New York 1991 - Nacht ohne Gesetz

Inspired by the real-life police strike in early-1980s Halifax, the obscure Canadian thriller "Self Defense", a.k.a. "Siege" is a hell of a good time for exploitation devotees. During this period of police inaction, criminal scum are able to do as they please. And so a gang of trouble-making bigots with a "cause" storm into a gay bar and terrorize the customers. Ultimately, almost all the victims end up dead, except for Daniel (Terry-David Despres), who flees for his life. He makes it inside an old apartment building. Initially, the residents are unsure of how to proceed, but soon they decide to shelter Daniel and fight back against the psycho antagonists, who are led by a stone-faced creep named Cabe (Doug Lennox, "Lars and the Real Girl"). And they prove to be decent fighters.

If this hadn't been a "lost" film for such a long time, this would surely have been considered a classic B flick over the decades. Directors Paul Donovan and Maura O'Connell, who went on to do another cult flick, "DEFCON-4", give the story great pace. In fact, the movie is so exciting, quickly paced, and manipulative (these filmmakers know how to push your buttons), that viewers can gloss over any flaws in the narrative and just enjoy the ride. Needless to say, it can get pretty violent, and there's some of the standard "stupid characters doing stupid things" tropes that people expect to find in many movies. But this viewer will say that it hooked him early on, and often delivered the goods.

The cast includes a few actors whom you may recognize from other things: Tom Nardini ("Cat Ballou") as Horatio, Jack Blum ("Happy Birthday to Me") as Patrick (a blind kid with acute hearing), and Keith Knight ("Class of 1984"). Jeff Pustil, who was also in "DEFCON-4", is an amusing highlight as the most aggressive of the bad guys. Daryl Haney is also a standout as the calm and cool Chester; you may better know him as a writer of such things as "Crime Zone", "Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood", and "Xtro III: Watch the Skies".

Excellent atmosphere and a haunting electronic score are assets. Worth noting is the tidbit of info that this apparently contains the only known existing news footage of that aforementioned police strike. There is also a priceless, final second twist before the end credits start appearing.

Eight out of 10.

A gritty little early-80s exploitation film from Canada, Siege captures the look and feel of similar movies of the day (Assault on Precinct 13, The Warriors, Death Wish 3), but ultimately fails to capitalise on its interesting premise.

The movie opens with news reports of a police strike in Halifax, Nova Scotia. A gang of right-wing extremists take advantage of the lack of law enforcement by launching an attack on the members of a down-town gay bar, which results in the massacre of all but one of the bar's clientèle. The sole survivor, Daniel, escapes but is pursued by the gang, until he manages to find refuge with some friendly people in a tenement block. What follows is a night of terror, as the killers attempt to break into the building and finish their job.

This low budget action thriller starts off promisingly with the brutal slayings in the bar, but, due to a handful of ridiculous plot turns and some pretty poor acting, it quickly loses any credibility it might have had. And when it is revealed that one of the good guys is a survivalist who not only has his apartment linked to his neighbours' by a handy secret passage, but also has access to a range of weaponry, the film takes a step too far into the realms of unbelievability and is unable to claw its way back.

Despite a couple of nifty scenes in which the ingenious heroes set traps for the bad guys, and one or two gruesome deaths (an arrow through the neck is the gory highlight; the silly home-made rocket launcher the most ludicrous), Siege only manages to be an average entry in the urban survivalist sub-genre.

One helluva good time. Gritty and chock full of spine-tingling suspense. Borrows a lot from Assault on Precinct 13 but manages to conjure plenty of creativity. A stellar choice to throw into a late-night movie bingeing session.

One of the best Canuxploitations out there, from the very interesting Paul Donovan. After a beginning that looks more like a street gang movie, it quickly transforms into a claustrophobic siege film, clearly inspired by "Assault on Precinct 13". Made with very little money, but with a lot of talent; it's a hidden jewel that deserves to be better known.

This was a film I'd never even heard of until Shudder put it on their lineup and what a treat it is. It's clearly low budget, but has a lot of energy and spark as it details a siege in a gay bar where the survivor runs away into the night and takes shelter with a kind couple and their friends. The gang returns and wages an all-out battle.

It has its flaws and the pacing could be tighter, but I'm surprised this one isn't very well remembered. It seems more relevant now than ever.