Lethal Hunter (aka American Hunter)

1988

Director: Arizal

Starring: Chris Mtichum, Bill Wallace, Ida Iasha, Mike Abbott

When it comes to heaping helpings of mindless action fun, few director's aim to please like Indonesia's own Arizal. One of that country's most noted and productive filmmakers, Arizal (gotta love that single name moniker) directed over fifty films and countless t.v. episodes dating back to 1974. Among his most noted pictures here in the West are the wonderfully goofy and full throttled cheese fest, The Stabilizer (which incredibly recieved an official U.S. dvd release via Troma) and the gory, freaky action/horror pic, Special Silencers (starring Barry Prima). Seeking more international appeal, the director was able to lure B-action film fave Chris (second son of Bob) Mitchum. The pairing seemed to have brought out the best in both. They first merged their talents in the 1986 nasty, downbeat, yet outrageously over the top revenge epic, Final Score. Two years later, they re-teamed for Lethal Hunter (re-titled American Hunter outside of Asia). This time, Arizal mostly ditched the dark atmosophere for a more devil may care approach and added heaping helpings of martial arts mayhem.

Mitchum plays Jake Carver; lethal hunter of badguys... and all 'round cool-cat. Jake finds himself at odds with a nasty gang who are trying to get their hands on a microfilm which contains sensitive information that can wreak havoc on Wall Street and could concievably bring a total collapse to the western world.

The basic plot setup serves as an excuse for what is really just one long chase and fight sequence. The film hits the ground running a mere two minutes in as a flabby local crashes his motorcycle through an office (guns a blazing) in order to steal the all-important microfilm. From there, the chase is on. There is scarcely a moment that goes by when there isn't some form of exciting and/or humorous mayhem occuring on screen. Awkward, yet energetic bouts that often give way to some painful looking stunts (the influence of 80s style of Hong Kong action on full display) as well as some really dangerous car stunts and even an unbelieveable mid film helecopter chase and bout (though admittedly, this sequence was a bit more exciting in concept than in execution). Arizal for the most part paces the proceedings well, never allowing it to become tedious and dull. Just when you think the chases may start to become repetitive, a major martial art bought or two is inserted.

As for Chris Mitchum; like his older brother Jim, Chris acclimated himself well to the B-movie action scene of the late 70s and 80s. He's not the iconic actor that dear old dad was, but he really gave it his all in each of his many films and this must have sat well with Arizal as he had young Mitch perform several of his own dangerous stunts like hanging on to the top of a speeding car and shattering through a window bare chested. The exception being when it came to the stunts he simply couldn't physically do (no more hilarious an example than in his first scene where his double had to do a back flip to avoid a bullet). He obviously is not an accomplished martial arts fighter (on screen, anyway), but the various local extras certaintly did their best to make him look convincing. For a ringer, Arizal brought in mega-kicker, Bill "Superfoot" Wallace. A dependable bad guy (one exaggerated sneer from him is all it takes), Wallace was given a lot of respect here by not only out dueling Carver's sifu, but for the most part, Carver as well (their penulimate bout on a train serves as a highlight). Mike Abbott (star of many Joseph Lai/Godfrey Ho films of this period) is effective as the beefy muscle headed co-conspirator. Peter O'Brien is known for playing the lead in Arizal's The Stabilizer as well as Rambu (yes, as in Rambo) in the infamous, The Intruder. Here he is playing of all things, a whimpy bad guy whom Carver eliminates early on. Ida Iasha plays Carver's love interest (she's the one whom the bad guys are after for the all important micro film) and proves to be a good sport as she is kidnapped not once, not twice, but thrice by the baddies! Repeatedly roughed up (including a torture by shaving cream sequence that was alo used in the Hong Kong hit, Tiger on Beat released the same year) and under almost constant threat of violence of some sort, she is perhaps the ultimate damsel in distress character. It reads horribly, but like the rest of the film, is so over the top that it becomes more comical than anything else.

If you're a fan of cheesy over the top 80s style action, then Lethal Hunter is all you could ask for and then some. Highly recommended!

Rating: 8/10

A special thanks to Jack J. and his wonderful blog, Backyard Asia for uploading this trailer:

 

Pendekar Liar

1982

Director: Dasri Yacob

Starring: Willy Dozan (Billy Chong), Winnie Aditya Suherman, Sutrisno Widjaya

 Billy Chong, the kung fu superstar that almost was. I became an instant fan of the Indonesian born actor ever since my first T.V. exposure back in the mid 80s. One of the most accomplished fighters the martial arts film world has ever seen coupled with natural charisma and strong screen presence, I was always curious why his star never rose beyond the also-ran group. Depending on my mood, I might even go so far as to say he is my favorite fighter/actor not named Bruce Lee. Unfortunately until only a few years ago, I had zero knowledge of Billy's post HK work (to the point where I wasn't sure he even had any). That however, didn't disuade me from penning an embarsassingly incomplete article about him in an old issue of Asian Cult Cinema magazine, circa 1999. I have since discovered that the reason (the given reason, anyway) for his abrupt departure was the disappointing commercial failure of the big budgeted, Sun Chung directed epic, 'Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain' (aka A Fistful of Talons). He returned to his home country and did indeed resume a movie and T.V. career there under his birth name, Willy Dozan. 'Pendekar Liar' I believe was the first of them.

For the second time in a row, I'm attempting to critique a film that does not contain English subtitles. The previous blog entry, 'Jiu-Jitu' was relatively easy since the storyline was so simple and straightforward. 'Pendekar Liar' proved to be a tad more difficult. Fortunately, I just recently came upon a plot rundown that I was able to translate into very broken English. Hey, better than nothing...

In the film, Billy plays an orphan named Annga (which somehow translates to "CyberNet"!) who has been raised since birth by an old martial arts expert named Cokro and taught the the martial art, Silat (I think). Time and time again Annga attempts and fails to defeat Cokro (reminicent of the teacher pupil scenes in Drunken Master and Chong's own Crystal Fist). Nevertheless, Annga is sent away (with Cokro's loving daughter in tow) to seek out his mother (it has to do with the necklace he's wearing) and solve the mystery of who killed his father.After many adventures (which allow Chong as many chances to fight as possible, most notably taking on a karate school and their ringer, a nearly indestructible fat woman). Annga discovers that it was Cokro himself who caused his family's death... or so he thinks. Cokro as it turns out, has an identical twin...

I've seen my share of Indonesian action/martial arts films of this vintage and entertaining as they are, the actual fight scenes tend to be below the level of those found in Hong Kong. 'Pendekar Liar' for the most part, bucks that trend with some well above average choreography and this is almost certaintly due it's established star. I'm not certain if Chong's participation extended to choreography but judging the heightened level of combat here, I think it's safe to assume that it did. The fights may not quite be as lightening fast as they were in his Hong Kong pics like 'Super Power', 'Kung Fu From Beyond the Grave', 'A Hard Way to Die' and  the aforementioned 'Fistful of Talons', but they're close. Sure, Billy still appears here as a man amongst boys, but it's clear that his incredible martial abilities rubbed off on the production.

If there was a letdown to be felt, then it was in the finale. Though it does work on a dramatic level regarding the dual identity revelation (if anything, the drama and comedy are both handeled with more subtle flare here than in it's H.K. counterparts), it falls somewhat flat in the action department (the big deal being Billy's newly mastered technique which causes him to give off a strobe effect similar to Bruce Lee's famous arm movments vs Petrov in 'Fist of Fury' or Nemuri's Full Moon Sword stance in the later 'Son of the Black Mass' films). But it became clear that Billy had to ease off against his opponent (picture Jackie Chan having a final confrontation against Yuen Siu Tien's evil twin rather than Hwang Jang Lee for the climax of Drunken Master and you'll get the idea) making it feel less exciting than it might have.

That aside, 'Pendekar Liar' is a great find for we Billy Chong fans among who had precious few H.K. vehicles to choose from. Now I'm off to hunt down the rest of Billy's homegrown product...

Rating: 5/10

Empire on Fire

                                                               1988
                                               Director:Maman Firmansyah
                             Starring: Mike Abbott, Atut Augustinato, Nina Anwar
                                              
                                                         
When it comes to perverse action films, few countries can match Indonesia for sheer outrageousness. This entry, 'Empire on Fire' may not feature as much over the top action and gore as say the Jaka Sembung series, but it makes up for it (depending on your taste, that is) with an eyebrow raising display of sexual violence and general bad behavior.

Once again, The Dutch are the enemy as nasty invader, Bogart (Mike Abbott, who made a career out of playing American bad guys in many Hong Kong movies of the '80s including 'Fatal Termination', 'City Hunter' and 'A Better Tomorrow 2' as well as a fair share of Godfrey Ho cut and paste pics) invading the Indonesian countryside with (oddly) his army of local villains. As per the usual pillaging, they kill all the men and rape the women (as one particular shot so graphically demonstrates, showing one soldier leaving a burning hut while fixing his uniform. The following shot shows a woman stumbling from the hut bleeding down her legs!). It climaxes with the beheading of the local leader in front of his surviving people. After the siege, Bogart claims himself king of the land and sells off the survivors as human slaves (what a guy!). Fast forward a few years and the son and wife of the slain village leader break up one particular slave auction in order to rescue one named Mira. They believe that she is the one who can bring down the evil Bogart (exactly why she is the chosen one is not made clear, to me anyway). To 'train' her for this, she is put through all manner of sexual tortures in order to toughen her up so she can withstand Bogart's violent rape sessions. These include laying her on a red hot slab of rock and then pounding her vagina with a slab of wood until she looses feeling in it (I'm not kidding)! After more plot contrivances including another Dutch General whom Mira has had a previous encounter with and secretly wants to kill even more than Bogart, the nasty baddies all get their comeuppance in appropriately bloody and gory fashion.

As you may ascertain from the above plot rundown, 'Empire on Fire' is not a film that's recommended to children... or adults with scruples for that matter. It's depiction of rape (and the heroine's training to withstand it) is so outrageously matter of fact that my brain eventually became numb to it, much like Mira's vagina (yeah I went there... I don't care anymore). What makes the proceedings even odder is the way everything is portrayed. The action (which includes a fair amount of entertaining martial arts battles) are as gory as one may expect, yet the 'violent rape' sequences (there is no nudity in this film, btw) are portrayed as little more than flowery romantic encounters worthy of a love story!

Though the plot gets overly complicated in the second half with at least a couple of characters too many, 'Empire on Fire' still adds up to bizarre, action filled and head shakingly wrongminded entertainment. When it comes to culture shock for this New Jersey native, Indonesian exploitation films can 'shock' like few others can.

                                                                5/10

Cobra

                                                                1981
                                                 Director: Joseph Velasco
                            Starring: Bruce Lei, Peter Chen Lau, Leong Wong Ko

                                                         
Not only is this curiosity not to be confused with the Stallone movie of the same name, it's also not to be confused as a Bruce Le (as in one 'E', as in Bruce clone) starring vehicle. Though billed as the star of the film and his face plastered all over various posters (the one used here excluded) and vhs boxes, he is nowhere to be found. Apparently, this Indonesia lensed flick decided to use his name purely as a selling point as his films were popular there at the time (can you imagine; a second rate Bruce Lee clone falsely billed in order to lure patrons?!). The actual star is Bruce Lei and no, this isn't the actor who's better known as Dragon Lee. That was a different 'Lei'. I'm not sure who this Bruce Lei is, possibly Steve Lee of the film 'Steel Fisted Dragon'. Maybe, maybe not...

Onto our story: 'Bruce' is the favorite pupil of your typical white beard, kindly old teacher/father figure. He is also in love with the old man's daughter (of course). The old master is killed one night by an unidentified assassin who calls himself, The Cobra . His dying wish is that his daughter and fave pupil forget everything, get married and move away. And believe it or not, that's what they do! They have a kid and 'Bruce' lands a job after unwittingly fending off a few gangsters who were harassing a rival. His job is basically as a collector/enforcer, something he does not enjoy. He let's his boss know he's quitting after one last job (you know exactly where this is heading). The 'job' is botched and the boss sends his goons to kidnap 'Bruce's' wife and child. It goes horribly wrong amd the two are accidentally killed (this scene is one of the more excrutiating ones that I have seen in a kung fu film of this vintage). This sets the tone for the last thirty minutes as an enraged 'Bruce' lays waste to the rheumatism stricken boss and his henchmen (the top assassin turns out to be identical twin brothers leading to the line, "So the two of you were born on the same day and you will die on the same day!"). It ain't over 'till it's over however as at the last instance, The Cobra (whom 'Bruce' and the audience had basically forgotten about) shows up to finish what was started (or something like that), leading to a final freeze framed 'surprise' ending that will cause one to shake their heads in disbelief (if they weren't already doing so, that is).

If the above plot rundown makes this film sound like some careless, convoluted mess, that's because it is. 'Credit' one Joseph Velasco who among many others, directed such no budget wonders as the entertaining 'Ninja Strikes Back' and the notorious 'Clones of Bruce Lee' (both of which DO star Bruce Le). He lends his typical air of incomprehension to this film. Still, this wobbly inducing affair does have a minor cult following and this is mostly due to the gory carnage on display in the last half hour. After a slow, somber buildup, Velasco just seems to say screw it and pile on the martial arts mayhem in earnest. This sudden change in tone only adds to the confusion, but in a so bad, it's good kinda way.

Again, not positive who star Bruce Lei actually is, but he is a decent Lee-alike. Not the best I've seen, but not the worst either and he does display some half decent acting chops to go along with his welcomed  subdued Lee impression. His underplaying of the role actually lends some genuine drama to the proceedings.

As these Bruce Lee clone flicks go, I found Cobra strangely intriguing. It's jarring shifts in tone combined with the gore filled climatic battles and nonsensical final shot (to say nothing of it's score, which at one point incorporates a muzak instrumental version of 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'!) make it ideal viewing for insomniacs everywhere.

                                                                   **1/2 / ****

Bajing Ireng dan Jaka Sembung (The Warrior and the Ninja)

                                                               1985

Director: H Tjut Djalil

Starring: Barry Prima, El Manik, Rita Zahara

Barry Prima was Indonesia's top action star. Throughout the 80s, Prima  (real name Bertus Knoch) starred in a series of very popular low budget action/fantasies that mixed wizards, demons, foreign invaders and a healthy dose of gory, over the top martial arts action (in real life, he was a black belt in Tae Kwan Do). Arguably, his most popular character was that of Jaka Sembung (renamed as simply The Warrior for foreign export), a comic book created freedom fighter of which five films were lensed. Each film's core story involves Jaka Sembung's running battle against evil Dutch invaders and their various attempts to pillage Indonesia's land and it's people. What's a bit of an eyebrow raiser is that in real life, Prima himself is of mixed Dutch ancestory (on his father's side)!

The Warrior and the Ninja is the third of the five films and my favorite of the ones I've seen (I have yet to catch up to the fourth and fifth entries). While it's not quite as epic or gory as the first two; "The Warrior" and "The Warrior and the Blind Swordsman", it has a higher action quota with some long and very entertaning martial arts bouts. This one has our hero costarring with another well known local character, Bajing Ireng (called the Black Squirrel in the dubbed version; she's the Ninja of the film's title). The Black Squirrel is a kind of female Robin Hood/Zorro type character who's exploits initially lead the Dutch colonists to mistake for that of Jaka Sembung. Eventually the two team up to take on the local villians that the Dutch employed. These include an evil witch and a fighter who is eternally sitting in the lotus position. Yes, he fights while in that position, too! During the bloody, action filled climax, the female ninja defeats the witch by literally ripping the skin off of her face! This was one of those "did I just see what I think I saw?" moments that had me hitting the rewind button a couple of times.

A subplot involves a crazed fighter who emerges from a volcano (Sembung's master had previously put him there). His body is now made of molten iron from his imprisonment. In crazed fits, he goes around killing people by hugging them, thus burning them to death. Knowing a good thing when they see it (?) the Dutch enlist this local looney to destroy Sembung. This leads to an intense mid film fight in which Jaka eventually wins by striking the Iron Man so hard that he splinters into a hundred bloody pieces!

As you may have guessed, this is one wild, ridiculous, over the top movie (as are it's prequels). What it lacks in budget (the miniatures used look like toys), it makes up for in it's sheer go for broke attitude. I have not seen any of the comic books that these films are based on, but I imagine that the films try very hard to emulate them visually. Prima is very good and makes for a memorable hero and the film's local setting lends it a particularly exotic feel for us Westerners. Overall, this is great bloody, silly fun that comes highly recommended.

                                                         ***1/2 / ****