Inferno

The other comments on this film sum up fairly well the dramatics of it. Don "The Dragon" Wilson is an Interpol agent whose best buddy is killed in an opening shoot-em-up scene. Still hunting terrorists, Wilson is sent to India (helmer Fred Olen Ray sits in for a cameo as Don's boss at Interpol), where he gets into a tangle that leads to a couple of revelations.

There's not much to distinguish this from any other quickie, straight-to-video actioner, except that much of the stunt work seems a little anemic. Nonetheless, I highly recommend the DVD edition of this film (which is entitled "Operation Cobra") to all fans of low-budget movies. One might say, "War, Pestilence, Plague, and Famine -- the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse!" but a close runner up for the fifth spot on that team might -- at first blush -- seem to be "With Director Commentary track by Fred Olen Ray." That conclusion would be a definite mistake.

The director's commentary track is the most fascinating part of the DVD package. Ray pulls relatively few punches in discussing the movie. We learn that the whole film was shot in Hyderabad, India, and Fred tells us that it was the first American movie to be filmed completely in India. (Was "Maya," in the 60s, not all shot on location?) We also learn that although Hyderabad is not among the scenic high lights of India, one of the producers owned a studio there, which made for economical filming! Ray also discusses the ins and outs of low-budget film-making, pointing out where specific locations were used for multiple purposes, and noting the Indian actors who had to be dubbed for the American release. We also learn a good bit about the crew's drinking habits and the outbreak of dysentery on the set, as well as the logistics of the big action finale sequence, which was filmed under less than ideal circumstances. (I got two words for ya -- Flies! Flies!) There is likewise a short on-set featurette, which is mostly home movie footage and not nearly as informative as the commentary track.

Fred Olen Ray makes straight to video/straight to cable movies for less money than Brad Pitt's personal assistant gets paid. Ray is not likely to win an Oscar any time soon (I always felt he should have at least been nominated for "Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers"), and he's not remotely pretentious here. You wanna know about making movies for peanuts in a difficult overseas location? Here it is.

I watched the film once for story, then ran it again with the commentary track. Cut out the middle man and go straight to the commentary. Anyway, Ray throws in enough of the plot (sometimes puzzled by it himself) that you can follow the story with no problem. You can find the DVD, if you shop around, for somewhere in the neighborhood of $5, and if you love Poverty Row movies as much as I do, you'll think it a bargain at twice the price. Forget about the plot and concentrate on America's most prolific non-porn filmmaker at work.

I caught this flick on tv, and thought "lets give it a chance!"

I don't know too much about Don 'The Dragon' Wilson, suffice to say that he doesn't really seem too much of a dragon to me :-)

The martial arts are non-existent; there are some high kicks, a few punches and that's all. The cinematography is pretty bad too, as all scenes are uninspiring. The fight scenes are short and badly shot.

The plot is laughable. I won't spoil anything, but it's so bad it's embarrassing. The acting is bad too - most actors overact their lines.

There are about three sex scenes thrown in like an afterthought. They are bad too (any surprises?) because there is no chemistry, no connection or mutual attraction between the characters. The sex just happens. There's a busty (but slightly aging) blonde and a rather attractive brunette that show us their bodies, but that's not enough to save this crap.

In conclusion, avoid it. At least, don't pay for it.

On the surface 'Inferno' looks the part of your run-of-the-mill Don Wilson dtv cheapie. However dig deeper and you get quite a few recognizable faces, shot entirely in India and it looks a lot better than most b-movies I've watched lately. Maybe in due part because of cinematographer Gary Graver and the 1080p release it scored itself. Story wheeled out is standard and cliched, but has enough action and laughs (intentional or not) to pull off a mildly fun time.

Interpol agents Kyle Conners (Wilson) and Trevor (Rick Hill) close in on Davaad (Evan Lurie) just as he is about to complete an illicit deal. Unfortunately it goes sideways leaving Trevor dead while the target escapes. Placed on leave, Kyle then travels to India where Davaad has already set up shop hoping to avenge his partner. There he gains new partnerships including one with MI6 operative Callista (Tane McClure) who can lead him to Davaad, but only if he kills Grayson (Michael Cavanaugh) the man's powerful employer in exchange first.

Wilson was never an actor with great range, but does his physical fisticuffs here well. Tane gets to rip a spotty British accent and get naked twice. Lurie changes it up by being a soft spoken bad guy while Cavanaugh will always be Cpt. DeSoto (Star Trek: TNG) to me. Madhavan does a nice job as the local police inspector while Deepti Bhatnagar provides beauty as a mystery woman / love interest.

Most flicks from cheapo director Fred Olen Ray are crap, but he scored a winner here with 'Inferno'. Perhaps in large part due to the foreign flavor and not seeing LA for the millionth time. Of course the requisite martial arts, some female nudity and a plot twist within didn't hurt neither. If you find yourself searching for a 90's dtv actioner a little outside the norm this might be the ticket.

A surprisingly enjoyable combo from Don Wilson and Fred Olen Ray; a better one from both their resumes. This reminded me a lot of the mainstream Chris Hemsworth film EXTRACTION, with our hero tasked with going to India to take down some villains. Good scumbags for him to battle against and fun fights throughout, although a bit too much of the Playboy-style sex scenes.

I have watched clips of this movie many times mainly owing to Tane Mcclure's erotic moments. But after 20 years, sometime tempted me to watch the entire film (speeding up the play many times ofcourse) Some of the shocks I faced:

1. Many of the scenes were shot at Egmore museum, Chennai. Didnt realise that they came so close to home in a film where one of my favourite erotic actress was in.

2. Madhavan was in the movie! Goddam. So it seems he was trying a make a living, before he became famous, long before the rocketery days.

And yeah, many scenes from Chennai. I'll watch out for any other films by Ashok Amirtaraj. Chances are he may have filmed something in the next street.