OK, OK, I know this is an unusual choice for this blog, if anybody reading this has even heard of this flick. Released in a pocket of extreme obscurity on VHS in the 80's, Furious has recently become a minor cult phenomenon, and not just because there are plenty of 18-34 demo fools like myself willing to give any obscure genre flick from the 70's and 80's a shot. It's a life-changing experience, a singular cinematic entity that blows open the Martial Arts genre into stunningly bizarre new possibilities, and it was made on a budget that wouldn't even fund the afterparty of a Hollywood premiere. The filmmakers had a small budget to start with and originally wanted to make a slasher movie, but their distributor said that he could move Kung Fu flicks by the pound. What followed was sheer and glorious lunacy, the kind of unabashed shoestring ingenuity I can only dream about. I'm certainly not the first person to sing its jawdroppedness: Trash Nite and Bleeding Skull have good reviews and I couldn't add any substance to them even if I tried. For those who don't like clicking links, here's a taste: alien warlocks who can shoot chickens from their fingers. Comedic post-punk rock band interjections during a crisis situation. Flaming skeletons. The most impressive helicopter photography you'd never expect in a movie this small-time. The list goes on, but I don't want to spoil the flick for you.
The real ace up my sleeve is two-fold. One, a story. The film's co-director, Tim Everitt, actually lives near Seattle, and some enterprising young gentlemen connected to the great Scarecrow Video tracked him down. I attended a packed screening of Furious (though sadly not from an original tape) in Scarecrow's event room and promptly had my pants blown off, along with everybody else in the room. Everitt was kind enough to answer questions afterwards, and it turns out he's a pretty normal guy who made a career as a visual effects supervisor in Hollywood for some time. I snagged a poster for the screening and got his signature, probably making me the only man alive who has a Furious poster signed by the director. Look!
On a less cripplingly nerdy note, the second fold is much more valuable: I found the flick on YouTube. A channel I've never heard of before uploaded the movie two months ago this very day, making him a national hero if I ever saw one. The gab must cease, and you must watch. Drop whatever you're doing, even if it's CPR - you've got 71 minutes to witness a great and beautiful madness.
~PNK
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