Sciacalli

Once every blue moon, there's nothing I like to do more than dive into my old VHS-collection in search for obscure treasure gems exactly like "Jackals". Films like these are never shown on television anymore, and I sincerely doubt if they were ever released on DVD anywhere in the world. And yet, "Jackals" - as well as many more of these contemporary and rare thrillers - is genuinely worthwhile!

The film has a cool setting and ditto plot, a handful of harsh and violent bits and - most of all - a couple of crude & relentless villains (played by Dennis A. Pratt and especially Gerald McRaney). Former California copper Joe Case visits a befriended couple in small Arizonan border town, but witnesses the brutal execution of a young Mexican girl during a horse ride in the desert. When he reports to the local police, he recognizes deputy Jake Wheeler as the killer. For you see, instead of keeping illegal Mexican immigrants out, Wheeler moonshines with a profitable business to smuggle them in! The poor girl tried to escape, and Wheeler can't have that.

This dark, no-nonsense and gritty thriller is also known as "American Justice" and comes warmly recommended if you also enjoyed more mainstream thrillers like "Internal Affairs, "Flashpoint", "Q&A", etc...

Simon and Simon find themselves on opposite sides of the fence in this one. And dare I say it's easily the best performances by both Jameson Parker and Gerald McRaney I have seen on film. Grimier and kinkier than you might expect. With some nice squib action and some truly adept fight scenes. Watch out for a cool laser pointed rifle thing too. Wilford Brimley is his normal awesome self. And some guy named Jack Lucarelli( a friend of the Simons me thinks) also stars. This one has really stuck with me over the years. Always creeping back into my world. Would love to see a nice version someday. I have it as American Justice on a Lightning Video VHS. Can't recommend it enough.

A lot of the people in this movie were locals in a real border town. The man who plays Warner is an actual cowboy and very nice man. The actual ranch locations used were his property and fence lines along the U.S. Mexican border. This movie caused quite an issue when it was filmed in south east Arizona for it's realism. The extras in the movie were all ranch owners who face these problems every day and were thrilled to have at least some of their story told. I recommend this movie, and a lot of the locations were on TV lately on Fox news and other cable news shows while the minutemen were in Arizona. The area where the movie was shot is a hotbed for illegal immigration and corruption, and I thought the movie did a fabulous job showing that.

This one is a real sleeper. If it hadn't been dissed by one of its stars prior to release, it might have been a hit. The character, Connie, in particular reminded me of someone you might meet in a Tijuana back alley on a dark night. He played his part perfectly.

I agree with a couple of the other reviews: a 'sleeper', and I was also lucky to find an old VHS copy in the sale bin at a video store a while back. Given the fairly high profile of the "Simon & Simon" TV stars, certainly at the time this was made, it is somewhat surprising that it went absolutely below the radar. Compared to big name movies with similar subject matter (like "The Border"), this film does a very good job of treating the issue of illegal border crossings from Mexico with a lot of depth, and I would say that in some ways it is even superior in drawing you into the characters situations - a sense of reality that is often missing from more polished or fast paced movies. I strongly recommend viewing if you like any of the actors, or are interested in this sort of story.