When it comes to film criticism, we are of the mind that not all movies have to be great, but they should never be boring. No matter what genre, but in genre film, the expectations are reasonably high that at the very least you’ll leave the film feeling entertained. Even if the dialogue is flat, the budget is low, or the sound mix is off, these things can be looked past if the viewer feels like they got something they haven’t seen before or had a lot of fun watching it. Warts and all. To be sure, everyone has a different threshold and we aren’t in the business of telling people their taste, but when it comes to low-budget cinema we often feel the need to defend the ambition more than the output. Ambition is what Visual Vengeance is known for, and it’s on full display with their recent release of the 1984 martial arts fantasy/adventure, Furious.

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

Simon, a fierce Kung Fu master, ventures into the city's gritty underbelly for answers to his sister's death. There, a cunning spiritual master deceives him, plotting to snatch his piece of an ancient amulet he shared with her. Unraveling the scheme, Simon plunges fists and feet first into a bone-crushing battle for the fate of the world against an alien army of karate wizards, dragons, a new-wave clone band, talking pigs, and mystical chickens!

HOW IS IT?

The names Simon Rhee and Philip Rhee may not immediately ring bells for the average viewer, but the two South Korean martial arts actors have appeared in some of the most iconic genre films such as the “Best of the Best” series and more recent films and TV shows such as “MaXXXine” and “Fear the Walking Dead.” Before that, the two appeared in “Furious,” co-written and co-directed by Tim Everitt and Tom Sartori on a shoestring budget with high ambition and concepts. This kind of mixture is a Visual Vengeance specialty, and this is a perfect addition to their catalog of low-budget genre fare that has ideas far exceeding the funds to make them happen but still delivers enough passion to make them endearing. “Furious” may not be the most polished production, but you won’t care when you’re engulfed in great fight choreography and an abundance of live chickens, so many chickens.

The story is thin, and if we’re being honest if had we not read the synopsis on the back of the cover we would be a lot more confused about what the movie is about. In short, Simon is on a mission to understand why his sister died and retrieve the other half of an amulet they both carried with them. As Simon (Simon Rhee) plunges further into his search, he becomes the target of betrayal by Master Chan (Philip Rhee) and also an army of henchmen from martial artists to a new-wave punk band. It’s as ridiculous as it sounds, and we haven’t even got to the talking pig exposition scene which according to Everitt was included to help clarify what was going on. If you’re looking for high art, you won’t find it here, but what you will find are some impressive fight scenes that showcase the early years of two martial artist actors who would go on to do bigger and better things, but as always, never forget where you came from.

Part of the allure of a film like “Furious” is that it is made by people who have big ideas and need to bootstrap their way to make them a reality. In “Furious,” things like an extremely quiet backing score and the lack of proper foley artists and sound effects remove some of the artificial crunching and punching noises we are accustomed to. This simplicity also applies to the martial arts style, which is more grounded and less fantastical than what came out of the Shaw Brothers' films and the midpoint of the wuxia films that became popular in the 1960s up until the 2000s. While the fight choreography is more realistic, there are some scenes in “Furious” that will have you doing a double take, like a restaurant hallucination scene where Simon looks upon his plate to see two roasted chickens that he images are human heads thus leading to him freaking out and flipping the table over. Not to mention, in the third act when a bunch of young adolescent karate kids are used as a distraction to fight adult bodyguards so Simon can enter Master Chan’s headquarters. It’s the kind of thing you’re either going to love or hate, but for those in the former camp, it is a perfect “Beer (or Weed) and Pizza” movie to watch with friends and have a ton of fun with, talking pig and all.

HOW DOES IT LOOK?

Visual Vengeance often specializes in SOV films where the only sources are often master tapes that bear the burden of an inferior format that is hard to optimize. “Furious” carries this tradition forward, however, in the special features Tim Everitt mentions that they shot this on film and only had 90 minutes of stock to use, which eventually would be cut down to 73 minutes. It’s unclear if the original film negatives are still around, but it stands to reason that the SD master from the original tape elements referenced for this release may not be the OCN. Regardless, this is Visual Vengeance so picture quality is a rarity but we get it in 1080p regardless maintaining the original fullscreen aspect ratio of 1.33:1. Images from this release are used throughout this review.

HOW DOES IT SOUND?

The stereo sound mix included, along with English subtitles, is a strange one as it has some very odd balancing. For example, the backing score, a mix of epic classical music, is very faint and can only be heard softly throughout alongside an almost eerie lack of sound effects. Some of this is on account of the filmmakers having to make cuts due to budget, hence why the punches often sound like taps and don’t pack the wallop you’d expect. The dialogue is clear, although there is not a lot of speaking throughout, and while it’s not perfect it is somehow fitting for the aesthetic.

ANYTHING SPECIAL?

As always, Visual Vengeance rolls out the red-carpet experience for these releases and packs them full of old and new material to gain further insight as to how films like these get made, and who are the people behind them. There is a ton of material on here, and the first feature we started with was a 53-minute interview with co-writer/co-director Tim Everitt titled, The Kung Fu Kid. This single-camera interview is extensive, and there is a companion one that is just as long with Tom Sartori as well and covers in detail the process of getting “Furious” made. The two filmmakers met at USC and were part of a group of filmmakers known as “the greasers,” who would eventually go into making more independent fare as opposed to some of their studio-going peers, largely because of their love of genre film. Everitt notes that when he and Sartori were thinking of a film to make they spoke with a distributor to ask what films were selling, and at the time martial arts films were on the rise and easy to sell. Everitt also mentions that had they made this just a few years earlier, it probably would’ve been a slasher film as those were all the rage, but in decline around the time of production. One of the most admirable things Everitt comments on is their conscious decision to pay everyone on the set, even if it wasn’t much. Paraphrasing Everitt, “You get what you pay for,” and the shared belief between him and Sartori was that paying people ensured that people delivered their best work even if it was only $100 for the day. On the topic of the abundance of chickens, hilariously they had so many of these extra chickens around just for one scene they felt compelled to use them more than once as they had so many and knew they were heading for slaughter after shooting.

The other feature we reviewed is the kind we love to see, a video essay from Justin Decloux giving a 10-minute Rhee Brothers Career Overview. While short, there is a lot of information here that Decloux delivers poignantly about the brothers being born in South Korea, moving to Taiwan to hone their martial arts skills, and eventually making the jump to the US to try their hand at starring in films here. One of their big breaks was “Bruce Lee Fights Back From the Grave,” perhaps a film we will see in Volume 2 of Severin’s “Enter the Clones of Bruce” yet to be announced set. From there, Decloux reflects on how the brothers got their biggest early career break in the “Best of the Best” series which led to a split in their career directions. Philip went on to act and eventually direct a film in the series, while Simon went on to do more utility stunt and choreography work while Philip remained more behind the camera moving forward. Delcoux notes that Simon didn’t have a signature style like Jet Li or Donnie Yen, but his workman-like approach to stunt work kept him active in the industry since, and his IMDB page is a testament to just how many films he has worked on.

Special Features

Region Free Blu-ray
New SD master from original tape elements
Archival commentary with co-director Tim Everitt
Commentary with Justin Decloux of The Important Cinema Club and Peter Kuplowsky of the Toronto International Film Festival
High Kicking In Hollywood: Co-director Tom Sartori Interview
The Kung Fu Kid: Co-director Tim Everitt Interview
North American No-Budget Martial Arts Cinema Primer - Justin Decloux Video Essay
Rhee Brothers Career Overview - Justin Decloux Video Essay
Archival Scarecrow Video Podcast with Tim Everitt (2013)
Furious New Wave Band - Behind The Scenes Super 8 Footage
Scorched Earth Policy: Full Six Song EP (1987)
Cinema Face: Live in Concert (1986)
Tom Sartori 1980s Music Video Reel
Tom Sartori Super 8 Short Films Reel
Original Trailers
Visual Vengeance Trailer
Limited Edition Slipcase by The Dude - FIRST PRESSING ONLY
Limited Edition Throwing Star Key Tag - FIRST PRESSING ONLY
Reversible Sleeve Featuring Original VHS Art
Folded mini-poster reproduction of original Furious one-sheet
2-sided insert with alternate art
'Stick Your Own' VHS Sticker Set
Optional English subtitles

LAST RITES

“Furious” is schlocky martial arts fare that is audacious and fun, even if it is rough around the edges. Fans of over-the-top, well-choreographed, and overly silly martial arts films are in for a real treat and the team at Visual Vengeance, as usual, gives this a release that honors and respects the craft and effort that went into making this one-of-a-kind film.

THE GORY DETAILS

Thank you to the fine fiends at MVD Entertainment for providing a review copy for the crypt! Dinosaur Valley Girls is available now and can be purchased via MVD DIRECT!

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Nov 4, 2020

Matthew Orozco