Ahh, The Gravediggers; those delightfully crude motorcycle hooligans… they get pissed, they are pissed, hell they may even drink piss given the look of the lot. They also worship Satan, and as fate would have it, bear witness to a political assassination that results in them being targeted by the killer himself!
A rising body count begins to really put a crimp in their wild-as-all-fuck existence, so the Gravediggers reluctantly… and I mean very reluctantly… accept the help of ultra-groovy undercover policeman Stone (Ken Shorter) in finding that heinous hitman.
Pretty much all manner of hell follows.
Man, where in the hell has Stone been my entire exploitation flick-lovin’ life?!!
Filled to the ever-loving brim with fuzzed-out garage rock, ball-smashing violence, copious sequences of tearing ass about town on rainbow-hued Kawasaki Z1s, Satanism, mayhap a tit or two… Stone is a sort of proto-Mad Max; an outlaw biker picture with a real apocalyptic vibe, and characters far afield from the more mundane forms of civilization… and what characters they are!
Leading the pack we have Shorter’s perm-scowling eponymous pretty boy, whom is exactly the type of person you’d imagine the police would think could blend in seamlessly with crusty, ass-kicking, Satanic bikers. The bikers themselves are made up of more believable fellas, and their ranks include future Mad Max alums Hugh Keays-Byrne (who played lead antagonist Toecutter in the original. as well as Immortan Joe in 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road), Vince Gil, Roger Ward, … as well as director/co-writer Sandy Harbutt, who looks the part but comes off as a scholarly gent in the bonus material.
Which brings us to the “message” portion of our freaky fracas, namely that bikers, while certainly walking outside the accepted norm, have their own codes and laws unfettered by government and societies rules… a society equally as savage as their own, while not even a fraction as pure. This social commentary creates a great time capsule of outlaw culture in early ‘70s Australia, and while it fucks with the pace here and there, it adds loads of flavor.
While the action is rough, tough, and hard to bluff, the settings sure are gorgeous, with great vistas of the Australian countryside providing scenic splendor while our heroes kick the ass and smoke the grass.
All the above is showcased beautifully on Severin’s new 4K transfer of the film, taken from “an uncut 4K scan from original vault elements supervised by Harbutt himself shortly before his death”, which boasts vibrant color (and conversely rich blacks) and excellent detail.
As referenced previously, this Blu-ray release from Severin contains some choice bonus material which includes: an archival “making of” featurette shot during Stone’s production, a large collection of deleted and extended scenes, an archival documentary celebrating the film’s 25th anniversary, two hours of extended interviews with cast and crew from Mark Hartley’s Not Quite Hollywood Ozploitation documentary, a series of silent make-up tests, a lengthy stills slideshow (featuring commentary from Harbutt), and the film’s trailer.
We also get the hellfire explosion that is Stone’s soundtrack contained in its entirety on a separate audio CD, a chapter listing/postcard featuring some bad-ass artwork that feels like it belongs on the Stone lunchbox that never was, and an embossed slipcover.
Bottom line; Stone is an absolute adrenaline blast that peels out on you senses with wild, drug fueled abandon, and is an absolute must if the original recipe Mad Max leaves you all tight in the shorts!