1979 Directed by William Fruet
The hunter becomes the prey as a Vietnam veteran (Perry King) tries to ferret out the real culprit after being tagged as the prime suspect in the murders of his former Army pals.
Der Mann der aus dem Dschungel kam, L'Exterminateur
Germany16
Canada
USAPG
Canada
Germany
USA
William Fruet's films always give me the impression they were made by a British director. No difference with this pre-Rambo movie that brings the Vietnam war back home. Strangely enough back home to Niagara Falls on the border to Canada, where the waterfalls create a picturesque environment for several scenes.
In a way, Search and Destroy has a better premise than the Stallone film - the Vietnam war veterans are also nothing more than trailer trash, but they still have to fight the Cộng. Especially interesting is the part, why "Charlie" comes to the US to hunt the former soldiers down (nothing ever changes - remember those Afghan translators hired by the US Army that were left behind at the…
Stunts by Buddy Joe Hooker. Police captain rhymes by George Kennedy. What you'd expect from a veteran focused exploiter set in Niagara Falls.
It’s a decent concept, and the camerawork does show some real skill. The shots of the fight scenes are good, not great. The locations are impressive though. Turbine rooms, Niagara Falls, the location scout earned their pay for this movie.
The acting is okay. George Kennedy feels like a breath of fresh air whenever he’s on the screen.
I mentioned earlier that it was a decent concept, and it is, but the script needed work. It’s actually got something to say about war and the people who get left behind. I wish they did more with it. When a lot of the stuff is just okay, having something to say about something important could have elevated the movie.
Week 8 of the 2022 Cult Movie Challenge: It could have been better. I didn’t hate it, but it’s nothing special. I was hoping to find a hidden gem—and fair is fair, that’s MY expectation—but it’s nothing special.
Solid actionpiece about a group of Vietnam veterans that find themselves being killed one by one by someone from their past. Perry King is a compelling lead and the great electronic score by FM together with a couple of fun actionscenes makes this a very nice timewaster.
I bought the dvd for the co-feature it comes with called “The Glove” but I figured that I may as well watching this too and I’m glad that I did. The film isn’t ground breaking by any stretch but it’s a solid actioneer with good performances by the cast all around and enough fighting and gun play to keep it exciting.
The bonus for me was the location that it takes place in. I am Canadian and have been to Niagara falls dozens of times in my life so this was a lot of fun to watch. Seeing all the locations as they were then was really cool and the wild thing is that some of them are still there. They…
Much better than expected, a nice surprise. A group of Vietnam veterans gets killed one by one as their past catches up with them. Has a good pace with an extended foot chase in the middle of the film around Niagara Falls. Almost the whole movie takes place in Niagara Falls anyway, which is quite the unique location after all. In the 90's I lived in Canada and about an hour's drive away from there for a couple years and that did conjure up some memories. Definitely a cool thing and setting. A propulsive score reminiscent of Carpenter punctuates the action on screen and Perry King with the shabbiest of beards makes a solid lead.
It's perfectly fine as it is but a slightly more spectacular finale and the killer's motivations expanded a bit (give him some scars and an eye patch or something to underline his anger) and the film would be true B-movie heaven.
Game show magnates Jack Barry and Dan Enright of TWENTY-ONE and THE JOKER’S WILD fame produced and released this Canadian action picture through their company. Enright’s son Don (SPASMS) wrote the screenplay, which casts Perry King (THE CLASS OF 1984) and Don Stroud (MURPH THE SURF) as Vietnam vets living in Niagara Falls. Married Kip (King), who lives with his sweet wife Kate (ZOMBIE’s Tisa Farrow), and cycle-riding wild man Buddy (Stroud) are kicking back, living the simple life, until they discover their old war buddies are being systematically murdered — and they’re next on the killer’s list! The murderer (Jong Soo Park) is a Vietnamese assassin they inadvertently left for dead in the jungle ten years earlier, and now…
A week ago I tried to buy the 1995 comedy Search And Destroy. I was instead sent the 1988 action film. This is neither of those. It is instead William Fruet's 1979 action film. If vetsploitation or Namsploitation are things, this is one of them. Or both. The highlight of the film is watching this action take place in and around Niagara Falls. The story itself is okay, but nothing special. This was the first of two features on a Dark Sky "Drive In Double Feature" disc. Fortunately, they had a pretty good looking source for the film, and it was only sandwiched between overly scratched and dirty drive-in bumpers and intermission cards.
A bunch of Vietnam veterans are being murdered by a mysterious killer with missing fingers... It's up to hardened captain Kip Moore (Perry King) to track the killer down and face off against him. When he realises exactly who and what he's up against, only the law of the jungle will work... Meanwhile, jaded cop George Kennedy is... uh... keeping an eye on things, hoping he can quietly intervene before anyone else gets hurt, while letting Kip do all the work.
Search & Destroy is an interesting film. It's set in Niagara Falls and makes good use of the local scenery, from the majestic falls to the wonderful Frankenstein Wax Museum (!). But the wholesomeness of the surroundings almost works against…
“I’ve always had a great future, it’s just my present that’s screwed up.”
Classic post ‘nam one guy on the team seeks revenge, while the others are working small jobs and dealing with PTSD action flick. Except as far as I know this was one of the first.
Stroud the Cloud does some sweet martial arts moves and wears a headband.
Side note; Is there a list going for movie where little kids find a dead body? Because that seems to happen a lot.
Namploitation involving a Vietnam vet played by Perry King that realizes that all of his past squad members are being methodically picked off and that he is the next on the list. Plenty of action throughout and a villain that plays almost like a slasher villain. Never really offers any dull moments and enough violence to suck you in. Worth a look.
A vietnam intelligent officer during the vietnam war helping a group of american GI's gather enemy intelligence goes John Rambo when discovers a group of G.I.:s soldiers leave him for dead. This movie was sort of entertaining with some good action shots and throw in George Kennedy for some added value you have a revenge flick where the person doing all the killing goes over the edge literally.
