![]() Steve’s dad invested in the film to get the ball rolling. Prior to write the script that would give the maximum action for a tight budget. Steve talks about his frustrating initial attempts to write action films. Many of their titles haven’t been upgraded from VHS until now. They go into how the film started Action International Pictures. The Making of Kill Zone (37:52) has Steve Latshaw interviewing co-writer and producer Jack Marino. He mentions how he never bounced a check and made sure his cast and crew were fed during production. We learn that David wrote a part for his brother Ted. He brings up how one of the actors won an Oscar 13 years later. He gets into how First Blood inspired him while he didn’t copy the movie’s plot. Marino gets in what it took to make a low budget action film for the straight to VHS market. The film is subtitled.Īudio Commentary with co-writer/producer Jack Marino and Cereal at Midnight’s Heath Holland. The track lets you hear the jungle noises and the bullets fly. There are a few brief color shifting issues, but nothing to ruin the experience. This is a serious upgrade with the transfer taken off the 35mm Interpositive. ![]() Kill Zone is as entertaining now as when the party pal rented the VHS in summer of 1985 to watch at home. They even bring in a helicopter for the finale. The effects are topic notch for a low budget production. Fritz Matthews gets into the crazy as his solider can’t take the torture anymore. David Campbell is a brute as the traitor colonel who is out to destroy his own men. The cast is intense as the crucible of the POW camp explodes. Part of the credit for the film’s ability to keep things pumping belongs to the Vic Alexander who shot and edited the movie. Kill Zone is a film that delivers in both action level with the combat battles and the unexpected turn of events. ![]() I’ve seen films made at this level that are dead boring and come off as a bad film school student’s project. Prior, cast and crew nailed it the first time. ![]() The thing is there’s no need for a remake since David A. I’m surprised that a big Hollywood studio didn’t try to remake the movie for Arnold, Sly, Bruce or Chuck. Prior and producer Jack Marino keeps Kill Zone from being a formulaic ’80s Vietnam POW movie. I don’t want to give away anymore of the plot because it works like a Twilight Zone episode. One night he and Mitchell make an escape and we discover the true nature of the POW camp. He doesn’t care who gets tossed into the hot box. He’s part of the interrogation process for the troops kept in the barbed wire pen. Turns out the cigar chomping Colonel is working with the Viet Cong. The arrival of Colonel Crawford ( Deadly Prey‘s David Campbell) makes things feel bleaker. McKenna had already survived a tour of duty and wants to get home to his wife and daughter. Jason McKenna ( Killer Workout‘s Fritz Matthews) and Mitchell ( Day of the Warrior‘s Ted Prior) give each other hope in the middle of despair. ![]() Major Ling ( Surf Nazi’s Must Die‘s Dennis Phun) is ruthless as he tortures the American soldiers in the hot sun. It’s a cruel place of plywood, stakes and barbed wire. Eventually they are caught and marched to a nearby makeshift prison camp. Kill Zone must have been so popular in the ’80s with the trio of Fritz Matthews, Ted Prior and David Campbell giving an adrenaline pumping story that comes up with an unusual twist of First Blood, The Deer Hunter and Missing In Action.Ī group of soldiers are lost in the jungle and battling Vietcong troops. These were people who dropped by the Videorama looking for a movie that pairs well with what they picked up at Party Beverage. They knew there was a certain brand of action fans that wanted to watch films with refreshments not sold at the concession stands. This quartet weren’t alone as other actors and producers saw the viewers eager for massive blasts and stunning fights who didn’t want to near theaters. Arnold, Bruce, Chuck and Sly were the Mount Rushmore of action superstars as they churned out high wattage films when they weren’t opening another Planet Hollywood. The ’80s cineplexes saw the rise of the tough guy. ![]()
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