Cat Murkil and the Silks

I suppose there was never a time when CAT MURKIL AND THE SILKS would have been called a good movie, critically speaking, but it has become a minor camp mini-classic with its 30-year vintage. The subject matter at hand, although presented in a way we might see as naive, is actually far more relevant today than it was at that time, and considerably more consequential.

No-good, scrawny little punk "Cat" Murkil is the unlikely leader of a honky high school gang that wreaks terror on anyone standing in the way of their juvie-delinquent hijinks. Pitted against racially sectionalized gangs from other sectors of town, they find themselves in a revolving door of violent paybacks in a blood-soaked teenage gang war.

With performances ranging from awful to adequate, and rather poorly paced, this low-budget curiosity piece is best viewed by patient bad movie fans. While far from the worst film I have ever seen(with a few legitimately good moments), I rate it cheritably at 4/10.

This is without doubt one of the worst films I have ever seen. Almost everything about it is awful, especially the editing. This is no exaggeration. Watch something like Nosferatu, which was made in 1922, and then watch this, made over 50 years later and wonder why editing technology hasn't advanced in such a large period of time. The only thing this film is good for is that it's so bad you may have wet yourself by the end (which is crap, as if you had to be told). One of the worst films ever.

Wow - this movie is unbelievable. The tone of the whole thing is so Jeckyl and Hyde - you have to laugh. The film opens with grave quotes from law enforcement experts on how teen gangs are the "corrosive acid to our society" and so on, and then the movie opens with a bunch teen gang members driving around to a song so non-threatening, so soft, so flaccid that it is unintentionally hilarious. The song "Baby, Slow Down" sounds like soft rock that even Firefall wouldn't sing.But the best part is the lead role - this guy is supposed to be this dangerous, seething guy capable of rape, murder, etc. and the "actor" who plays Cat looks like he should be singing Godspell or Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. He's blonde, blue eyed and slightly effeminate - so its a riot when he's threatening black drug dealers or knife wielding Mexicans - this is the kind of movie where some of the supposed high schoolers are played by people who look thirty (like the guys in shower who are knifed). One interesting side note - a young John Ashton plays a high school coach who might have "seen something" - he's easily the best actor in the film (and there is plenty of bad acting) but Ashton went on to big hits like Beverly Hills Cop (he's Judge Reinholds, grumpy partner) and Midnight Run (where he's the sleazy bounty hunter competing with DeNiro). The film is filled with wimpy guys doing Grease talk, mixed in with Bowery Boys and yet some harsh violence. A mess. A weird mess.

So okay, I'm biased; they filmed this at my high school (Santa Maria High School) in '75, and I was one of the $15-a-day extras that walked up and down the corridors carefully not looking at the camera. Still...there *are* others who have seen this movie?! If you saw this movie, please send me a note, I'd love to know why..........

Sure, it's a little silly, but the film stands out far beyond other movies of the age-old "juvenile delinquent" genre. Don't even think about sordid campiness here, because this is the real thing! It is dramatically interesting, and there's enough crude action to cause mass hysteria.. Although it now pales by comparison of today's films on a higher standard, the message on teenage violence still delivers to this day. As it is, the movie remains fun and entertaining.