The Silencers

"The Silencers" is one of the most ambitious (and enjoyable) low-budget DTVs I've ever seen. Jack Scalia and Dennis Christopher are good, and the film is highlighted by a nearly-10-minute-long chase sequence involving a fuel tanker hauling mysterious cargo, numerous military and pedestrian vehicles, and a helicopter (the fate of which you will be amazed by!) The music by Louis Febre is very good as well, and while the effects of the subway collision are clearly models, the rest of that action sequence makes up for it.

The funny thing is, however, for a film that has an anti-violence message, it sure does have a lot of violence. Comdor (Christopher) explains to Scalia's son that there are better things to do with one's life than desire to play the role of action hero, and that violence isn't always the solution, then the two infiltrate the villain's secret complex and have a huge gun battle.

Still, a rousing adventure/sci-fi flick that was good enough for me to order a copy.

THE SILENCERS: 4.5/5

I have no joke, I just like saying "Your methods are crude. Effective, but crude."

Cheesy, but decent. Car chases, train chases, gunfights, explosions, people who emit mysterious cool-looking force waves from their mouths, and of course the required anti-violence, pro-environment message. As a bonus, the aliens are total hotties. If nothing else, watch it to see Dennis Christopher communing with a potted palm.

Remember pre-1997 when the Men In Black were dark mysterious shady characters who were better suited for horror movies than anything else? The days before Will Smith quipped his way through a generic sci-fi trilogy?

Well here we have said Men In Black, except these guys are the aliens and aligning with some parts of the government in scheme to bring more of their kind to earth through a portal and stuff.....

So this is the very definition of 1990's b-movie cheese. Car chases, gun fights and all the usual cliches.

Along for the ride we have another alien of a different species who teams with the secret service to take them down. Said alien is played by Dennis Christopher and that's just weird. For those unfamiliar with Christopher he's generally a weedy, sneaky, weak character and has been in movies such as the original It (1990) and Fade To Black (1980). He's a great actor but seeing him in such a role was odd and more than a little questionable.

Not great but not entirely awful The Silencers is an interesting enough take your brain out movie, probably best you take your expectations out as well.

The Good:

Old school cheese

The Bad:

Dennis Christopher in an action role is a bizzare thing

Not constructed very well

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Mysterious long blonde haired guys were a big thing in the 90's

The sci-fi concept of 'The Silencers' did have a lot of potential to me when I picked this film out. A film about the enigmatic men in black? A story about aliens trying to sabotage our world politically and economically using "disguises"? And all of this sprinkled with a lot of action? The film's concept sounded awesome, even if the film's rating here on IMDB (less than 5.0/10 as of March, 2025) was poor. But a poor rating never stopped me from watching a film which interested me, that's for sure.

I was certainly disappointed after watching 'The Silencers' though. The writing is actually awful, despite the potential of the concept. There are as many plot holes in this film as there are craters on the moon. But there are some positives as well. Some action scenes are entertaining enough, even if they lack any substance. And the handsome Jack Scalia does a good job of portraying the protagonist, even if he had to work with a mediocre script.

This had the potential to be the spiritual successor to John Carpenter's masterfully though-provoking film, 'They Live' (1988). But what we got instead was nothing of the sort. It's as if the film-makers of 'The Silencers' never wanted to create something other than a purely average action film with a little sci-fi thrown in.

This is another excellent action movie from PM. Lots of shootouts and car chases make the movie very exciting and never boring. Jack Scalia makes a cool hero. The villains are menacing and look very cool. Action fans should check this one out. It definetly delivers the goods.