Alley Cat

Despite a very low budget, which shows in the bad acting, dialog and poor photography (some scenes are too dark), this has the energy of the best exploitation pics and is surprisingly entertaining. The lead character (Mani) is a tough karate fighter and repeatedly kicks in the faces of several gang members throughout the movie. She doesn't hesitate to speak her mind, even in court where it gets her into trouble, and is an early example of the tough heroine in films, still rare today. There's also an abundance of female skin revealed, including inside a women's prison; this picture has all the right ingredients for this type of picture. This is pretty much a version of "Death Wish"(74) with a female instead of Charles Bronson. Justice is shown to be blind, as far as the law & the court system, and this 'cat-fighter' has to make her own rules. There's also a fight scene between two cops which, while it has you chuckling at the lame dialog, is still exciting. Most of the gang members, grimy & scummy, are also funny, in that stupid fashion.

Doing a little research on this movie, I uncovered evidence that this was a troubled production, with both multiple directors and a temporary shutdown in the middle of shooting. The behind the scenes turmoil ended up on screen. The story is kind of a mess. There are characters that disappear for long periods of time (or disappear with no explanation.) There are scenes that seem to provide no real purpose except maybe to make sure the movie gets to an acceptable running time (though it's only 82 minutes long.) But even if there hadn't been problems behind the scenes, there would still be some big problems with the movie. Karin Mani looks nice, but she simply cannot act very well, and her martial art sequences are not the least bit exciting or well choreographed. In the end, what we have here is a movie that had great trash potential but will not satisfy even the most forgiving B movie fan.

A young woman with karate skills takes on a group of killers when trouble comes too close to home. Released in 1984 but the movie looks as if it'd been sitting on the shelf for awhile. Nonetheless, it's a fun film and some scenes actually (and somewhat accidentally) exhibit great atmosphere. You won't believe the karate skills demonstrated in this movie. Karin Man does well for what she's given & looks great doing it.

The amusing "Alley Cat" is a watchable low budget variation on the time honoured "Death Wish" premise with a female lead. It never really catches fire, but it remains a mild diversion anyway - a crude, formulaic, sleazy, cheesy diversion that does deliver some of the requirements of the exploitation genre.

Karin Mani stars as Billie, a young woman living with her grandparents who works herself into a righteous fury when the old folk are targeted by criminal scum. The grandmother is fatally stabbed during a mugging and Billie becomes consumed with the idea of revenge. She meets cute with a nice guy cop named Johnny (Robert Torti) who indulges in some of his own vigilante tactics.

Mani's clearly got what it takes when it comes to the ass kicking department, but in general isn't terribly appealing; Torti scores more strongly in terms of likability. (However, Mani looks so good sans clothes that it's doubtful many people are going to care that much.) Much of the acting is amateurish yet entertaining. Lovely Britt Helfer has a memorable bit as a hooker whom Johnny intimidates into giving up information. Both Jon Greene and Michael Wayne have fun roles as a jerk cop and the prime antagonist of the piece, respectively. Wayne, who sports a scar and is thus named "Scarface", is actually named Krug in the movie, which will amuse any fan of "The Last House on the Left".

There's enough nudity to keep people happy as well as the required shower scene since a plot twist has Billie sent to prison (there's a message in here about the complete unfairness of an incompetent judicial system). One of the cons also makes lesbian overtures towards Billie. The fight scenes aren't the most slickly staged but are basically enjoyable. And the silly music score is just icing on this cake.

It's easy to see why this might be somewhat obscure for its genre but if you're a die hard addict of trash cinema you could certainly do a lot worse.

Seven out of 10.

What a great line! This movie could have been block buster with a little more funding. Great idea with a karate butt kicking actress! Check it out. Worth a gander!