At long last the book by Paul Cooke and myself is ready to go. It is actually a VOLUME 1 of Tough To Kill-a collection of reviews and views and strangely skewed writings on things that go BOOM. You can order your copy (and even get an ebook edition) by going here.
This is something Paul and I worked on (and off...and on) at for almost 6 years of searching for original Japanese tapes and I'm glad to see it out there.
Included are 80 Ballistic reviews from directors such as Enzo G. Castellari, Bruno Mattei, Tito Carpi, Antonio Margheriti, Ignazio Dolce, Lamberto Bava, Alfonso Brescia, Ruggero Deodato and "Larry Ludman" himself, Fabrizio De Angelis.
A Tribute To Bruno Mattei by Paul Cooke.
Of Margheriti And Miniatures-an interview with Edoardo Margheriti
Star Profiles by Paul Cooke including articles on Mark Gregory, Reb Brown and more.
Dystopia Rides A Dune Buggy is an examination of Italian Post Nuke Cinema of the 80s.
And yes...THE TRUTH ABOUT BRONX CRACKDOWN. Some claim to have it! I assure you they do not!
The Italian reproduction team of Director Bruno Mattei and Writer Claudio Fragasso serve up a flimsier than usual ‘Rambo’ jungle escapade with one time Tarzan star Miles O’Keeffe, trading his loin cloth for battle fatigues. Johnny, not so Weissmuller, O’Keeffe plays ex - military war hero Robert Ross. An enraged soldier searching for his son, lost to him whilst away on a tour of duty at a time when his Vietnamese wife was killed. Suicide squads are attacking several U.S. military sites in South East Asia, and the threatening emergence of a Russian militia training camp for terrorists has the American consulate offering Ross a deal to retrieve his son. A mutual beneficial exchange deal that requires the gathering of photographic evidence that supports the existence of the insidious group.
An explosive start to the movie sees O’Keeffe crossing the path of Russian militant leader Bo Svenson as the bullets soon let fly, and Director Mattei gets to blow up several buildings as well as employ some nicely integrated model work to please the movie financiers. Asthma suffering senator Donald Pleasence gets to inhale another typical cameo role, as he task forces the mission for Ross to infiltrate the jungles of Vietnam with the usual lack of official government backing.
Decked out for the dangerous retrieval and recognizance mission ahead, and looking about as macho as a male model on location, the man who once played the mighty Ator is soon in deep water. Not only is his scuba gear apparel approach to the coastal region impeded by an armed small boat patrol, but more audaciously by the might of a ravenous shark! Straight out of the big fish school of stock footage the shark is shamelessly edited into proceedings, clearly borrowed from another great white movie, its arrival makes for an amusing distraction. The action here is hilarious as Ross shoots the hapless guards and then sets his sights upon the man eating shark, deftly deploying an underwater bazooka hilariously resulting in true crowd pleasing explosive devastation. It is not long before the Russians are aware of his mission and the bullets are flying with Ross and his cohort ally hitting their targets with unerring accuracy, all the while O’Keeffe not even receiving the merest of nicks. Anyone getting close enough to dare and raise his one hundred per cent American cotton shirt would surely have found a big red ‘S’ tattooed across his sternum.Hard nosed Russian bad ass Svenson blows a gasket as his pseudo Swedish / American / Russian cross genes pump him into retaliatory action as he raids the village where Ross has left his son, taking the boy hostage after cold bloodily murdering many of the residents of the friendly community. O’Keeffe retaliates in unleashing his arsenal upon the bad guys as he forcefully strikes out and takes back the young boy with explosive style.
Despite several well choreographed explosive fight sequences and the obligatory slow motion death stages, even reveling in the synchronized bad guy batches of four regularly getting their comeuppance, it’s still not quite enough to raise interest levels above the point of mediocrity. The plodding presence of Miles O’Keeffe is more wooden than Pinocchio’s nose and that is no lie, but even with such an inconceivable outing the billing of a Reb Brown or Brent Huff would have made the whole thing so much more audacious.
When making a daft movie you have to make sure the element of daftness is carried off with suitable tongue in cheek aplomb. Disappointingly with such a thought in mind, conclusively ‘Double Target’ would better re-title as ‘Off Target’.
Hot on the heels of, ‘Strike Commando 2’, and on set literally stepping distance from the same star trailers, Brent Huff and Mary Stavin get to rub sparks off each other once again in Director Bruno Mattei’s highly entertaining escapist all Action outing, ‘ Mayhem ’. With Stavin posing as reporter Marilaine Kain for the U.S.I News channel she travels to a province on the border of Vietnam, looking to seek out jaded Vietnam War survivor and decorated hero Sam Wood, as played by Brent Huff. Her apparent brief is to offer him $50,000 for his story relating to his escape from the infamously reviled Lutam Prison. The truth lies behind her seeking out his services to aid her in rescuing her own father from the still illegally active incarceration hell camp, and the connection that links Sam to the feisty woman’s parent.
Sat in a shanty bar by the side of a river, feet up on a grimy table, sits Sam Wood in a style that is instantly attributable to the inimitable stature of mister cool and casual himself, Brent Huff. With the stubble face chiseled look of the Sergio Leone influenced Clint Eastwood Man With No Name character etched upon his face, and a look in his eye that stares down a cobra placed in front of him by a local, Sam looks up from beneath his tilted fedora to squeeze the intrusive snake dry of venom. Vietnam’s answer to Crocodile Dundee then drinks the venom shot from a beer glass to complete his morning wake up ritual, knocked back with a couple of hard puffs on his cigar stub and a few cuss words beneath his breath. Brent Huff entrances don’t come much better than this one and it sets the tone for him to go into autopilot for the tongue in cheek Action thrill ride that follows.
Huff’s sharp dialogue and effortless wit cuttingly rubs off of Stavin’s bossy characterization of a spoilt daddy’s girl and the two manage to get along in the pursuit of riches and rescue. The back up plan involves Romano Puppo as Alex Ross, a government representative who is negotiating for the release of General Webber with Lutam ‘Camp’ leader Werner Pochath. A couple of plot twists later with character revelations revealing more than just a planned rescue mission, and Sam Wood clearly sees the trees but in so doing ends up inside the place he once escaped from, guest of Werner Pochath and up to his ears in trouble. The Action from here on in comes thick, fast, furious and fun with Brent Huff reveling in a freehanded role that suits him down to the ground. Running around clearly having a literal blast, grinning all the while whilst delivering corny dialogue and quoting his stock phrase ‘It can be done’ at every wonderful opportunity. The Action packed last third of the movie has Huff kitted up like Schwarzenegger in, ‘Commando’, heavy artillery draped over him like a designer full metal jacket. With determined abandonment the pumped up Huff unloads round after round into the opposition, pausing for breath just long enough to lock and load the rocket launcher in order to blow up every available hut that the set dressing unit could cobble together. All played out to the funky tunes of musical composer Al Festa this explosive extravaganza is perhaps most recognizable under it’s international release title of ‘Born To Fight’. Whatever it plays as the movie is without question a Mattei masterwork of mindlessly magnificent, mass ‘Mayhem’.
Somehow the production team managed to attain the signature to contract of superstar Richard Harris for this sequel to the highly infectious ‘Strike Commando’, who perhaps was looking to saddle up for a successful movie ride somewhat long in the wake of the ‘A Man Called Horse’ movie series. Maybe he had even been led to believe that he was to be appearing in the European version of ‘Rambo: First Blood Part 2’ or perhaps he just needed to pay off a bar tab. Whatever the reason director Mattei must have readdressed his usual thought process for film making as the tone of the final product swings from plain daft, even by his illustrious standards, to semi serious whenever Richard Harris is in frame.
The film starts with Reb Brown replacement star Brent Huff reliving a nightmare in Vietnam, with his superior officer Richard Harris pulling him out of a tight spot as explosions and gunfire sound out all around them. Setting the parameters for the style of the movie, along with the macho male bonding between the two lead stars, immediately borrows heavily from the familiar opening sequence of ‘Apocalypse Now’, but you just know that when this script is from Claudio Fragasso there really is nothing quite like the smell of a bad screenplay!
Soon the film kicks into familiar territory as Richard Harris’ character Vic Jenkins disappears after the war, to then be discovered by Huff’s soldier persona Michael Ransom to be still alive. He tracks him down, only to then see him abducted by a Russian backed militia heavily involved with drug production in the jungles of Burma. The CIA want their distinguished retired ranking officer back and are willing to pay the ransom in diamonds, as demanded by the captors, and of course Brent Huff steps up to be the man to go in after him. Chance to repay a debt of honour for Jenkins saving his life, as well as him being his friend.
With Richard Harris away from the respectful thespian duties Bruno Mattei gets to deliver what he is best at. The Action picks up and the fun kicks in with Brent Huff dominating the silly proceedings we are more gleefully accustomed to from this combination of ‘B’ movie schooling.
When bar owner Mary Stavin is introduced as Rosanna Boom she gets to do her best interpretation of Karen Allen’s boisterous character Marion Ravenwood, straight out of ‘Raiders Of The Lost Ark’. It doesn’t take long before both she and Huff are fighting a group of Ninjas along with the requisite Russian bad guy, all played out in a deliriously preposterous fashion. Brent Huff teams up with the annoyingly loud Stavin, who is outdone only by the truly awful musical composition playing throughout on the background track like a very amateur vaudeville presentation. Together armed with the diamonds they discover not only the whereabouts of Richard Harris but also the revealing truth behind the whole scenario. The drug production encampment gets breached in true ‘Rambo’ style.
Apart from maybe his career at the time the only other thing that the miscast Richard Harris gets to kill is a big bug, leaving the charismatically daft Huff to be held entirely responsible for the loss of a rain forest with his wooden acting alone.
The overall style of filming is to Mattei’s credit as the background scenery is beautifully captured and star Brent Huff is very well suited to his role. He energetically seems to get to perform all of his own stunts, as well as act without the need for a script.
With Karl Landgren , Bobby Rhodes, Maurice Poli & special super imposed star Fred Williamson
Review by Paul Cooke
‘‘Death is preferable to failure and disgrace!’’
They don’t come much rarer than this when searching out movies from the collectors market, but once discovered it becomes apparently clear why Director Umberto Lenzi chose to hide behind the pseudonym of Bob Collins! Fred Williamson may still be blissfully unaware that he actually stars in the movie, and with good reason as in reality he does not! What the production company have done is worked a short rehash of a lame story around actual scenes that do star Fred Williamson, but ‘borrowed’ from the original 1987 made ‘Black Cobra’ movie.
A slightly older and cleaner cut Karl Landgren does return, this time as the leader of a Middle East terrorist Arab gang. It doesn’t take a too observant fan of the original movie to notice that he is sporting his trademark black leather and silver studded jacket once again, another money saving prop for the cost conscious producers to allow for further insert edits. This time out Landgren and cohorts abduct a scientific engineer named Barry Wilson, a valuable employee of the Electronic Armourment Corporation. Wilson is a leading expert in the field of war simulation computer programming. He is required by Landgren’s people to create a device to make international terrorism less vulnerable in the fight for oppression against the Western World. With the displayed computers he works with it might have been better for them to simply have watched an old TV episode of early Seventies cult Sci Fi show ‘U.F.O’!
It sure is an Action fans distraction when amongst the highlights is a scene where scientific weapons engineer Wilson frolics with his attractive naked wife, deftly deploying his pocket rocket whilst displaying some hairy backed humping. Washed down with a shower scene, also featuring Mrs. Wilson in the shapely form of Elena Weidermann, and thankfully no insert here from a cut and paste Fred Williamson!
To keep the ‘Black Cobra’ theme live Bobby Rhodes kind of steps into the Williamson role as Officer Jackson, a lugging cardboard clone with a reactivity to coffee that brings about diarrhoea!Clearly a case of strong , black and explosive from the back. Amusingly Maurice Poli is brought back for this fourth outing to reprise his role from the Stelvio Massi Directed original, but so also are scenes of him from that first venture and they too are intermittently inter cut. Seeing Rhodes and Poli share scenes and then Poli moving out of shot to reappear looking slightly younger to stand next to Fred Williamson is indeed obvious, but nonetheless comical. Interposing scenes of Karl Landgren with his earlier and latter set of pearly white teeth is a dental hygienists faux pas, as a gold capped tooth from 1987 has been deftly reclaimed by the tooth fairy come 1990. All highly amusing continuity pick-ups to pass the time till closure, that really can’t come soon enough. Action highlight is the shootout sequence reworked from ‘Black Cobra’, which at least is pretty well reedited and shows the key players in gun blasting combativeness, allowing for a modicum of blood spillage to decorate the medical facility. In conclusion fans of Fred Williamson get to see another appearance, whereas Umberto Lenzi fails to show at all.
With Fred Williamson, Karl Landgren, Vassili Karis,
Eva Grimaldi, Maurice Poli and Sabrina Siani Review by Paul Cooke
‘‘I’m not doing it for you , I’m just doing it’’
Playing like a pre post apocalyptic variation on ‘Bronx Warriors’ comes Director Stelvio Massi’s chin bruising Italian outing ‘Black Cobra’ , chiselled from the mould set by George Pan Cosmatos’ earlier 1986 American made movie vehicle ‘Cobra’.
Rampaging through proceedings with his own square set chin is black leather clad bad guy Karl Landgren as the leader of a gang of malicious territorial street thugs. Looking like fellow ‘B’ movie Action star Conrad Nichols attempting a plausible impression of the iconic Mark Gregory. A role type that ‘Cobra’ star Sylvester Stallone himself once revelled in way back in 1975 with the Roger Corman produced cult classic ‘Death Race 2000’. Like any good low budget outing in time the flavour becomes ever more palatable to widely discerning audiences , and with ‘Black Cobra’ what was itself in its time perceived as being a ‘bomb’ now resurrects as an explosively enjoyable find.
The opening sequence is pretty much a rerun of ‘Cobra’ with the introduction to events of special police enforcer Fred Williamson as the stoic Detective Malone. Appearing as cool as ever in a heavy garbed black coat , itself a less obtrusive fascia for his gun laden personage , and readied for Action with his insignia cigar pointing him in the direction of trouble.
Having been introduced to the take no prisoners style of Malone we then get to see gang leader Karl Landgren setting a style statement all of his own. One that that may well have been the inspiration behind Arnold Schwarzenegger’s look for ‘Terminator 2’ , with a black leather dressage and matching sunglasses to garnish his pose sat astride the requisite chunky motorcycle. Landgren and his thug band of indoctrinates go on a killing rampage , but are caught one evening in the act of murder as a neighbour returns home to witness the vicious assault. Fashion model photographer Eva Grimaldi flees for her life as her presence is soon noticed , escaping the gangs clutches by using her camera flash to temporarily blind their leader Landgren. She manages to elude capture by running into the safe hands of the police , leaving her assailants no choice but to back off from their malicious intent.
Aware that her taken pictures will incriminate him Landgren and cohorts set out to kill Grimaldi to cover their tracks. Detective Malone is assigned to protect her from the scourge which leads to Fred Williamson getting to do what he does best , dish out the rough stuff to those that are most deserving. The movies storyline opens up for some highly entertaining scuffles that allow for gunplay aplenty and a body count that mounts up as the indomitable Fred takes no prisoners. He may be governed by the badge but he sure as heck stamps his own interpretation on passage and verse of its law.
With gang leader Landgren becoming more frustrated at not being able to get through Malone’s self styled witness protection programme he has to change tact. A smartly exercised ambush is set and Detective Malone’s police chief friend Max Walker , portrayed by Maurice Poli , has his daughter abducted to further Landgren’s hand at forcing Malone’s to hand over the girl. Police chief Walker has no option but to turn to Malone for help in getting back his daughter , played by the welcomingly attractive Sabrina Siani.
Time for the audience to prepare for big time retribution Spaghetti Western stand off style as the metaphorical chain watch is flipped to chime its way down to the bullet ballet ahead. Armed to the hilt with an arsenal , a cigar and his long time police partner friend in co star Vassili Karis , big bad Fred Williamson steps up to square off and take down the gang. It’s ‘Gunfight At The OK Corral’ and Detective Malone is readied once and for all to fill this communal Tombstone with bad boy bodies. Good guys versus bad in the big showdown with fearless Fred striving to win the day and save the girl.
Director Stelvio Massi is a very adept ‘B’ movie veteran who makes good use of tightly shot close camera work and uses the full frame very well in his Action sequences , as cars collide and bodies fall in numbers under the plenitude of gun fire throughout the film. There is a momentary feeling of flatness for the audience as the showdown comes to what seems an unsatisfactory conclusion , but in the best tradition for movies of this fun ilk there is a double ending to revel in. With three sequels following it will come as no surprise that bad ass brawler Fred Williamson has the final word , which in the tradition of Roman gladiators means this ‘Cobra Nero’ gets a deserving thumbs up.
3.5 Exploding Huts
Japanese VHS Cover
US DVD-Poor Quality. Note that DVD is in lowercase letters!
With Sebastian Harrison, Lola Forner, Alberto Farnese, Alan Collins
Review by Paul Cooke
‘‘If they learn you are Apache they will kill you’’
With an opening sequence reminiscent of ‘The Little House On The Prairie’ a wholesome family seeks out the Promised Land. Children play by a stream as a proud father and husband looks protectively over them and his pregnant wife. The tranquil scene is shattered as a vagrant band of evil men approach with savage intent and the serene picture swiftly turns into a canvas of blood!
Having witnessed her kin’s massacre the childbearing woman is herself brutalized to the point of death, yet survives long enough to see retribution carved into the cold hearts of the protagonists. Scouting indigenous Native Americans strike down the bastard spawn of the West in graphic detail.
The rescued woman is taken back to the Indian camp but soon dies. The unborn baby is cut from her womb and a boy child is ushered into the world to its adopted family, with a given name of Shining Sky. Raised as a second son, by the Chief and his woman, Shining Sky grows up alongside his kindred brother Black Wolf. As the two grow into strong and healthy young braves a beautiful young squaw named Rising Star vies for their attention. When playful flirtation leads to the pretty young Indian woman expressing her true affection for star Sebastian Harrison’s character Shining Sky the innocence of youth is forever lost in a moment of jealous rage. Black Wolf strikes out at Shining Star and a tragic twist of fate brings about his death at the hand of his pale-faced brother. Shining Star is cast out into the wilderness by the tribe, armed only with kindly words of wisdom from his adoptive father and parables of the white man. Forced to seek out a new way of life he leaves with heavy heart but promises to never betray his upbringing.
Strolling into a Western town he soon runs into trouble with the local bigoted sheriff. A fair-minded landowner gives him a job after he helps tame a seemingly unmanageable wild horse that belongs to him. Shining Sky adopts the pretense of being a mute in order to educate himself in the ways of these newfound people hoping to attract less attention to himself. He catches the eye of the town jezebel Isabella and very soon is persecuted by the town’s bad element that suspects him to be a reviled half-breed. In true man against the odds fashion Sebastian Harrison’s foremost ‘Thunder’ character is set upon, beaten to breaking point and forced out into the desert land. Isabella rescues him and nurses him back to health, but when he later rejects her advances, and reveals that he does have a voice, she turns upon him like a true woman scorned.
Backed by the sheriff and a despotic political Colonel the troublesome town element go on a killing rampage, masquerading their intent as a gun run to the surrounding Native American tribes. They freely maraud through the settlement where Shining Sky was raised, indiscriminately butchering and killing all in their wake. The scene is set for Shining Sky to fight back against the tyranny of the white man as he chooses to fulfill his true destiny as the ‘White Apache’! He fights to save his native people and the woman he loves, Rising Star. The end Action sequence has Shining Sky fighting back against all those who oppressed him in a good old-fashioned Cowboys and Indians showdown, effectively infused with all the gory expressionism of the similarly thematic ‘Soldier Blue’. Several bloody and vicious moments leap off the screen, including the unexpected shot of an axe firmly implanted into a face. The brutality of the plight of the Native American is strikingly played out with a cumulative final play of justified retribution. The movie ends in an unbelievably savage fashion that fatefully unravels to a startling conclusion. Director Bruno Mattei delivers a noticeably profound and meaningful interpretation on a well-documented plight of oppression. Told from the vantage point of the Native American, this is indeed a ‘Brave’ interpretation.
