and 40s. It’s full of Private Eyes, femme fatales, seedy characters, betrayals, and all men wearing hats. Yeah, what was with that?

In L.A. in the 1930, Dan Turner, Hollywood Detective (Marc Singer), has made a name for himself working cases in and around the movie machine of Hollywood. He is on the outs as he had run afoul of movie mogul Bernie Ballantine (Danny Kamin). Helping out his old friend Roy Cromwell (Brandon Smith) out of a jam at an illegal gambling joint by escorting his mistress, film star Vala Duvalle (Tracy Scoggins), out before a raid because they can’t be seen together, events kick off.

The next day, Roy comes to see Dan with a check with a lot of zeros and a job offer from Ballantine. That job is to follow Vala and keep her safe on the set of their new movie they are shooting at a fair ground up state. Vala is also Ballantine’s mistress. But while there, an extra, an old flame of Dan’s, is killed. And with his gun it seems. So, Dan must go on the run to find out who the killer is, why all this happened in the first place, and to not get arrested before he can.

While this film feels more like a TV movie, it does a fine job with the look of the time period. The sets, costumes, and cars featured were all perfect. And the snappy dialogue delivered by Singer’s Dan is on point with the versions of classic P.I.s on screen. The story has some slow spots, but when Susan Brooks’ Cindy Lou, the wild country loving cab driver motors into Dan’s life, the film picks up.

The character of Dan Turner first appeared in the page of Spicy Detective Magazine in 1934, created by Robert Leslie Bellem. But this is the first and only film adaptation of the character, based on the short story “Homicide Highball”. Which I think is a shame. While the character might not be as famous as Chandler’s and Mammet’s creations, I think this could have had legs on screen.

Charming, despite its flaws.

Arena (1989)

Made in 1989, but not released until 1991, this low budget film is something different story wise. This is a sci-fi action sports movie. Yes, you read that correctly. A sports movie in space. Who knew that could be a thing. With the added spice of a Babylon 5, and two ST:DS9 actors, no less.

In a space station somewhere in the galaxy, a UFC type event known simply as the Arena has it home. The Arena is run by a criminal overload named Rogor (Marc Alaimo) and his slimy henchman Weezil (Armin Shimmerman). Alien races from all over the galaxy send fighters to compete in the bloody matches for fame and fortune. There hasn’t been a human champion in over 50 years.

Enter Steve Armstrong (Paul Satterfield), who has trained all his life for the Arena, but with no one wanting to give a human a chance, and with no way home, he has been working as a short order cook with his friend Shorty (Hamilton Camp). When they are fired for breaking up a fight, Steve and Shorty decide to blow off steam at an illegal casino. But they run afoul of Rogor. Steve then accepts an offer by Quinn (Claudia Christian) to train and sponsor him to fight in the arena. Steve becomes the underdog, and a symbol to the downtrodden, all leading up to the big fight.

The story has equal parts Rocky and Bloodsport, with a dash of the 1992 film Gladiator. But the fights themselves are where the film is lacking. The production seems to have put more time and money into the alien designs. And the puppets and prosthetics are damn impressive for such a low budget film, but with it being hard for the performers to see what is going on, the action suffers.

Christian, Shimmerman and Alaimo all excel in their roles, despite the rest of the cast. And Richard Band’s music makes the fights seem just that little bit more epic. And this would be one of the last films released under the Empire Pictures banner.

Arena is a fun TV style sci-fi of the late 80s. But if you are not a sci-fi geek, you will forget this film after watching it. Currently on YouTube.

Angel Town (1990)

French kick-boxing champion Olivier Gruner, was a mainstay of 90s action and sci-fi video flicks. In the 90s, he made 14 films, of varying quality, some are cult classics. And Angel town was his acting debut.

Gruner plays Jacques Montaigne, a professional kick-boxer who has been hired by the Olympic Committee to train the American team. But Jacques studies a new field everywhere he goes. This time he is studying Engineering at USC in L.A. Since he was late arriving to the campus, he takes a room in a dangerous part of town owned by Maria (Theresa Saldana) and her son Martin (Francisco Aragon). The gang lead by Angel (Tony Valentino) terrorises the neighbourhood but targets Martin specifically because they want him to join their gang.

Jacques at first defends his new friends from the gang members, then goes on the attack. He enlists the help of an old friend who runs a martial art school, Henry (Peter Kwong), who at first Hides Martin, then helps train him. When Angel and his gang declare war on the neighbourhood, Jacques, Martin, Henry, and Henry’s students defend the streets, with Maria’s house being the focal point. And it’s a hand-to-hand brawl.

The director of this film was Eric Karson, who directed the Chuck Norris film The Octagon (1980), but is mostly known as a producer of action movies. He produced the underrated Jean-Claude Van Damme film Lionheart (aka Wrong Bet or A.W.O.L.) in 1990. Which was also written by Stefani Warren, responsible for Angel Town’s script. And honestly, it is not as good as either of those other projects. It’s a story with a lot of heart, and a reliable premise which we have seen before, but its slow pace and an untrained actor in the lead definitely hurts the film. But Gruner is just as charismatic as Van Damme or Schwarzenegger, and has grown as a performer over the years, and while he never was as big as those guys, he is still working today.

Best character in the film is Frank, played by Mike Moroff. A wheelchair bound military vet and old friend of Martin’s dad. And he helps win the day. A good watch, but don’t expect a masterpiece.

The Nature of the Beast (1995)

Nature of the Beast is a 1995 direct-to-video Crime Thriller, with a mystery at its core and some horror elements, that left me speechless the first time I watched it. It is a good way. And all these years later it still holds water.

Set mostly on the road in desert and rural areas, the news over the airwaves is that a serial killer known only as the Hatchet Man has been killing along the highways. And in other news, $1.5 million dollars was stolen from a Las Vegas casino without a trace. And police are investigating both crimes.

Travelling paper salesman Jack (Lance Henriksen) moves from one stop after another along the highway. He has money worries, which may or may not be due to his wife’s spending, and has a drinking problem. After passing a hitchhiker, Jack runs into him at a roadside diner and Jack offers to buy him lunch. Adrian, Dusty to his friends (Eric Roberts) has a substance habit of his own, and seems a mysterious and dangerous person. Adrian is a freewheeling type looking for the next experience and Jack is a world-weary family man. But both have a secret. Adrain knows this and uses it to get a ride from Jack. And then the war of personalities, secrets, motivations begins.

Seriously, I love this movie. The performances given by both the film’s leads, Henriksen and Roberts, are thought out, emotional, creepy, and damn Oscar worthy. The events leading up to their meeting are left vague, and through staging and the dialogue, you are left wondering who did what and how, or if the ‘secrets’ alluded to are something else entirely. Regardless of the images with see. And the setting of desert landscapes, mostly seen through the car’s windows, adds to the tension. All this space and nowhere to go. And the ending. Oh, my God, the ending. M. Night Shyamalan wishes he was this good.

Everything works here: camera work, lighting, editing and music. All work to make this film standout. It’s a shame the director, Victor Slave, has tarnished his own work, which is something I won’t go into here.

A must for fans of mystery and serial killer fiction. Currently on YouTube.

Red Sun Rising (1994)

Don “The Dragon” Wilson is an 11-time kickboxing world champion. With skills, the looks and a charming nature, of course he became an action star. And from the beginning of the 90s, his films have covered every genre with 27 films in that decade.

Red Sun Rising sees him playing Thomas Hoshino, a Japanese American ling in Japan working as a police detective. When his partner Yuji (Yuji Okumoto) is killed by a dangerous Yakuza, Yamata (Soon-Tek Oh) and his mystical ninja assassin Jaho (James Lew), he travels to America to bring them to justice.

In L.A., police detective Karen Ryder (Terry Farrell) is trying to stop a gang war from happening, all the while dealing with the added stress of misogynist co-workers. And everything gets more complicated when Hoshino arrives. It seems that Yamata and Jaho are trying to start a gang war so they can sell guns to both sides to finance their take over of the Yakuza back home. But the way that Jaho is killing people forces Hoshino to go see his old teacher Buntoro Iga (Mako), now living in the city. It is here our heroes learn of a mystical form of fighting that uses magical energy and pressure points to kill.

So, Hoshino begins his training anew in order to defeat the criminals, stop a gang war, and reveal the identities of the dirty cops.

This film seems to have higher production values compared to most direct-to-video fare. Wilson’s fighting style in the film is not as showy as Lew’s villain, but that helps inform both characters. Mako is playing a role he has played before the honourable and knowledgeable master who is very irreverent compared to the Japanese strict stereotype. Farrell is also good, but some of the dialogue they give her to say paints the character like one of the sexist and racist asshats she works with. At the beginning anyway. And it’s always good to see Michael Ironside, as Captain Meister, not playing a villain.

This also has a lot in common with the formula of the Rush Hours films. While it’s not played for laughs, as it is darker in tone, it’s hard not to see. Above average movie, decent cast, decent action.