MOVIE REVIEWS

Review by Charles Tatum

A group of morons rob an armored car after it leaves a racetrack. The motley crew takes the money deep into the woods, buries it, and decide to come back for it in five months after the heat dies down. The main ringleader is caught, and the remaining thieves run back up to the mountains to dig up the loot. They cannot find it, and on top of old smoky, are being killed one by one by an unseen woodsman. There is not one redeeming character in the film, which always means there is not one character to cheer for. The armored car heist is a mess. One of the thieves is driving the armored car, having taken the job in order to help rob it. The other two guards haven't a clue, even after the car is blocked in a narrow alley in downtown Los Angeles. The guns look like they were found in a bargain bin at a toy store. The robbers communicate with walkie talkies in public in broad daylight. The murderous backwoodsman is awful. I was not aware the cast of "Deliverance" hired themselves out to do other films. Look for homages, or rip-offs, of other films: "Treasure of the Sierra Madre," "First Blood," "Southern Comfort," "Scarecrows," "Bonnie and Clyde," and every heist film ever made. The video store I rented this from way back when had this in the Horror section, yet the only horrific thing about it was the script. Skip "Raven's Ridge."