Uriah43

This film starts with a high-ranking police officer called "Captain" (William Smith) telling detective "Kilpatrick" (Addison Randall) that it's time to take justice into their own hands by targeting people of different races and ethnicities. Kilpatrick then recruits and trains a group of young men, much like the military trains its enlistees. The scene shifts to a man named "Jake Walker" (Blake Bahner), who has just taken a job as a parole officer and is being shown around the police station by his good friend "Vincent" (Joe Verroca). Unfortunately, although he tries his best to ensure his new parolees are given every chance to succeed, he soon discovers that almost every one of them who isn't Caucasian is being killed under mysterious circumstances. Making matters worse, the police don't seem interested in this clear pattern. Moreover, the more he presses the issue, the more he annoys both the Captain and Kilpatrick. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this movie was one of those low-budget, B-movies made during the 80s that featured plenty of action but little else. The plot was predictable, the acting was poor, and the action scenes lacked realism. Still, I appreciated the overall 80s atmosphere, which is why I rated this movie a bit higher than it probably deserves.

With the Civil War now over, a former member of the Texas Militia named "Daniel" (Dylan Hobbs) becomes a bounty hunter to make money. With a legal warrant in hand, he rides into a nearly deserted town looking for an outlaw named "John Dooling" (Tom Zembrod) as his next target. Unfortunately, when he enters the saloon, the bartender "Tellie" (Whit Kunschik) cannot provide any helpful information. Surprisingly, her teenage nephew "Parker" (Bailey Roberts) is eager to help, since John Dooling killed both of his parents some time ago. Not eager to accept help from someone so young, Daniel turns to a former preacher named "Isaac" (Andy Anderson), who agrees to find John Dooling and deliver a message. The problem is, John Dooling is a ruthless outlaw who, once he hears what Daniel has to say, murders Isaac in cold blood and sends men to kill Daniel. What John Dooling doesn't realize is that Daniel is more than capable of defending himself, and that's when things get really violent. To avoid spoilers, I'll just say this was one of those low-budget Westerns that have seemed to multiply in the last 15 years or so, all sharing similar faults, with the acting, script, and action sequences being the most obvious. As far as this particular film was concerned, the action scenes weren't that plentiful, and much of the movie consisted of people talking bluntly or threatening one another. Be that as it may, although this wasn't a good Western by any means, it wasn't terribly bad either, and I have rated it accordingly.

This film opens with an elderly man named "Dr. John Garth" (Boris Karloff) on trial for the murder of another man because a serum he had developed failed to work correctly. After receiving the death penalty, Dr. Garth accepts the sentence but also tells the courtroom that his serum was meant to extend life, not to take it. Nonetheless, after comforting his adult daughter, "Martha Garth" (Evelyn Keyes), he is taken to prison, where he is scheduled to be hanged within 30 days. Not long after arriving at the prison, "Warden Thompson" (Ben Taggart) asks him if he would like to continue his research while imprisoned. Although he knows his death sentence remains in effect, Dr. Garth gladly accepts the offer, and along with the prison doctor, "Dr. Ralph Howard" (Edward Van Sloan), they work as quickly as possible to improve the serum before his execution. Then, just hours before his scheduled execution, Dr. Garth finally completes his work and, since there are no human volunteers, he injects the serum directly into himself. Ironically, right after doing so, the warden arrives and informs him that his death sentence has been changed to life in prison instead. Days later, after taking ill due to his serum, he is allowed to continue his work with Dr. Howard. What he doesn't realize, however, is that the serum he injected into himself has a side effect that creates a murderous rage he cannot control, and he unleashes it on those closest to him. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was a relatively short film (about 62 minutes), but Boris Karloff performed in his usual solid manner and kept things interesting. Admittedly, I would have preferred more suspense here and there, but even so, I enjoyed this movie for the most part and rate it accordingly.