Angel of Destruction

Singer/stripper Delilah (Jessica Mark) is stalked by a creepy ex- mercenary (Jimmy Broome), who likes to leave severed fingers in her dressing room. Justifiably spooked, she hires private eye Brit Alwood (Charlie Spradling) for protection but that ends rather quickly when the psycho shows up in Brit's office minutes after the hiring and kills her. So it is up to Jo Alwood (Maria Ford), Brit's stepsister, to take on the job and stop this killer. Not only that, but she has to deal with sleazy mafia type and former adversary Sonny Luso (Bob McFarland), Delilah's funder who is upset she is too racy and wants her to be more "like Peggy Lee" (what!?!).

I can't believe how long this B-movie masterpiece has eluded me. I don't want to oversell it, but this is about as perfect an exploitation film as you can get with director Charles Philip Moore (DEMON WIND) cramming in everything he could. Essentially a riff on 1992's popular THE BODYGUARD (and essentially a remake of Moore's earlier BLACKBELT [1992], a BODYGUARD ripoff with Don "The Dragon" Wilson that went into production when news of Costner's vehicle hit and beat it to release by 6 months), the film ups the violence and nudity to insane levels. If a fight isn't happening on screen, most likely one of Delilah's nudity filled shows is. Moore reaches the pinnacle during a nighttime assassination attempt where Ford thwarts the goons with her kickboxing skills while clad only in a g-string. It is the type of thing you would expect from a HK production (ESCAPE FROM BROTHEL did it in 1992), but not readily seen in US stuff. The bloody shootouts (done in glorious slo-mo) also echo the HK style at the time. The production tried to get the Philippines to stand in for Hawaii but it doesn't really work.

Not a great film, but enough to waste a few hours pleasantly. usual storyline featuring a seriel killer and a high kicking karate kidette who is out to revenge the murder of her sister.

Maria Ford as the lead is OK and her fight scenes are adequate but not great - she even high kicks 5 guys topless at one point...but my beef with this is why her and not Charlie Spradling, who plays her sister, who dies early on whilst remaining fully clothed throughout! After all Charlie has a much better bod than Maria!

Anyway. Worth a rent but not a buy.

Not really that bad of a movie, mild T & A in it. The acting was not the greatest as usual in most B movies. The continuity in the fight scenes was a little off. But most of the action was there, and I was able to watch it all the way through so it couldn't have been all that bad!

An action B-flick, shot in the Philippines, and showcasing the talents of '90s starlet Maria Ford. She plays a woman investigating her sister's murder who finds himself up against mafia goons and a hulking serial killer with a penchant for misogyny. This trashy low budgeter was shot in the Philippines and contains surprisingly satisfying and crunchy fight scenes alongside gratuitous nudity throughout, a topless fight scene included. The actor who plays the murderer, a very tall blond chap, gives a horrible performance but certainly has an imposing screen presence and the film certainly makes good use of it.

Unlike the reviewers below (who are probably just looking for a larger set of knockers on display), I am GLAD Maria Ford took over the lead in this film. She plays tough undercover cop Jo Alwood, who is out to avenge her sisters death at the hands of a serial killer. This serviceable exploitation story is a staple of the Roger Corman studios (look way back to the early 70s and TNT JACKSON), but this film would not be half as entertaining if not for the infinite talents of the leading lady.

Aside from just being a gorgeous and sexy lady, Maria is one of most talented, most watchable B-movie actresses of all time. As adept at high kicks and convincingly kicking sleazy male butt as she is at dramatic moments AND delivering her Clint Eastwood-style bad-ass dialogue, one must wonder...Is there anything this lovely lady cannot do well? Ms. Ford is terrific with or without her clothes on and carries this entire picture from beginning to end. It is a true shame she has seemingly retired. I know she will be sorely missed by late night cable and video watchers. Does anyone know what happened to her?

The film in general? Well, I can promise you you won't bored! There's action, blood, lots of laughs, good one-liners, nudity, explosions, music video sequences, severed fingers and much much more.