Raw Force released on Blu-Ray on October 7 From Vinegar Syndrome.
Raw Force is a wacky tour de–, er, that is, a goofy exploitation flick that literally tries to hit all the fads and target markets of the genre cinema of its era. Kung fu films and zombie flicks were charting well at the time, and writer-director Ed Murphy (not that Eddie Murphy) was literally tasked with writing a script that would mash those elements together.
Enter Warrior’s Island: In earlier days, it was a tournament isle which became the final resting place of many of the Orient’s greatest martial arts masters, killed in ritual combat. That era has passed, but the island is now home to a hidden sect of monks, led by Filipino exploitation staple Vic Diaz — and they’re not the sort of monks who are on any kind of path to spiritual enlightenment.
We meet the monks as they purchase a number of pretty girls from a motley gang of human traffickers led by a twitchy Adolf Hitler (OK, probably not actually Hitler but definitely a hilarious lookalike). Payment is made — jade for flesh — and the girls are caged. I quickly assumed this was some kind of bizarre sex trafficking operation, but nope — these monks are hungry, not horny.
Meanwhile, a group of American tourists, including a martial arts club, embark on a pleasure cruise with Warrior’s Island set for their last stop. The ship is run by a skeleton crew: the ship’s shrill, penny-pinching female owner, the harried captain who can’t stand her (there’s actually a rom-com element at play with these two), and a Bruce Lee clone who seems to do all the actual work.
As the guests party down (cue gratuitous debauchery), their ship is waylaid by Hitler’s pirate gang, and a only small group of them escape with their lives. Their raft finally comes to rest on the shores of Warrior’s Island, where they find they are not welcome guests, first encountering Hitler and his pals in a big graveyard battle, and then the menacing island monks. Escape seems impossible, what with the ravenous saltwater piranhas.
So far on the checklist that’s… a Hitler lookalike, human traffickers, women in cages, cannibal monks, rom-com, Brucesploitation, a karate club, gratuitous debauchery, pirates, a shipwreck, and piranhas. Well, I guess all that’s missing is kung fu zombies!
There are also kung fu zombies.
In addition to being cannibals, those wacky monks are also necromancers who can raise the dead, in this case the island’s many fallen warriors.
Raw Force is an absurd and often funny movie, and I really have no idea how much of it is winkingly intentional and how much is just incidental. There’s a good amount of martial arts action, but it’s more silly than impressive. There’s a lot of that vibe in general, as well as a lot of the aforementioned T&A. That last one actually kinda bums me out because without the gratuitous nudity, this would be the ultimate action movie for the under-10 crowd. It’s everything a kid could want.
While Raw Force is an incredibly zany and action-packed ride, it’s still pretty amateurish and wooden. There’s a lot of novelty in mashing up all these different plot elements, but even so it’s a weak narrative and not especially well-executed. Despite being packed with “stuff”, it never quite turns the dial to 11 or expresses the kind of pure, vibrant creative energy that the best exploitation classics do. But it’s still a great time at the movies and fans of exploitation cinema will certainly enjoy it.
The Package
Raw Force was released on Blu-Ray last month by Vinegar Syndrome.
I was pretty impressed by how good the picture looks. They must have put some effort into this 2K restoration, for a forgotten grindhouse film like this to look so pristine after thirty years.
Special Features and Extras
Destination: Warrior’s Island (14:32)
Short, interview-based making-of documentary produced by film aficionado Elijah Drenner which covers the mash-up of genres, and the lure of making films in the Philippines
Interview With Jim Wynorski (5:04)
Audio-only interview with prolific exploitation producer/director Jim Wynorski
Theatrical Trailer (2:17)
A/V Out.
Get it at Amazon:
Raw Force [Blu-Ray]