Horreur dans la ville

A young, unstable man hacks to death the lady and man he lives with, and Texan Sheriff Dan Stevens comes face to face with the killer, to only see him gunned down by his men after he tries to escape when captured. At the hospital, he's pronounced dead, but secretly he's used in an experiment by some surgeons working on a formula to help the body genetically heal in quick succession. They thought they could control him and this development would bring them success, but now this homicidal murderer is an unstoppable killing machine and Sheriff Stevens and his rookie Deputy are on the trail.

Norris' fans might dig it, but others might find this cheap-jack b-film a boring chore. I thought it was fair. Anyhow who's the man, Chuck's the man. Not much of an actor though, but we know. He gets by with that golden blonde hair and legendary chop-suey who-ha…. And not forgetting that distinguishable fuzz above the lip. The premise is like an over-extended episode of "Walker, Texas Ranger" meets John Carpenter's "Halloween (1977)". Actually a lot scenes and filming techniques closely resemble "Halloween" and even its first sequel, but the main difference it's headed by Norrissssssss. The far-fetched concept isn't bad with slasher tones, a lady in peril get-up and a mad scientist theme, but it throws so much in that there seems to be too much useless filler (like the corny romance sequences, biker trouble (nice work in the bar Chuck, but we already know how good you are), scientific moral dilemmas and non-effective comic humour) interrupting what could've been more fun. Silly it is to begin with, but do we want to see Norris romancing, or kicking ass? These redundant acts only slowed it up and got in the way on the main story. What outweighs the film is the weakly lacking script with many clumsy dialogues. Norris even gets time to share some heart-warming advice. Director Michael Millar starts off pretty slowly, but in the second half demonstrates well-shot camera placement and steady pockets of poignant tension. The atmospheric synthesizer score seemed to work. Chuck gets his hands dirty with some gusty scuffles involving the super-human killing machine, like the modest, if unspectacular showdown with him using his jump-kicks (in slow-motion of course) and sudden close-ups to show that focuses on his face. Norris' chimes in with a stoic performance, but goes gusty when the action calls. Brian Libby's menacingly towering figure is effective. Ron Silver sticks out as the humane doctor, while William Finley goes all-smarmy as deceitfully mad doctor looking for that Nobel Prize award. Stephen Furst as the overweight, downright clueless deputy was there for the laughs, but where were they. Toni Kalem looks all-sweet as Norris old flame.

If you can get past the painfully slow and boring parts of this film, you should have a rather good time watching it much like I did. It's a fun little horror from the 80's with the ridiculous but hilarious Chuck Norris so of course, you can expect cheesy lines and poorly placed kung fu moves from him.

I was actually surprised by some of the suspense in this film. They actually managed quite a bit of it. The story is pretty silly but it seems like every Chuck Norris movie has the same premise in a way: some sort of bad guy is terrorizing people and Chuck Norris has to fight him. The acting was pretty bad but I guess that's expected. Don't expect an Oscar worthy film from this but turn off your brain for 100 minutes and have a good time!

This Chuck Norris vehicle was a little different for its time, taking inspiration not only from the slasher films of the time but classic Dr. Frankenstein type stories.

So one could say this is part suspense, part sci-fi, and part horror as Norris plays a low key sheriff of a small Texas town. His nemesis this time is a man named John Kirby (Brian Libby), a disturbed sort who'd gone on a rampage and then been gunned down. However, interfering doctors decide to test their experimental rejuvenating serum on the guy, and turn him into a virtually indestructible monster.

Aside from one scene where Norris humiliates a gang of bikers, this doesn't play out like your usual Norris story, and as mentioned goes for scares more than it does action. Director Michael Miller, who'd previously done the cult classic "Jackson County Jail", handles the material with skill, and manages to create some honest-to-God tension, relying on the music score (composed by Peter Bernstein and Mark Goldenberg) as little as possible. There's one sequence at about the halfway point that will automatically have the viewer thinking of "Halloween", and Libby is genuinely creepy as the killer, having little in the way of dialogue. He's introduced in a striking opening sequence in which the sense of chaos and prowling camera greatly assist in the the mood and the sense of a mind deteriorating.

An interesting supporting cast certainly helps, although Toni Kalem is an unfortunately nondescript leading lady and the supposed comedy relief intended by the casting of Stephen Furst as Norris' deputy doesn't really work too well. Ron Silver is also stuck in a grating role as a one-note "voice of reason" type of guy, but excellent character players Steven Keats and William Finley are amusing to watch as the scientists doing things just as much for their own egos & gratification as any desire to help mankind.

"Silent Rage" is a good deal of fun and gets a lot out of its rural setting. The climactic fight is especially noteworthy the way it takes place without a music score to help drive it along. The movie may not appeal to Norris fans across the board, with its lack of emphasis on his fighting skills, but if they're looking for something a little off the beaten path, it does have its rewards.

Trivia note: none other than Katey Sagal sings the movies' love song.

Seven out of 10.

I always liked this film and have wanted a sequel to it. Yes, it could have been better than it was, but it was fun to watch. Stephen Furst's character has to be the most pathetic deputy ever. There really wasn't much of a plot. But it was fun to watch this unkillable guy and no matter what you do to him, he just keeps on ticking like the energizer bunny. It's a fun movie.

It could be argued that this movie ripped off Halloween, and I'd have to agree, but at least there's an explanation behind the seemingly indestructible nature of the killer in this movie.

The bulk of this movie is hard to watch. Too much of Norris trying to act and not enough of the fighting that made him famous. Chuck's deputy sidekick is one unfunny joke after another. The love scenes were awkward. I didn't even enjoy the gratuitous Norris vs. bikers fight.

The killer's scenes, on the other hand, were mesmerizing. The movie starts with his failed struggle to maintain his sanity. We witness his descent into madness and homicidal rage and then his transformation into one of the most terrifying "monsters" I've ever seen on film.

Think of it as a typically bad Chuck Norris movie where the killer steals the show and makes the movie slightly better than bad. Bonus: A musical score that at moments was surprisingly effective.