My time writing about the movies of David A. Prior is nearly done. With only one more planned review after this one, I thought it proper to write on the film that, after seeing a string of really poor Prior movies, made me want to see more because I liked it so much. Actually, I liked `White Fury' enough to see it a second time; quite a rare thing for me. It's not a film that the majority of people are going to enjoy. It's budget, like all of Prior's AIP films, is incredibly low. There are no A-list or even B-list actors in it. And the plot is nothing special. Yet I found it to be a special movie. I found myself strangely engrossed by what was unfolding onscreen, regardless of its flaws.
The film is about two snowboarders that bring their girlfriends to a cabin in the mountains for a weekend of fun and relaxation. However, two murderous thieves that have been on a bank robbing spree are fleeing from authorities, and they stumble upon the cabin not long after the kids arrive. They hold them hostage until they can decide on a way of escaping. What they don't count on is Martin Towers, a Southern bounty hunter that has been trailing the crooks for awhile now. He figures out where they are and shows up to disrupt their plans. The kids also snatch the bank money and hide it. That's when we get a series of chases and shootouts both in the cabin and on the snowy mountain.
I think that Prior did a splendid job here considering his budget. The villains are both realistic and scary, especially the lead villain. Prior used one of his regulars for the main kid: Sean Holton, who also often doubles as Prior's weapons and special effects man. Most surprising of all is Prior's choice for Towers. Douglas Harter is another Prior regular that often gets a small supporting role and provides food for the cast and crew (craft service). He is great as Martin Towers; his gruff look is just perfect for a grizzled old guy. He adds in elements to the film that aren't usually present, like the conversations he has with the police, the snowmobile dealer, and Holton. Even at the end there is a nice touch, with Towers in his van, watching Holton snowboard from a distance. Though there is no dialogue in that scene, the actors' still manage to give visual exchanges that work just right. Of course, Prior and John Cianetti (yet another regular) also get credit for a good script. Prior even gives us some good action scenes, like the fistfight in the cabin and a chase down the mountain with snowboards and snowmobiles. That isn't saying everything is done right, as some little nitpicks spoil a perfect score. This is frustrating because they are things that could have been avoided: Holton's snowboarding stunt double has to hide his face with a scarf and glasses, but when Holton appears, he isn't wearing these things; Holton never seen reloading the gun that he has fired multiple times; characters appearing at the bottom of a hill where they couldn't have gotten to in the amount of time given.
The neat thing about writing little reviews for these small movies as compared to the big movies is that people that have worked on some of these movies have read my reviews and e-mailed me. Sometimes they don't like what I wrote, other times they are thankful anyone said anything good about them at all. I hope someday someone involved with this film stumbles across this review just so that they know someone enjoyed it twice. And I hope that Douglas Harter is one of them (I forgive you for `Maximum Breakout,' Doug). Upon seeing so many AIP films and seeing his name and face so many times, I have been the person that added most of his credits to this site. Thanks for the fun, Doug. Zantara's score: 8 out of 10.
