Les rues de l'enfer

The late 70's early 80's, particularly with the push of home video, saw a deluge of trashy, violent movies that were the joy of my early teens, back in the day when renting an 18+ movie as a kid was pretty easy :).

Bronx Warriors, Exterminator and in my opinion the king of them all, Class of 84, led the way in this boob filled, blood dripping bonanza.

Savage Streets, whilst a lesser entry, is still pretty good for what it was trying to achieve. The draw card was (and probably still is) Linda Blair in her continued efforts to movie along from The Exorcist. Its violent, sleazy and entertaining enough although the passing of time has not been kind.

This one pretty much has it all. It wears 1980s on its forehead. Linda Blair gets star billing in a role that was a far departure from her usual victim parts. Age 24 when this was filmed, she really seems to revel in this new role. Linnea Quigley gives one of the best performances of her career as a deaf-mute. One year older than Blair, the implication is that she is Blair's younger sister.

Linda (wisely) avoids nudity during the shower scene. She did that the year before in CHAINED HEAT. But she does have an artsy candlelit bathtub scene where she is nude displaying her ample assets.

Also, you know this is an eighties film when the shower scene features an abundance of pubic hair. You wouldn't see that today.

SAVAGE STREETS has nudity, violence, rape, murder, revenge, 80s music, and good locations.

But is also has something else....

Homo hijinks. There's a guy gang called the Scars. They kiss on the lips. One guy sucks another thumb. One wears more makeup than Boy George. And they are CONSTANTLY touching one another. WTF? Did I miss something in the 80s? Oh, yeah...and they have to assert their masculinity through rape. Right.

Sal Landi, as one of the gang members, gives an outstanding performance. Blair is in top form. Check it out!

High school hellcat gets revenge on gang-bangers & thugs in this 80's cult classic. The music soundtrack is outstanding & is truly the movie's highlight.

Brenda (Linda Blair), along with her high school friends, feels its a good idea to steal some hoodlum's car & total it after her deaf/mute sister walks into the middle of the road and almost gets hit by them. This doesn't sit well for the decidedly homo-erotic gang of 'bad boys' lead with sadistic panache by Jake, so they decide to rape Brenda's sister which leads to her seeking vengeance in this 80's exploitation staple.

Some might say that this film is simple-minded and while there's truth to that and it's a valid point, this film is also a pretty good piece of trash that wears it's exploitation badge on it's sleeve. I admire that and it's a fun enough seedy little ride that lets me excuse Blair's terribly campy acting throughout. Director Danny Stienmann does a bang-up job and if he'll just do another film of this caliber I promise i'll forgive him for "Friday the 13th: A New Beginning" Oh yeah, and I have to give props to John Vernon, as well, as his part, though rather small, is still greatness.

Eye Candy: Linda Blair, Rebecca Perle, and Suzee Slater get topless; Linnea Quigley shows boobs and a hint of muff (but it's in a very unerotic scene); various extras show tits, ass & bush in the obligatory shower scene

My Grade: B+

BCI's 2-disc set DVD Extras: Disc 1) Audio commentary by director Danny Steinmann; Second commentary by actors Robert Dryer and Sal Landi & director of photography Stephen Posey; & Third commentary by producer John Strong and actors Dryer and Johnny Venocur Disc 2) Interviews with Blair, Quigley, Venocur, Dryer, & Strong; Theatrical trailer for this film; and trailer for "Final Exam"

Savage Streets (1984) is one of my favorite trashy flicks. Linda Blair is out for revenge! Dressed in black and armed with a crossbow (that has one heck of a pull) walking the streets, stalking the street scum that have wronged her family and friends. See her marinate in the tub, calculating her every move. This movie's classic Linda Blair. If you love bad movies, this ones for you. It has everything a b-movie fan loves. Bad dialog, hammy acting, pedestrian direction and sleaze (the good kind, not the one that gives you bad flashbacks or nightmares). A couple of the genre's mainstays also have supporting roles, Linnea Quigley and John Vernon make co-star appearances (what no Michelle Bauer?). This movie has bad girls, bad clothes and bad attitude. I highly recommend this movie.

For trash lovers only.