Thou Shalt Not Kill... Except

Thou Shalt Not Kill...Except(1985) is an exciting and entertaining action flick. The style of the film and the action has the flavour of Hong Kong action films of the late 1980's. The opening scenes reminded me of the Vietnam prologue in The Exterminator(1980). The four marines behave like the goon squad in William Lustig's Vigilante(1981). The final twenty minutes drift into Last House On The Left territory. Sam Raimi does a good job at playing the cult leader. It is refreshing in the way it pokes some fun at the vigilante movies.

This cheesy, low-budget piece of revenge action from the Evil Dead gang might be technically sub-par, clumsily written, and poorly acted, but thanks to a genuine sense of fun, plenty of mindless violence, and a memorably OTT turn from Sam Raimi as a Charles Manson style cult leader with bad hair and even worse teeth, it actually proves to be very entertaining stuff.

The predictable story sees cigar chompin' Sgt. Stryker (Robert Rickman) and his tough Vietnam veteran buddies going to war one more time against a gang of bloodthirsty hippies who have attacked the sarge's girlfriend and killed her grandfather. What this plot lacks in originality, it sure makes up for in violent, gung-ho, exploitative action, as Stryker and company proceed to blast seven shades of crap out of anyone who looks like they might have dodged the draft or worn flowers in their hair.

Of course, Stryker's War will be of most interest to horror fans keen to see what the creators of The Evil Dead got up to next: not only does the film star its director Raimi (who proves he cannot act, and yet somehow steals the show anyway) and his brother Ted (as a Mad Max style villain wrapped in chains), but it was also co-written by the chin-tastic Bruce Campbell, produced by Scott Spiegel, and features a rousing score by Joseph LoDuca.

I remember seeing the trailer for this film in the theater when I was fourteen or fifteen and laughing my head off. Unfortunately, I didn't come across the film again for several years until my best friend in high school ran across a copy in a small video store. Boy what a find! I was completely sober and on the floor laughing for ninety minutes! Terrible acting, horrific sound effects (laser-like sounds in the Vietnam scenes), miss-placed blocking by the actors (one guy jerks BEFORE he's shot)and total lack of coherency or logic make this a must see! I mean, Vietnam vets take revenge on Manson-like killer in the middle of a forest? What's not to love? Bye the way, if you like this, check out a film called "Hard Rock Zombies."

"Stryker's War", a.k.a. "Thou Shalt Not Kill...Except", is solidly amusing low budget action nonsense that definitely delivers in the laughs department. In fact, it's silly enough for one to believe the filmmakers had their tongues firmly in their cheeks. It's admittedly rather rough, in both the acting and technical departments, but this adds to the appeal if you totally dig wild and wacky B cinema. From a story co-credited to Bruce Campbell, and a screenplay co-written by Scott Spiegel, Josh Becker directs this goofy fun flick that takes place in 1969, after young man Jack Stryker (Brian Schulz) has returned from Vietnam after an honourable discharge. He's soon visited by his wartime comrades, played by Robert Rickman, John Manfredi, and Timothy Patrick Quill. It's a good thing they're around, as soon Jack will go to war with a Manson Family type cult led by an absolutely priceless Sam Raimi in a hilarious hippie wig, after the cult murders Jack's good friend Otis (Perry Mallette) and abducts his old girlfriend Sally (Cheryl Hausen). While this remains agreeable viewing throughout, it might require patience on the part of some viewers to stick it out through the first half before we finally start getting to the really good stuff, with a lot of hysterical gore and sadism. These cult members are going to get what's coming to them, and THEN some. One can see that this is a labour of love for the filmmaking family including such talents as Raimi, Spiegel, Becker, and Campbell (the last having also worked in the sound department). Raimi's actor brother Ted also turns up as the goon wielding the chain. Clocking in at a reasonable 83 minutes, "Stryker's War" makes for good enough entertainment, no matter if it's not a particularly good film. It earns points more for its heart than anything else. There always is something appealing about watching something made on a low budget by people just wanting to make a movie and have some fun. Seven out of 10.

I'm a huge fan of the Raimi films, of course, but the reason I loved this film is more sublime. I did some acting work with Brian (the star of Stryker's War) a while back and for me it was like watching a pal on the big screen. It was at a cast party and we all sat back, groaned and howled with laughter. What an awesome stinker of a film, it was marvelous! He shared stories of working with Raimi, Campbell and others we have all come to know and love. I'm from Michigan myself, and we are all very proud of this crew. What a great legacy for Michigan! Go see this movie, you just might regret and love it.