The Peace Killers

A young woman (Jess Walton), who is the former "old lady" of the vicious leader of a motorcycle gang, is living in a rural hippie commune with her brother (Michael Ontkean) when she is spotted by several members of her former gang. The bike gang ("Death Row") shows up at the commune, "crucifies" the pacifist leader of the group on a peace symbol (some heavy symbolish here), and takes off with the girl, planning to "teach her a lesson" by gang-raping her. She escapes again with the help of a bizarre interracial rival biker gang, which is led by a black woman(!). They return her to the commune with the "Death Row" gang hot on their trail, and the brother tries to convince the pacifist leader to fight back this time.

This biker vs. hippie movie is no masterpiece, but it's surprisingly entertaining. Whatever message it is making about violence and pacifism seems a little confused, but I still find movies like this vastly preferable to the mindless, simplistic movies that have dominated the action/revenge genre since the era of Reagan and "Rambo". In real life, of course, the bikers actually got on pretty well with the hippies, despite their diametrically opposed politics and attitudes towards women, mostly due to their mutual interest in drugs (which said a lot about the priorities of the hippie movement). It's also a little hard to believe anyone still regarded hippies as naive, gentle pacifists after the Manson Family murders.

The lead actress Jess Walton is absolutely beautiful (and has nude scenes). She kind of reminds me of British actress/singer Jane Birkin. This is her only major movie, but she would go on to a long television career. The director Douglas Scwartz would also go to a long television, uh, career (he later created "Baywatch"--oh, the horror, the horror!). Michael Ontkean though is the most recognizable talent having appeared in both famous movies ("Slapshot") and TV series ("Twin Peaks"). This is definitely worth a look.

What more could you ask for in a biker flick? The Peace Killers features hairy hippies, Jesus freaks, pot smoking pill popping baddies, gratuitous psychobabble, a fuzztone driven score...everything adds up to one of the best (and least known) entries in this entertaining genre. Directed by future Baywatch creator Doug Schwartz, the film features an attractive lead in fresh-faced Jess Walton, who plays ex-motorcycle mama Kristy. She's being pursued by her former paramour Rebel (Clint Ritchie, who looks like a gone to seed James Brolin), a biker with a HUGE stars and bars flag flying from the back of his hog. This is a very violent film--the pencil skewering scene is unpleasant, and a rape sequence early on quite nasty--but a well made one, with good location photography by the director. (Incidentally, I think the Topanga gas station in this film is the same one utilized in Ray Dennis Steckler's The Thrill Killers--but I may be mistaken.) Add in some great folk-pop numbers from singer Ruthann Friedman and an unforgettable crucifixion scene, and you have a real winner! Side note: future Terrence Mallick cinematographer and husband of Sissy Spacek, Jack Fisk, was the gaffer on this film.

The film begins with an attractive young woman named "Kristen" (Jess Walton) walking into a small convenience store along the highway with her brother "Jeff" (Michael Ontkean). After buying some groceries Jeff notices a couple of bikers ride up and immediately realizes that they are from a motorcycle gang known as "Death Row" which Kristen ran away from months before. Realizing the danger she is in he advises to sneak out the side door so that he can pick her up in their van and drive off before they recognize her. Unfortunately, it doesn't work and the bikers then go to inform their leader "Rebel" (Clint Richie) that she is in the area. From that point on he makes it a priority to find her for the sole purpose of having her gang raped as a lesson to others who desert Death Row. Meanwhile, Kristen and Jeff return to their hippy commune and inform their charismatic leader "Alex" (Paul Prokop) of the danger only to be told that if the bikers show up he will resolve the situation by reasoning with them. Now rather than revealing any more I will just say that this was an okay biker film which makes up for its low-budget limitations by providing enough suspense to keep things interesting. Admittedly, some of the stereotypes were a bit exaggerated but all things considered I thought it was a solid picture for the most part and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Average.

It's not Easy Rider, but it's an excellent example of a late 60s/early 70s youth culture drive-in movie experience. Terrifying and disturbing with a message of peace that makes the violence even more distressing. The conflict between a life of mindless violence and a life of intellectual peace is not wasted in a thin story. There is a thoughtful intent in the script and the film's direction. The fight scenes were a bit soft, but pacifists don't have that much butt-kicking training. The uses of original songs to convey the inner life or lack of an inner life of certain characters seems corny by today's standards, but the songs themselves are nice. For what it is, it's well done.

Every now and then one must set aside the horror and Kung Fu in order to watch a little sleazy Bikersploitation and, to my surprise, Comcast's Action On Demand channel 'Impact' not only offered this film but featured it in HD! It still looked crap. That's not the point though, right? What we want from a film called The Peace Killers is a violent, sleazy biker flick and that's just what we get here. Mixing equal parts Hicksploitation and Blaxploitation, "Thunder in Paradise" and "Baywatch" creator Douglas Schwartz created a nasty little steamer of a film worth checking out, if you're a fan of exploitation.

The Peace Killers isn't a great film by any means; the acting was acceptable for low budget acting, the fight sequences were poorly choreographed and the deaths were completely unconvincing. In other words, it's the type of exploitation we've all come to know and love with just the right amount of nudity, rape and hot hippie ass to keep viewer's from setting down the remote and walking away or turning the channel. While all of this may sound negative, it isn't. I found myself slightly entertained despite this film's shortcomings. I can't recommend this film to those unfamiliar with Bikersploitation, or exploitation in general, but those "in the know" will probably want to check it out. Cowboy's crazy eye commands you!