Born Killer

My review was written in May 1990 after watching the movie on AIP video cassette.

Action International regulars team up for the enjoyable and farfetched survival pic "Born Killer, a direct-to-video release.

Fritz Matthews plays a war vet out with his practical-joking buddies for weekend war games. They team up with a bunch of pretty women, led by Francine Lapensee, for a coed game.

Coincidentally, Ted Prior (who co-scripted with his brother, David) is a con escaped from a chain gang who terrorizes the gamesters. Making the film work (and paradoxically, hard to believe) is the round-robin contrivance of the authorities hunting down both Prior's bunch and the young survivalists.

This makes for some fun in mistaken identities as the war games turn real. Prior and Matthews are good adversaries, culminating in some man a mano action. An irony is that Matthew, the good guy, has the "Born to Kill" tattoo, not prior, the sadistic killer.

Western star Ty Hardin has an interesting character role as the evil sheriff. A clever switch has the townsfolk forming a mob to prevent the sheriff from lynching the kids, the opposite of a traditional actioner.

In her debut as director after production experience, Kimberley Casey shows some prowess with both actors and action.