Tenement

A piggish gang of inner-city punks embark on a sadistic killing spree inside a ruinous low-income housing facility, intent on making the building "their own". Some truly vexatious scenes of gleefully exacted torture and murder make TENEMENT one of the most inclement exploitation films of the 80s.

Rather deficiently crafted for the most part, this is still possibly schlock-queen Roberta Findlay's most technically accomplished effort, and it actually features a few uncommonly decent performances. TENEMENT is a deliberately discomforting urban horror film recommended explicitly to those seeking a challenge to their humane sensitivities and emotional sang-froid...not exactly a "feel good movie of the year" nominee, but it certainly meets its grievous objectives head-on. Be aware of what you're in for.

5/10

Fed up with their basement serving as headquarters to a gang of violent, drug-taking street punks, the tenants of a run-down New York tenement building inform the police about their unwanted guests' stash of illegal narcotics and firearms; believing the gang to be safely behind bars, the delighted tenants hold a party to celebrate, but elation quickly turns to terror when they discover that the thugs have been released from jail and are looking for revenge.

Just a few seconds of the horribly dated rap theme-song for Tenement should be enough for most sane movie fans to switch off in abject horror, but those who stay the distance (the certifiably insane, lobotomy patients, obsessive fans of z-grade trash) will find that bad 80s music is possibly the least offensive thing about this film: schlock director Roberta Findlay packs her film to the rafters with scenes of mean-spirited violence and sleaze carefully designed to keep even the most twisted of movie degenerates drooling with glee, including several bloody stabbings, a pair of scissors in the face, a throat slashing, and a rape that ends with the old 'broom handle up the punani' routine.

Sadly, while a catalogue of assorted unsavoury acts like this would normally qualify a film as an unmissable exploitation treat in my book, Findlay's typically ham-fisted direction, unconvincing gore, and terrible performances from nearly all involved make this film a gruelling experience for all the wrong reasons. It's not often that a movie can feature so much atrocity, yet still be most memorable for its bad guys' (and gal's) terrible dress sense: sporting cropped vests (tastefully slashed), chains, black spandex, and a fetching range of studded leather apparel, they look like they've either spent the evening partying hard at an S&M club or just been to an audition for raunchy 80s dance troupe Hot Gossip.

Some IMDb reviewers have cited this as their favourite of Findlay's directorial work, although as far as I am concerned, choosing your favourite Roberta Findlay film is akin to choosing your favourite STD.

In a truly slummy area of NYC, a vicious street gang squats inside a dingy apartment building. One of the residents rats them out to the cops, but the revolving doors of justice being what they are, the scum are back out on the street later in the day. Guided by their cool-cat leader Chaco (Enrique Sandino), they spend one whole night and early morning terrorizing the residents, one floor at a time.

Considered by some to be exploitation legend Roberta Findlay's finest effort, "Tenement" (a.k.a. "Game of Survival") is gloriously trashy. It's got plenty of sex and violence to satisfy lovers of the genre, with decent action and great attention to grim and grubby detail. This is pretty much prime sleaze, although it does suffer from an over abundance of dummies. These protagonists just do not act sensible often enough. The only one of them who's got something resembling a brain is building tough guy Sam Washington (Joe Lynn). But it's still fun when, in the movies' final quarter, Washington leads his comrades in a concerted effort to thwart the bad guys.

And what magnificently nasty bastards they are. Sandino is an amusing head villain, with future Hollywood character actor Paul Calderon making an impressive film debut as one of his flunkies. Super sexy Karen Russell is easy to watch as Chacos' lady friend Chula. All in all, the acting IS better than you'd usually find in a Findlay movie. We've got Mina Bern as old lady Ruth, Walter Bryant as amiable Mr. Wesley, Corinne Château as Carol, the prostitute supporting a junkie boyfriend (Angel David of "The Crow"), Rhetta Hughes as the tough talking Leona, Larry Lara as the insufferable Rojas, Alfonso Manosalvas as lovable old blind man Mr. Gonzales, and Gy Mirano as the very pregnant Anita.

There are some lovely gore moments, and a very hip soundtrack. (That theme song is likely to be stuck in your head after the movie is over.) The single most depraved sequence involves a broomstick; it's also something the viewer will definitely remember.

Lively entertainment with a smashing climax that takes place as the night is at its darkest and stormiest.

Seven out of 10.

I have to say, I had never heard of this flick. It came in a 3-pack I just got called 'Grindhouse Psychos' and man the price was worth this one flick alone. Even if the other two films SUCK, I'd pay what I paid for all any day for just this movie.

The acting is atrocious, though you'll see some familiar faces. I kept going: 'I've seen that dude/chick in something before...' but it was difficult to put my finger on exactly what it was. "Tenement" was totally brutal. It has some scenes that are downright nasty and this is not a film for the faint of heart. Here is the thing though; this movie is really entertaining! It might be cheesy and the blood looks like Campbells tomato soup, but there sure is plenty of it to make it worth your while.

I commend the folks who made "Tenement" because you can tell they put everything they had into it and that's why it deserves this rating. Unlike so many other films that Hollywood keeps churning out these days, every penny was squeezed dry and people had a blast making this film and you can totally tell through the whole grueling experience. I watched it last night, but I slept on it before reviewing it and today I kept thinking how awesome it was...Yea, I dug this one!

The plot: a group of HILARIOUSLY STEREOTYPICAL New York tenement tenants call the cops on some AWESOMELY BAD thugs living in the basement. The thugs get out of jail and come back for revenge and in a big way.

If you can find this flick, buy it. It's worth every cent. The only downfall I found with this one was the ending...a little lackluster.

7 out of 10, kids.

I first saw this in the 90s on a vhs. Revisited it recently. This exploitation film is loaded with awful acting, bad effects but it is violent, claustrophobic n very brutal (the rape scene). The less said bah Findlay's direction, the better. Basically it is a mix of Assault on Precinct 13 n Demons 2. A gang with their lol leather attire kills n assaults tenants of an isolated shabby building. With the telephone lines cut off n no help from the outside world, they r isolated n terrorised in their own building but they do hold their fort n tries to fight em off with terrible consequences. It has some brutal kills with over the top blood n cheesy effects. The hottie Corinne Chateau does show her boobs but in a miss n a blink situation. The names of characters r poppo, chaco, chula, monk, nines, etc.