Enemy Territory

This was one of those films I constantly saw on the video previews of ex-rentals and each time I saw it pop up my hunger only grew to watch it. Produced by Charles Band's Empire pictures, "Enemy Territory" was a nice surprise (strangely not on DVD yet) and truly a sock 'em urban action survival romp that is compulsively brutal, raw and relentless in its tightly constructed surges.

Barry (Gary Frank) a struggling insurance salesman heads out to a rundown complex building the Lincoln Towers late one evening for a client (Frances Foster) to sign some very important papers for his company and especially for himself. However he gets caught in an altercation which sees him fighting for his life against a savage gang called the vampires, who rule the building at night. Also getting involved is Will (Ray Parker, Jr) a telephone repairman who comes to his aid. It's going to be one long night for the pair, as they try seeking help from the buildings tenants or it would be their blood for the vampires. They hunt at night for blood.

A low-budget, but well-pulled off enterprise by director Peter Manoogian. He creates a gritty edge from its surroundings (plenty of taut corridor running), where the pacing is fast, the tension is on boil and the claustrophobic build-up has you biting your finger nails. A simple-minded script keeps it tough, especially with its biting wit and a bit of social commentary lingers on urban decay. Still just take it as caught in the wrong place, at the wrong time situation. Coming to the forefront is the potent performances by the cast. Gary Frank is fittingly good in his meek portrayal and Ray Parker, Jr is affably brought across. Their chemistry simply crackles. The tremendous standout would be aggressively hammy and towering Tony Todd as the count, the leader of the gang. His speeches are pure poetry and he eats it up. A spunky Stacey Dash adds plenty of kick to her role and also Frances Foster. Jan-Michael Vincent would appear in a small part as a grizzled, resentful paraplegic Vietnam veteran. In the background is a pounding soundtrack.

I saw this movie a looooooooooooong time ago. At that time I didn't like it. But I decided to try it again to see whether I like it better now. I think that when you re-watch a movie after a few years the possibility is there that you will like it even more or hate it even more. The more movies you watch the more you broaden your horizon and the more your opinion on movies changes. Well, after re-watching this movie my conclusion was "Oh my god, this is great stuff". And it is. It's very 80ies and has a lot of suspense. You are into it very fast and then it's a long ride till the end. Just awesome.

This flick is a good representative of the 80's underrated B-movies, that gets you not by the quality, but specially by the lack of it. The best thing is when a movie does not take itself seriously, the essence of a nice low-budget production. The acting is poor and over the top, the surroundings are clearly used from another pictures done before, very goofy lines and involuntary humor. And you gotta love it! All these are present here, helped by the reverse Midas touch of the prolific producer Charles Band, notorious for his Roger Corman wannabe personality, that guarantees the fun for a penny. In the story, a phone company worker (Ray Parker Jr., whose sole glory was the making of the hit song "Ghostbusters", in his acting debut) is caught up in the middle of a crisis with a violent street gang called the Vampires, that control a project building where a rundown insurance salesman played by Gary Frank stepped on the wrong toe by touching a gang member after dark; the Vampires leader, The Count (Tony Todd), wants blood to make amends and the duo must fight for their lives until the sun comes up, with the helping hand of some courageous inhabitants. This suspense is OK, the situations are OK, I am OK and you are OK. Be OK by watching this OK movie. You'll feel just OK after.

Insurance salesman Barry (Gary Frank) visits an urban ghetto to sell insurance to a client and has a run in with a young member of a vicious street gang called the Vampires. This gang runs the district. Soon their leader, aptly named 'The Count' (Tony Todd) hears about this and wants Barry dead. Barry is trapped in the apartment building with no way out; we soon see the murder of an elderly cop who tries to protect Barry so we know the gang mean business. Barry teams up with Ray Parker Jnr and they also enlist the help of the only man the gang supposedly fears, the wheelchair bound Parker, a Vietnam War veteran, (played by Jan-Michael Vincent). However they are totally outnumbered. The vampires are after blood.

The film is fast paced and entertaining but does has strong violence and racism in as well so be warned. Sadly this film is hard to find and seems to have disappeared since the VHS days. Ray Parker Jnr is first class and you question why he never became a mega star. Tony Todd is a great presence as always and it's sad that Candy man was the height of his career, he deserved better. He does seem to enjoy himself in the role as the count. Jan-Michael Vincent completes a great cast. Also a great music soundtrack from the Boogie boys an American hip hop band group from New York, where this film was shot. The band sadly spilt up a year after this film was made.

Watch out for the clever ending; note the gang are called Vampires when you look for this. This film is worth the effort to hunt down even if it's only an old VHS you can find. Deserves a DVD release.

A nice assortment of characters, are terrorized by a gang called the "Vampires", while desperately trying to escape from a "project" high rise. The strength of this film is having very sympathetic heroes, Gary Frank, and Ray Parker Jr., interacting with likable tenants, including Jan Michael Vincent playing a whacked Vietnam Vet. The "Vampire"gang are all generic, unmemorable, minority thugs, with the notable exception of "The Count". The movie is both claustrophobic, and a real stretch of realism, but is nevertheless entertaining. Considering the limited budget, "Enemy Territory" is a surprisingly good film..... - MERK