Writer/director duo Tim Everitt and Tom Sartori’s Furious begins with a tale as old as time; to wit: a woman, Kim Lee (Arlene Montano) is chased by shuriken tossin’ Cossacks while performing martial arts while balancing precariously on a mountaintop.
She eventually meets her demise but not before discovering a mysterious artifact… which is taken by one of the Cossacks, who then delivers a mysterious keycard to martial arts master Simon (legendary stuntman Simon Rhee, Blade… among many, many more).
Simon then takes that card to a futuristic office building which contains the dojo of Master Chan (Phillip Rhee, creator and star of the Best of the Best martial arts film franchise) who has details of his sister’s death (yup, it’s the woman who bought it in the cold open).
Simon sets out to solve his sibling’s murder, then, and get this, Simon meets up with some old friends before being attacked by thugs while investigating a restaurant… he then gets separated from his friends while chasing that Cossack from earlier, and then ends up at another restaurant where two old women (who look like Mrs. Doubtfire) chew on dumplings while a Chuck Norris clone spins nunchucku and scimitars uncomfortably close to an infant patron of the establishment.
Then a masked magician serves him a platter containing the severed heads of his friends which causes an uncontrollable screaming fit from Simon that continues long after it is revealed to be an illusion… or Simon is equally terrified of roast chicken as he is with his friends being straight-up murdered, it truly is up to you…
This all seems like a lot… and it is, but I can tell you that the film is just getting started with it’s weirdo ways, and you’ll probably be so punch drunk by the set up that you’ll sit grinnin’ like a fool as the flick goes hog-wild with… well, a hog for one… a talking one, no less… also a ton of chickens (live ones this time), a New Wave security force (some of which are in a band), and a martial arts wizard or two!
Simon’s quest seems cursed, but he has the ass-kickin’ acumen to help even the odds!
Everitt and Sartori have created absolute martial arts madcap mayhem with Furious; the heady result of two California dudes who wanted to make a film as absolutely cheaply as possible (but still have a releasable product shot on film)!
To that end they fired-up that punk rock spirit, raised the necessary funds, and shot guerilla-style… with only a vague idea of scenes and no script, and created a funny, imaginative, completely batshit action flick that features a metric-ton of fighting, a surreal vibe that is only accented by the films low usage of dialog, and a surprising number of aerial shots (achieved by renting a helicopter and it’s pilot for an hour for a good price).
The action on it’s own is impressive, and as choreographed by the Rhee brothers is often dynamic… and damn terrifying when you see the uninsured bros. duking it out on top of a mountain being filmed by a helicopter buzzing around racing the clock!
You can be sure you’ll get plenty of info on just how dangerous filming was courtesy of the special features Visual Vengeance have assembled on this Blu-ray release!
Things kick off with a duo of audio commentaries; one an archival chat with Everitt that takes us through the film’s production in detail, and the other a look at Furious from the fan’s side of things courtesy of The Important Cinema Club‘s Justin Decloux and The Toronto International Film Festival’s Peter Kuplowsky.
Following that, more light is shed on the film’s production courtesy of nearly hour-long interviews with Sartori and Everitt, after which we get a duo of video essays by Decloux; a quick overview of low budget martial arts cinema produced in North America, and an overview of the Rhee Brother’s career respectively.
Also included here are a Scarecrow Video podcast from 2013 featuring Everitt, a musical sidebar (as we look at behind-the-scenes footage of that New Wave band mentioned up yonder… a band comprised of the filmmakers themselves, 2 performances by bands the filmmakers are also in, and a collection of music videos filmed by Sartori), a collection of Super 8 shorts by Sartori, and three trailers for the film.
Additionally the package also includes a retro-style VHS sticker sheet, a plastic shuriken, a mini-poster, and a reversible sleeve.
An absolutely manic blend of high-kicking action, magic, and farm animals, Furious is can’t miss martial arts madness!
