Kill Squad (1982)
Directed by Patrick G. Donahue
Edde VHS
THE FILM
You know how Monster Kids made home movies when they were young and then grew up and made non-home movies? Well, I think there may have been an Action Kid who grew up and made Kill Squad...or possibly it was made by kids. It certainly feels like something I would have written as a child. It has the energy, the verve, the looniness, the disregard for everything but The Kickass Action that child writing brings to the proceedings. The Writer-Producer-Director plays "Johnny", the bearded gentleman who shoots himself in the foot near the beginning of the film. And, have a look at that picture to your right...I submit that Patrick G. Donahue is actually two young Donahues stacked on top of one another and affixed with a false beard. That is why he shoots himself in the foot. The bottom half didn't know where the top half was aiming.
This is a "Kids Comic" movie. The comics I used to draw as a kid were always graced with the same plot: Superhero vs. Superhero. Usually Marvel characters would meet up and then fight until I got tired and then one would beat the other. I just wanted to draw a lot of fighting. There are probably more practical or realistic stories for why this movie was made (possibly there was a cunning of stuntmen around who wanted to make a movie) but my idea works for me.
I seem to watch a lot of movies with Vietnam Vets fighting people long after the war. I don't see many Vietnam War films but I see a lot of these things. Joseph commanded a "Kill Squad" in Vietnam. Now, back home, he is attacked by some thugs and Cameron Mitchell. His wife is killed and he is crippled. So, he reconvenes the Kill Squad and sends them after Mitchell and friends. The Squad is reassembled through a series of fights and then hunts down the Baddies in a series of fights, broken up by a car chase. This film contains more fighting than...I couldn't think of a comparison because this film has A LOT of fighting in it.
The logic of this movie would have bewildered me at Age 9. The story shortcuts taken are truly astounding. There is a revelation at the end that is as confusing and as negating as the twist in the movie Flashback (the horror film from around 2000). It doesn't have to be said but I'd feel remiss if I didn't say it: Everyone in this world can kung fu fight. And, some of the fighting is pretty good. Everyone is giving it their all and there's an esprit de corps that oozes from this number.
Most likely made for an undiscerning action crowd, now it finds its way to me: I'm either undiscerning, easily amused or possessed of a "Special Artistic Eye". I like "Kill Squad". But, I can't figure out what I've got. Maybe all three?
AUDIO AND VIDEO
Does "not Blu-Ray standard" mean anything to you? What does "not SelectaVision disc standard" mean to you? Just watch the film and enjoy the creamy kung-fu lather.
EXTRAS
Three men came to my house and beat up me and my cat, asking if I knew "Dutch". I didn't. They apologized. Turned out to be mighty nice guys. We had international coffee and talked about boys. Turns out they beat up a lot of them.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Karate, kung fu, kar khases: It's action. It's for the whole family, except the kids and people who don't like violence and some salty language and the occasional boob. Kill Squad removes all plot and just leaves us with the fighting and the clichés. Can it get a trifle monotonous?...Yes, but only on repeated viewings and, even then, it may vary by viewer. I enjoy Kill Squad. As long as Joseph needs me, I'll be there.
— Dan Budnik, 02.017.11 |
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