How's this for ya. Norris, McQueen, Swayze and Drago. But it's not who you would think... or even dream of. So If you cannot get the headlining stars. Do the next best thing. Get their lesser talented family. And sell the film that way. You're not lying plastering their surnames across the poster. At least you got Billy Drago. Disappointedly though, looks like Frank Stallone and Joe Estevez weren't available.
An ex-solider (Mike Norris) along with his girl, are kidnapped after the attention he receives of winning a survival of the fittest contest. Soon he finds out he has been chosen as the next target for a life and death manhunt on a millionaires (Billy Drago) island. While his best mate (Chad McQueen) is doing everything possible to find out who kidnapped him.
'Death Ring' is a straight-to-video, b-action staple of little imagination and probably looked much wilder on paper than what entirely transpired. Still there's a clunkiness to its story progression, and along with certain performances sorta carry it through. The premise treads a familiar path of the most dangerous game formula. And it's not particularly a thrilling exercise, as it's very slow to get going, especially when it came to the island manhunt. Everything picks up in the last half-hour, where it comes into its own. Even though it's low-rent action. Throw in some dodgy booby traps, sloppy one-one-one combat, daring helicopter rescue and a head decapitation. It gets better as it goes along.
Luckily Drago effortlessly chews it up whenever on screen and runs rings around everyone else. His interaction with Branscombe Richmond (who's sorely underused) is a vicious exchange. Was probably the best moment within the stodgy first hour. While Don Swayze is credited, he comes on late and doesn't get up to much. As he sorta tags along, while Norris goes to town. Norris gets a couple decent encounters especially with Donegan Smith (the most memorable of the hunters). Another cameo was Dennis Lipscomb, as a satanist leader. Quick, but devilishly amusing walk-on scene mainly involving the sub-plot of McQueen's character.
An okay watch, but I wish it didn't hold back. In the end I'll rather re-watch Avenging Force, or Hard Target, and Surviving the Game. Even Deadly Prey did it better.
