After a seemingly tacked on host segment meant to simulate a USA Up All Night Style program (perhaps added to extend the film’s run time and make it seem like any flaws in the finished product are intentional…something your’s cruelly would know nothing about), Streets of Vengeance begins in earnest, letting us know right off the bat that a psycho (who seems to be part of some anti-sex cult called The Sword) stalks the mean streets slicing and dicing sex workers with wild abandon. Enter porn starlet Mila ( Delawna McKinney) the hottest rising talent in porn who is preparing for her farewell from the industry while she is on top, which begins to set up our list of suspects; could the killer be Mila’s sleazy manager angry about losing his top star, or how about her bickering male co-stars, or could it be Garrett Sullivan (Daniel James Moody) an anti-porn advocate who partakes in a heated televised debate with our heroine? Regardless, Mila soon finds herself at the lunatics mercy, but she soon turns the tables and begins walking Vengeance Road (along with the help of some porn star revolutionaries). Will she be able to destroy The Sword, save her peers, and continue to have a pulse?
The main thing Streets of Vengeance has going for it is style. There are a multitude of creatively lit and arranged shots that really add a beautiful aesthetic to the sleazy story line. The acting too is strong, which helps keep us invested in Mila’s quest for revenge. Also working in the film’s favor are a fantstic synth-heavy score, and an overall keen sense of the style of glorious trash that would fill VHS rental store shelves (and would play on the aforementioned television program) much to our devilish delight (look, bottom line…seeing boobs was a major event in my misspent youth…we couldn’t just fire up the ol’ laptop and click our way to any crazy thing we wanted…we had to roll the dice and hope whatever we could get our sweaty lil’ mitts on would contain that golden grail…or globes would be more accurate…).
On the downside, this film runs way too long. At an hour and forty one minutes scenes tend to be filled with extraneous padding (is there any other kind really?) that make the momentum grind to a halt periodically, which is a shame because overall the film is damn solid exploitation fun.
Along with the main feature, Olive Films (under their Slasher Video division) have included an avalanche of bonus materials on this Blu-ray release. First up is an audio commentary featuring co-directors/writers Paul Ragsdale and Angelica De Alba and cinematographer Dan Zampa. This is a fascinating listen, and really helps the viewer appreciate what was brought to screen on the micro-budget the film makers had at their disposal. Following that we get: a “making of” featurette, interviews with the cast, behind the scenes footage and outtakes, a blooper reel, a discussion of the film’s camera equipment with Zampa, and a bizarrely titled segment called “Jesus Vs. Vestron Vulture which is in actuality the film’s soundtrack. Bringing up the rear are photo galleries, a music video, a promo for the film’s soundtrack, and a handful of trailers (both for the film, and the fake movie teasers contained within Streets of Vengeance).
If you are looking for a cinematic throwback to the days when blood and boobs were king (or queen…) of the video store shelves, then search no further than Streets of Vengeance; it’s violent, sleazy, and a ton of fun (pacing missteps notwithstanding)!
