Friday, January 10, 2025

Death Force (1978)

A basic tale of revenge but with some interesting twists and some blaxploitation cool.

Doug (James Inglehart) is heading back to the US from a stint in Vietnam, though with his buddies Morelli (Carmen Argenziano) and McGee (Leon Isaac Kennedy) he has a sideline in crime. There is no honour amongst thieves though as Morelli and McGee cut Doug's throat and dump him in the waters around the Philippines. Morelli and McGee return to LA and begin a reign of terror as they take over crime in the city. McGee also tries to get in with Doug's wife (Jayne Kennedy)...

Doug though isn't dead, He is found washed ashore by two Japanese soldiers (Joe Mari Avellana and Joonee Gamboa) who don't know the war is over! They teach Doug in the ways of the Samurai, he uses these skills when he finally does return to LA and begins to take revenge...

A surprisingly good film even though the plot is fairly basic and the story sometimes doesn't really make a lot of sense. The Japanese veterans and the criminal double crossing adds some novelty, the violence is frequent and brutal.