Bullet Points: Cut and Run

The well of 1980’s action gems is so deep that even after more than five years of reviewing films for Bulletproof Action, I can still find movies that flew under my radar for the past three decades plus.

1985’s Cut and Run was the latest gem I stumbled upon and coincidentally is also my latest movie review…

• The Premise: Fran Howard (Lisa Blount, Blind Fury) is a reporter for Cable Video News with dreams of winning a Pulitzer Prize. Mark Ludman (Leonard Mann, The Humanoid) is Fran’s cameraman with his own dreams of being a big time Hollywood director some day. So it should come as no surprise that two ambitious people like Fran and Mark manage to convince their TV executive boss Bob Allo (played by Richard Bright aka Al Neri from The Godfather movies) to let them travel from their home base of Miami to South America to interview, Colonel Brian Horne, a man they believe is connected to a recent string of ultra violent murders involving drug dealers. Allo balks at the idea at first… but when they have photographic proof that Allo’s missing son Tommy (Willie Aames, Zapped!) may be caught up in all of this some how, he changes his tune.

• Drinking the Flavor Aid: Colonel Brian Horne was played by quintessential movie villain, Richard Lynch (Invasion U.S.A.). The movie ties the Horne character into real life events as we learn Horne was at one time a high ranking member of the cult led by the Reverend Jim Jones. Reports that Horne died in the infamous Jonestown Massacre were inaccurate, Horne avoided the Flavor Aid and instead relocated to South America where he flies around in a seaplane and commands warriors of the Indio tribe including Quecho (played by the always unnerving Michael Berryman) to do his bidding in a battle to control the drug trade. There were times while watching Lynch’s performance in Cut and Run that felt like Lynch was doing his best Apocalypse Now Marlon Brando impersonation.

• Vlado in Charge: I may have missed it, but I don’t think it is explained how young Tommy Allo found himself working for drug lord Vlado in the middle of the jungle, but I suppose it is not too much of a stretch that a rebellious youth living in Miami in the 1980’s could find himself getting in too deep on the drug scene. When we first meet Tommy he is actually trying to escape which at least established he did not want to be there. Tommy’s one ally in the jungle is the lovely Ana. Ana, much like Tommy found herself caught up in this world that has become her own personal hell. Ana wants to help Tommy get out, so she shares some valuable information as to when and where the best time to make a run for it is… she ends up saving his life, because Tommy is out of Vlado’s camp when Horne’s tribe shows up and obliterates everyone in sight.

• Welcome to the Jungle: When Fran and Mark arrive at Vlado’s camp they see the grisly aftermath of the massacre. They also discover Ana, who wisely hid herself during the carnage and survived. Fran asks Ana about Tommy and the news that he escaped before the attack leaves a glimmer of hope that Tommy is still alive. The reality of the dangerous situation quickly sets in… they need to find Tommy (hopefully alive), Fran still wants to get her interview with Horne and all of this needs to be accomplished without getting killed along the way.

Cut and Run had a good mix of action and horror elements and apparently there are two cuts of the film, one that leans more towards the action movie side and another that features more gore and horror.

In researching the film for this review, it seems shooting the movie was something of a horror story in and of itself. Between the oppressive heat of the Venezuelan jungle where the movie was filmed and an extremely demanding director (Ruggero Deodato, The Barbarians).

Knowing all this makes me want to add the Cut and Run Blu-ray, filled with some great bonus material, to my Amazon cart right now. And speaking of bonus material, check out these Bonus Bullet Points…

• Familiar Faces: Eriq La Salle (Rappin’) plays Fargas, an informant that really gets the ball rolling for Fran when she tips her off about Col. Horne… Karen Black (Quiet Fire) has a small role as a Cable Video News higher up.
• Opening Credit: Valentina Forte gets quite the opening credit… “With Valentina Forte in the role of Ana”…rumor has it she was romantically involved with Director Ruggero Deodato, so that could explain the extra special credit.
• Why Just Share Your Condolences When You Can Say Something Poignant Like: “Life’s a bitch, man.”