It's October, and you know what time that is at the DTVC, right? Actually you may not, because I usually don't have my shit together, but this year I do. It's time for Hall of Fame inductions, and we start with the one and only Robert Z'Dar, so I figured this would be a good one for his induction post. In addition to us, RobotGEEK's Cult Cinema has covered this, plus our other three usual suspects, Comeuppance, The Video Vacuum, and Bulletproof Action, so I finally join those three in finally making this happen too.
Killing American Style is an Amir Shervan joint starring Robert Z'Dar as the leader of a gang who, after a robbery where people are killed, is arrested, but then en route to prison, his brother springs him and his pals. Problem is, said brother is injured in the execution, and they need to get him help quick. They find a nice house with a nice family inside and take them hostage, hoping to get a doctor to nurse the brother to good health, and also pick up the money from the robbery gone bad. The fly in the ointment though, Harold Diamond is the man of the house. Z'Dar an co won't know what hit them.
From a Shervan film standpoint, this one is good, but as opposed to Samurai Cop or Young Rebels, which are suitable for a mixed bad movie night audience, this is more for your hardcore crew. One, there's a rape scene. Two, we have some extended nudity. And three, overall it's a bit darker. Beyond that though, this is the fun Shervan you came for, between Z'Dar as the main baddie taking his baddie to another level, to Diamond as the family man who just happened to know martial arts and wear unzipped coats with no shirt underneath, it delivers the goods. The other issue is, because it's a home invasion movie, and clocks in at 101 minutes, it does spin its wheels a bit in the middle--another reason it's probably not a good bad movie night pick, but I think once you've done Samurai Cop and Young Rebels, this is your next Shervan go to.
Now for the man of the hour, Mr. Z'Dar. When I did a Z'Dar podcast episode with the guys from Comeuppance (episode called "A Z'Dar is Born" in their podcast archives), I had a realization that he probably belonged in the Hall of Fame, so from there it was a matter of what movie to choose. Sure, a Maniac Cop would be a good choice, but I thought because is face is all scarred that that might not be as fitting. His Shervan films on the other hand, though maybe not as iconic as the Maniac Cop films, were really the ones that let Z'Dar stretch his acting chops, and I think he really enjoyed making them for that reason. In that vein, this is a more fitting way to celebrate him. With that shot above, I don't know what's happening with his rib cage, but overall, I think he played an excellent baddie here, which, despite the fact that the film dragged in spots, helped get us through some of that dragging.
This is our second Amir Shervan film we've covered on the site, but we also did a podcast episode on Young Rebels with Jacob Gustafson of the Awful Awesome book series as a guest, and we got into Shervan as a director in general there. In school I studied Iranian film, but what I studied was the post-Revolution New Wave stuff, and Shervan was before that. One thing Jacob and I talked about was the idea that maybe all the stuff we see as silliness, was Shervan trying to mimic what he saw as popular trends in American movies. In that sense, are we're getting something like Ross Hagen dressed like a cowboy in Action USA telling Hoke Howell "when in Rome...", or maybe a distorted mirror reflecting what Shervan thinks we value back at us, but we don't recognize it as such. The only thing missing was the Garfield phone, but seen through that lens, it gives the films a different vibe, which to me makes them more fun--and you need all the fun you can get when a movie has a rape scene in it.
Finally, earlier I mentioned the fact that this film has a rape scene in it. It reminded me of when I read about Sidehackers in the MST3K Episode Guide and how they committed themselves to that movie without watching it, and realized there was a rape and murder scene that they had to cut out. It's just not fun, and while I get that Shervan or the Sidehackers director weren't making movies so we could make fun of them, it does serve as a reminder that the movies we watch and celebrate on this site and others like it aren't always for everyone, and when we're introducing our movies to friends and family who aren't otherwise inclined, we have to make sure there isn't anything in there that might be uncomfortable. Animals being killed, women being raped, nudity, over the top torture of the hero, all things we need to screen in advance. That's why Bridge of Dragons is one that always works, but Showdown in Little Tokyo maybe not so much. With Samurai Cop, is the bacon grease too much, or not graphic enough to be an issue? You gotta know your audience, but if you pull it off right, you can have a great bad movie night that people bring up years later.
And with that, let's wrap this up. As of right now, Cinema Epoch has this on DVD, and available to stream on Tubi here in the States. I think if you're a Z'Dar fan, and you haven't seen this, it's definitely worth a go; and great to finally get him into the DTVC Hall of Fame with this post, as he's truly one of the DTV legends. In terms of a classic "that kind of movie," the way Samurai Cop is, this is a bit too brutal to be that, plus it drags in spots. That's okay, the way Jim Morrison told the Doors "we've already done Ed Sullivan" after a producer told them they'd never be able to go on again when Morrison sang the line "couldn't get much higher," we can say "we already have Samurai Cop, we don't need Killing American Style to be another."
For more info: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0293324
And if you haven't yet, check out my new novel, A Girl and a Gun, at Amazon in paperback or Kindle!
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