Silent Rage |
  • USA • 1982 • 103m •   • Directed by: Michael Miller. • Starring: Chuck Norris, Ron Silver, Steven Keats, Toni Kalem, William Finley, Brian Libby, Stephen Furst, Stephanie Dunnam, Joyce Ingle, Jay De Plano, Lillette Zoe Raley, Mike Johnson, Linda Tatum. • Music by: Peter Bernstein, Mark Goldenberg.     Dan Stevens is the sheriff of a small Texas town who checks out a disturbance which turns to murder. The killer is still in the house and he tries to kill Dan, but Dan stops him and arrests him. The killer attempts to flee, but is shot and killed and is taken to a medical institute. Three doctors, led by Dr. Philip Spires, operates on the killer and brings him back to life using a formula that the three doctors made and the killer is made indestructable. Dr. Tom Halman tries to terminate the killer, but he and his wife are killed. After the two remaining doctors are killed, the killer goes after Dr. Halman's sister Alison, and it's up to Sheriff Dan Stevens to stop him.
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Review:
I happened upon this film when it was on a late night local creature-feature 2am movie slot when I was about 17 and returning from a mind altering excursion to Neverland; granted that with impaired [or heightened] senses any film would leave an impression on the viewer, but what struck me the most about the movie was how at odds it was with Norris' persona, and had an agenda that was unrelated to what viewers of his films expect; I actually "liked" it. The effect of having an unstoppable killing machine who utters only grunts and peers oddly at his victims as he shuffles across the ground towards them is also strangely unsettling. The memory of this unspeaking murder machine stuck with me long after forgetting about Norris and what he had to do with the story.
As other readers have pointed out, it is the John Libby character that really "makes" this film, because he is such a total unknown and one dimensional void of psychotic behavior. Upon acquiring a tape of this film as an adult I am struck by the banality of the opening sequence where we first see Libby go over the edge, and am intrigued by just what he had experienced that pushed him into insanity. The image of Libby trying to open his medication bottle, while the noise and clamour around him becomes unbearable, is quite an interesting portrait of pathos; one can almost understand why he decides it is time to go get an ax and shut that woman up once and for all.
It is unfortunate that the scriptors did not avail themselves of the opportunity to delve more into the source of his madness [scarred Vietnam vet? former abused child? we see memorabilia tacked up on the wall of his room i.e. Travis Bickle but never get a good look at it], and instead indulged themselves in unending, pathetic fat guy jokes with Stephen Furst, who I look upon as the film's major drawback. His character is simply a stupid, obese fat guy who is supposed to be looked upon as funny because he is fat. That we know just by looking at him for 5 seconds -- hearing the story about his pet dog or seeing him ape Robert DeNiro isn't funny, it's just pathetic.
Equally pathetic, and the source of much more humor for me, are Chuck Norris' speaking scenes. The romance subplot is utterly ridiculous, complete with a disco music accompanied lovemaking scene; Check out the obligatory "strewn clothing leading to the bed" shot and you'll see items like a wrist excersizer and nunchucks amongst the tangled underwear. Nothing like some wrist exercises to put a woman in the mood, I guess. Norris' dialogue is delivered in stacatto statements -- he doesn't talk with the characters, he recites four or five word sentences while facing in their direction. He also looks uncomfortable when speaking, as though his pants were too tight and needed to take a leak or something like that.
Much praise is heaped upon the Road House scene, and I will admit a certain guilty pleasure in watching Norris wipe up the floor with the biker scum. To a certain extent this scene functions as a kind of early Reagan era display of the establishment cleaning up the refuse that had been allowed to fester in America during the latter 1970's. Norris plays the role of lone wolf lawman as well as anyone, and there is an undeniable truth in stating that he comes off best when keeping his yap shut and allowing his feet, fists and broken pool cues to do the talking. It is actually one of the best self contained fight scenes I've ever watched, but one thing about it sort of underscores the ridiculousness of it all; At the end, Chuck's shirt is as neatly tucked into his tight cowboy jeans as it was before he fists started flying. Those karate suits are loose and baggy for a reason -- you don't execute flying kicks very well while your LL Bean shirt is tucked nicely into your ultra tight jeans.
The ending showdown with Libby is equally preposterous [featuring a little homage to Raiders of the Lost Ark], but provides the film with an ending that suits it's offbeat nature. Having a kung fu fight at the climax of a Frankenstein movie is about as fitting as having Dirty Harry take to the disco floor for a dancing showdown with John Travolta. And having a Chuck Norris film end in a fight to the death against a Frankenstein monster is equally preposterous, yet it provides a workable ending to the film that suggests a sequel, which was wisely never made. In the same way that our imaginations have to suggest what drove Libby insane, we have to imagine him slowly scuttling up the sides of the well to continue on his kill fest, and what we might think up is far more effective than anything that could have been filmed. Leave him down there, I say.
As far as the "movieness" of Silent Rage, I actually like the low budget early 80's exploito-horror feel, complete with the ominous synthesizer music score that is on par with Ennio Morriocone's music for The Thing, also made in 1982. Libby's opening single take freak out sequence is actually very cleverly shot [kudos to the film student reader who pointed that out; very Scorcese-esque], and love that long underground corridor in the Research Center with its BIOHAZARD signs. I also appreciate the cheap color stock used during filming, suffusing certain scenes with a kind of ambient green flourescent tinting [the result of not using the right lights for the stock when shooting; oops] that helps to underscore the nightmarish aspect of the story. The movie has interesting use of color scemes and lightdark contrasts. I also admire how Silent Rage looks like it was made on the cheap, but doesn't try to disguise it for a second -- dig those police uniforms, consisting of a light blue work shirt over a pair of tan chino pants with whateve boots you have handy and tin stars that look like they came out of a box of Cracker Jacks. The film doesn't try to disguise it's low rent and lurid nature for a second.
So what I see here in the end is an interesting, intriguing and ultimately satisfying little sci fi shocker that just happens to feature Chuck Norris and his karate skills in the hero role. Nothing wrong with that, and this will probably stand as the only Chuck Norris movie to grace my collection.
I give it 2 12 stars out of 4; A minor "cult" item worth a look, but not for everybody..
Review by Steve Nyland from the Internet Movie Database.
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