Perfect cast and a good story

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

A Brilliant Conflict

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Blue Vengeance (1989) ** (out of 4)Detective McCardle (J. Christian Ingvordsen) is a washed up officer who is still haunted from accidentally shooting his partner while trying to track down a serial killer known as Trax (Mark Weiner). In the present day, Trax breaks out of his mental hospital but he is believed to have been killed. McCardle knows that's not the case but he can't prove it to anyone so he quickly loses his mind while trying to track the killer down.Not only does J. Christian Ingvordsen act in this film but he also wrote, produced and directed it. I'll be honest and say that BLUE VENGEANCE didn't quite work for me but at the same time I really enjoyed what Ingvordsen was able to do and in fact I give him a lot of credit trying to do what he did. This is the type of film that tries to do a lot of things and in all honesty it probably tries to do too much but at the same time there are some interesting elements here that keep the film fairly entertaining.The film basically has two different and rather full plots going on. You've got the stuff dealing with the cop who is haunted by his past and it continues to do damage to him today. You've also got the serial killer and his strange reasons, which are detailed as well. Both of these stories eventually collide together and for the most part there's some mild entertainment to be found. With that being said, I don't think either story is full developed and I couldn't help but think that it probably would have worked better had the film focused on one or the other.As I said, there were some elements that I did like and that includes the two lead performances. I really thought Weiner was very good in the role of the killer and made for a great villain. I also liked the music score, which fit the film perfectly. Another bonus is that the film was shot in New York City so we get some great locations to look at. BLUE VENGEANCE is certainly a flawed movie that doesn't completely work but at the same time I give the filmmakers credit for at least attempting something with so much going on in it.

Unhinged convicted murderer Mark Trex (robustly played with full-tilt gonzo relish by John Weiner) escapes from prison and heads for New York City to track down and kill the members of his favorite hard rock band Warriors of the Inferno. It's up to loose cannon detective Mickey McCardle (a solid performance by J. Christian Ingvordsen, who also co-directed and co-wrote the loopy script) and brash punk photographer Tiffany O'Brian (a winningly spunky portrayal by fetching redhead Garland Hunter) to stop Trex. Directors/writers Ingvordsen and Danny Kucheck keep the enjoyably nutty story hurtling along at a brisk pace, make neat use of various gritty Big Apple locations that include Times Square and the legendary rock club CBGB's, deliver gobs of bloody violence and graphic gore, maintain a tense off-kilter tone throughout, and stage an exciting foot chase through a train station and across a bridge with rousing go-for-it gusto. The climactic jousting match between Trex and McCadle has to be seen to be (dis)believed. Steve Kaman's slick cinematography provides an impressive polished look as well as provides several cool trippy visuals (Trex's wacky medieval visions are a hoot to behold). A gnarly little flick.

I recently bought this movie because it's supposed to be a cult favorite, i love watching cult films and cheesy movies. Most of these movies are far more interesting than any of those brain dead mainstream movies for the masses which you get shoved down your throat, when i say far more interesting... it sure doesn't count for this one. Blue vengeance is a failed crime flick about a cop who chases a serial killer who's obsessed with a rock band, there's only a small amount of blood. One stupid gore gimmick at the end, which they placed on the DVD cover (the dutch shock DVD cover). The actors tried to make something out of it but failed, there's nothing entertaining about the movie. I watched the whole thing, and it's just sh*t. I appreciate funny bad trashy horror films or action movies, but this one's just plain bad. Not even in a good way. Forget about it.

There is a shop in the Netherlands were sometimes you can find weird flicks that are rare or OOP, I already catch me over there a DVD of Death Spa, supposed to be OOP. last time I found this rare one. It clocks in at 99 minutes, a real long time for an independent. Well, I can tell that it never is boring, the storyline is actually really nice, but if they should have a budget they could have worked it out better. The acting is convincing, the camera does his work like it should, lightning is okay editing too. But the only problem that this movie has is the lacking of blood and gore. Only the last minute has a bit of a gory shot, supposed all the money went that way. Anyway, I have seen worser. I didn't know that this is an OOP, strange that at the shop they have real copies of this one, or like Death Spa and the much searched Prison. Weird, really weird