New 2-disc DVD edition from BCI/Deimos
Savage Streets, Danny Steinmann , USA, 1984.
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It’s a testament to the growing popularity of the exploitation genre that films like Savage Streets can be released on DVD in deluxe two disc special editions. That viewers have the opportunity to see such trash treasures at all is fortunate, but the job BCI/Deimos did on this one was really above and beyond. I never dreamed when I first picked up a second hand rental VHS of this movie ten years ago that I would one day be seeing it in anamorphic widescreen. Yet I can now confirm its existence, having held the disc in my sweaty palm and viewed it in all its majestic glory. The story concerns Brenda (Linda Blair), a high school girl who likes to get together with her friends, dress up like skanky extras from early Madonna videos, and hang around on Sunset Blvd. When a gang of psychotic ruffians called the Scars erroneously assume that the girls are a bunch of hos, trouble ensues. Soon the girls have pulled a prank on the thugs which turns them into the object of a series of increasingly violent attacks. It doesn’t take long for Brenda to be pushed too far, and before you can say “we’re gonna need a montage,” she has donned a patent leather jumpsuit and headed into the warehouse district with an arsenal of hunting supplies to exact her revenge. Sa vage Streets is the kind of film that could only be made in the early 1980s. While modern day filmmakers like Tarantino and Rodriguez may be able to capture the overall look and vibe of the grindhouse era, they simply will never be able to get away with this much sleaze and depravity. The new transfer only brings the film’s excess further to the surface, highlighting all the violence and camp dialogue in bursting color and crisp sound, without sacrificing any of the grit that makes you feel like you are watching it onscreen at the drive-in or a dimly lit 42nd street theater. SPOILER CITY: Once you strap in for the ride, Savage Streets does not let you go until it has had its way with you. Nothing is off limits in this film. Underage deaf girl being brutally gang raped? Check. Pregnant girl being murdered on her wedding day? Check. Awful 80s power metal soundtrack? Check. Linda Blair’s titties floating in the tub as she takes long drags on a cigarette? Double check. As the controversial “rape revenge” subgenre goes, Savage Streets is surely in the top 5. Blair brings a contagious vigor to her role, and the film manages to satisfy the pervy male viewer while still presenting an overwhelmingly negative view of sexual violence. It also tries to bring some dimension to its villains, with possibly too much screen time being spent outlining the moral struggles of a new gang initiate (played by Johnny Venocur in an outrageous display of method acting topped only by his insane interview segment). As mentioned before, the dialogue should please anyone with an appreciation for camp humor, and the payback sequence at the end hits all the right vicarious buttons. In addition to being a Linda Blair vehicle, Savage Streets was also one of the earliest roles for future scream queen/bondage starlet Linnea Quigley. As Brenda’s deaf mute little sister, Quigely does an impressive job with what was undoubtedly a thankless role. While many sequences in the film are too silly to take seriously, the actual rape scene is difficult to watch despite the over-the-top performances of the male actors. Also disturbing is the bonus interview, where it is revealed that she was actually quite uncomfortable during the filming, as the gang remained “in character” and there were numerous crewmembers hanging around the set. Savage Streets is unquestionably a bad movie, but it’s an extremely entertaining one for any lover of gritty violence, 80s action, exploitation, catfights, boobs, or ham-fisted girl power manifestos. Having both Linda and Linnea involved surely helped raise the film’s profile (although I would have loved to see the role of Brenda played by Cherie Currie of the Runaways, who was originally slated to star according to the Quigley interview). The DVD package contains lovingly reproduced artwork from the various releases of the film, and is a great value for the money. Blair is especially enthusiastic during her interview segment, and it’s nice to see that she doesn’t regard this phase of her career as a misstep. Hopefully Deimos can continue to give more 80s exploitation treasures the deluxe treatment; it would be great to watch this back to back with a collector’s edition of Chained Heat someday. Choice dialogue:
Brenda: Too bad you're not double-jointed. Reviewed by Ryan O. |
