Delirium

There's not much to recommend about this Video Nasty except for the storyline, the premise of which should have resulted in a much better movie, and the acting, though they are wasted in this travesty.

This is the story of a secret society sick with the depravity on the streets of their neighbourhood so they hire a Vietnam Veteran to help clean up their streets... the trouble is he's suffering from shell-shock and starts to any and everyone.

This in itself could have given the audience a bloodfest to remember. However, the director, Peter Maris, opts for a slow pace. Which might have worked well to build tension if there had been a torture scene, which there isn't (another missed opportunity), but hinders the film since it's used throughout its runtime. The slowness of the film is made up of boring and pointless scenes that, though, well acted (compared to everything else), are badly directed. There needed to be more action sequences especially concerning the Vet's breakdown.

There're too many flashbacks to Vietnam. The director is so lazy he just cut in loads of stock footage; this adds to the lackadaisical feel of the direction and hinders the film and frustrates the viewer.

I would only recommend this to anyone who is watching the video nasty list to see why some of the listed films were banned (this one was banned because they thought some people may be prone to copy the actions of the Vet). However, be prepared to keep hitting the rewind button every time you wake up because this film has the power to induce sleep.

"Delirium" is a strange hybrid of slasher flick,political conspiracy,right-wing revenge film,cop thriller and post-Vietnam trauma.There is a serial killer on the loose named Charlie.He stabs to death or drowns attractive young women until he's surprised in a house by a returning husband and is shot by the wife.His Vietnam flashbacks ala "Combat Shock" are gloriously cheap.There is also an underground right-wing group who employ old army guys as vigilantes to kill various rapists and murderers."Delirium" was classified as an infamous video nasty in UK.There is a bit of sleaze and violence,but the film is relatively tame and bloodless.If you liked "Maniac" or "Lady Stay Dead" give it a try.6 out of 10.

Cops vs ex-military vigilantes who enlist the services of a Viet Nam vet who runs amok. Very pedestrian all around. Minimal blood, and the violent encounters are filmed as clumsily and distactingly unconvincing as anything I've seen in such cheapos. Least nasty of the infamous Video Nasties I've seen. That it ended up banned in Britain is a testament to overwrought censorship run amok.

Delirium starts off with an impotent Vietnam veteran called Charlie going on a murder spree, killing mainly young women. Just to keep the viewer interested two victims happen to be naked. But then the plot goes from horror/slasher to a thriller about a secret group of businessmen who carry out vigilante murders. Charlie had been part of this group but has gone off the rails. The police investigation takes up much of the running time and it does slow the movie down quite a lot, not helped by having a cast of mainly bad actors. The movie features a number of Vietnam flashbacks, they are ether obviously not filmed in Asia or stock footage is used. Combat Shock (1984) meets a gone wrong The Exterminator (1980). The body count is sufficient, some of the kills are fairly brutal but none are exceptionally gory. Delirium found itself banned in the UK as a Video Nasty, thankfully it is now available uncut and on Blu-ray. I would have rated it 5/10 but have scored it an extra point due to the inclusion of a track called Approaching Menace on the soundtrack, viewers in the UK should instantly recognise it as the theme tune to BBC's quiz show "Mastermind". I found this rather amusing. Shot on 16mm but blown up to 35mm Delirium is a low budget trash movie, if that's your thing or if you are interested in Video Nasties then I would recommend it, otherwise give it a miss.

A disturbed former soldier named Charlie is used as a tool to take care of corruption and he snaps and ends up killing anyone in sight, especially pretty women who threaten him.

Even with a shorter runtime, it's hard to recommend Delirium to anyone besides those with a morbid curiosity for bad movies. Everything about it feels amateur which could be forgiven if the script were any better, but there's no one to pull for and the attack/kill scenes are more unpleasant than scary or suspenseful.