I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

A kickboxer's father and girlfriend are kidnapped and murdered, with the blame being placed on the kickboxer. After an initial fight with the local mob boss where his butt is handed to him, the kickboxer teams up with a crippled Vietnam vet, who toughens him up. Now, as the Dark Angel, who cruises the streets stopping crime Ninja Turtle style.Allegedly, this film took five years to make. If true, that is a sad fact. It's just about the most poorly put together film I've seen in a while, at least one that received distribution. Aside fro ma few brief gore sequences, the movie is boring and a real drag on anyone who views it.Nobody in this film knows how to act. The only person with any Hollywood potential at all is Kim Reynolds, who plays Cassie. She had great presence, and it didn't hurt that she was fairly attractive. But seeing as this film was made in 1997 and she has no other screen credits as of 2009, I think she missed her window.This film doesn't need a long review. It's just not worth watching and the review could be summed up in one word: rubbish. The DVD comes with a bonus film, "Canvas of Blood", which I'm sure is just as bad. I didn't even bother to check it out because it will be a while before I can sit through that much agony again... even with the assistance of Grand MacNish Scotch whiskey (which "comes in its trademark bottle that just asks to be picked up and poured").

After his father has his head blown off and his fiancé dry-humped as well as killed before his eyes as he was tied up, beat to a pulp and forced to watch, Alex (World Champion kick-boxer Curtis Bush) is nursed back to health by a Vietnam Vet, who has his own beef with the mafioso, who trains him to become a lean-mean revenge taking machine as the avenging vigilante, 'the Dark Angel' Clearly this film's of the 'so bad, it's good' variety and is so unintentionally laughably inept in pretty much every aspect of the movie (except the fight scenes that are at least passable) that one can't help but crack a smile at the sheer awfulness of it all.Eye Candy: Kim Reynolds shows off her T&A (and 'blink & you'll miss it' muff) My Grade:as a real film I'd rate it as a 1, but i'll add an extra star or two (or three) just for the (brain dead)entertainment factor alone.Shock-o-Rama DVD Extras: 3 unintentionally humorous news clips about Curtis Bush; Trailers for "Bacterium", "Chainsaw Sally", "Dark Chamber", "Drainiac", "Millennium Crisis", "Bite Me!", "Creature from the Hillbilly Lagoon", "Feeding the masses", "Prison-a-go go", "Screaming Dead", "Shock-o-rama", "Sinful", & "Skin Crawl";the DVD also contains a second movie "Canvas of Blood"

A bunch of nasty thugs who work for vicious crime kingpin Hawthorne (a deliciously hammy portrayal by Tom Story) kill both the father and fiancé of ace martial artist Alex Hunter (a hopelessly wooden performance by real-life kickboxing champion Curtis Bush). The thugs severely beat Alex up, but don't finish him off. Big mistake. After being nursed back to health and extensively trained in the fine art of down'n'dirty streetfighting by tough, yet friendly crippled black Vietnam veteran Joshua (amiable Rod Suiter), Alex decks himself out in black ninja garb, assumes the gnarly name the Dark Angel, and declares open season on no-count criminal scum who terrorize the streets of the city. Naturally, everything eventually culminates in the inevitable showdown between Alex and Hawthorne and his army of mean flunkies.Man, does this often uproariously atrocious honey possess all the right wrong stuff to qualify as a real four-star stinkeroonie: we've got totally all-thumbs (mis)direction by Mardy Smith, laughably lousy acting by a game, but lame no-name cast, tin-eared dialogue, a funky, syncopated synthesizer score by Danny Dennison, a by-the-numbers hackneyed and predictable script by Kathy Varner, clunky action set pieces, a gut-busting godawful ending credits theme song, and an "it ain't over yet" sequel set-up conclusion (alas, said sequel has so far not been made). Moreover, this flick offers an inspired sense of the absurd. For example, every back alley, parking lot and street corner in the city just happens to have nefarious hoodlums on it. Plus Alex magically pops up out of nowhere to save the day time and time again. Bonus points are in order for Kim Reynolds as feisty meddlesome tabloid newspaper reporter Cassie: Although the lovely lass probably couldn't act her way out of a soggy cardboard box, Miss Reynolds still gets my respect because she apparently never bothers to wear underwear and takes a wholly gratuitous, but still much-appreciated bath so male viewers can drool over her luscious naked body. In addition, this movie really pours on the marvelously excessive brutal and gory over-the-top violence: throats are sliced open, heads are blown up, hands are cut off, and, in the undeniable sidesplitting splatter highlight, an irate female motorist runs over the head of a would-be carjacker. While by no means a genuinely good picture, this baby nonetheless does possess a certain clumsy sincerity which in turn greatly enhances its considerable campy charm. A complete cruddy riot.

Here we have a fun, no-budget action movie that cannot be taken seriously. In it, real life kickboxing champ Curtis Bush seems to have a great life going for him (complete with a very beautiful, yet ATROCIOUSLY acted, lady and a class where he teaches kids his art of kicking ass). Suddenly, his wife is gangbanged and killed, his dad's head gets blown apart, and he is beaten and left for dead after being forced to watch the whole ordeal. Well, I'm sure you know what that means! With the help of a crippled elderly guy who himself was victimized by the same gangsters who were responsible and clearly has some sort of gray paint in his hair that's smudged on the side of his face, our seething hero is nursed back to health and begins to learn some much-needed street smarts to go along with his deadly martial arts skills. Next, people die horribly, splattered every which way by the masked nutball who quickly becomes known as the Dark Angel (or the Psycho Kickboxer, if you prefer)! Blood and gore galore! A D-grade action tour-de-force and a must-see for fans of any of the good ole trashy, ultraviolent, no-budget cinema!