Inferno

The fourth of nine films bearing the title INFERNO, most of which are straight-to-video or "Z" grade flopperoos.

Before watching this alleged martial-arts but in reality actionless no-brainer, you gotta ask yourself, what DOES director Fred Olen Ray have in common with compatriots Bill Carson, Sam Newfield, Roger Collins, Freddie Valentine, Nick Medina and the incomparable Ed Raymond? Give up? well you will be underwhelmed to discover that they are ALL the same person! Not a promising start! But there again these ARE the people responsible for the timeless classics DINOSAUR GIRLS, EVIL TOONS, THE BRAIN LEECHES and who can forget BAD GIRLS FOR MARS?

So armed with this knowledge (and I was deprived of this vital information on my first viewing) you can sit back and watch Olen-Ray's INFERNO. Don "The Dragon" Wilson "stars" (I use the term loosely) as Connors - our chop-sockey hero who seems more adept with guns and wigs than anything else. Actors appear in different roles, none of which matter, they are so stupefyingly amateurish.

Why the hell am I reviewing this trash?

I caught this flick on tv, and thought "lets give it a chance!"

I don't know too much about Don 'The Dragon' Wilson, suffice to say that he doesn't really seem too much of a dragon to me :-)

The martial arts are non-existent; there are some high kicks, a few punches and that's all. The cinematography is pretty bad too, as all scenes are uninspiring. The fight scenes are short and badly shot.

The plot is laughable. I won't spoil anything, but it's so bad it's embarrassing. The acting is bad too - most actors overact their lines.

There are about three sex scenes thrown in like an afterthought. They are bad too (any surprises?) because there is no chemistry, no connection or mutual attraction between the characters. The sex just happens. There's a busty (but slightly aging) blonde and a rather attractive brunette that show us their bodies, but that's not enough to save this crap.

In conclusion, avoid it. At least, don't pay for it.

The other comments on this film sum up fairly well the dramatics of it. Don "The Dragon" Wilson is an Interpol agent whose best buddy is killed in an opening shoot-em-up scene. Still hunting terrorists, Wilson is sent to India (helmer Fred Olen Ray sits in for a cameo as Don's boss at Interpol), where he gets into a tangle that leads to a couple of revelations.

There's not much to distinguish this from any other quickie, straight-to-video actioner, except that much of the stunt work seems a little anemic. Nonetheless, I highly recommend the DVD edition of this film (which is entitled "Operation Cobra") to all fans of low-budget movies. One might say, "War, Pestilence, Plague, and Famine -- the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse!" but a close runner up for the fifth spot on that team might -- at first blush -- seem to be "With Director Commentary track by Fred Olen Ray." That conclusion would be a definite mistake.

The director's commentary track is the most fascinating part of the DVD package. Ray pulls relatively few punches in discussing the movie. We learn that the whole film was shot in Hyderabad, India, and Fred tells us that it was the first American movie to be filmed completely in India. (Was "Maya," in the 60s, not all shot on location?) We also learn that although Hyderabad is not among the scenic high lights of India, one of the producers owned a studio there, which made for economical filming! Ray also discusses the ins and outs of low-budget film-making, pointing out where specific locations were used for multiple purposes, and noting the Indian actors who had to be dubbed for the American release. We also learn a good bit about the crew's drinking habits and the outbreak of dysentery on the set, as well as the logistics of the big action finale sequence, which was filmed under less than ideal circumstances. (I got two words for ya -- Flies! Flies!) There is likewise a short on-set featurette, which is mostly home movie footage and not nearly as informative as the commentary track.

Fred Olen Ray makes straight to video/straight to cable movies for less money than Brad Pitt's personal assistant gets paid. Ray is not likely to win an Oscar any time soon (I always felt he should have at least been nominated for "Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers"), and he's not remotely pretentious here. You wanna know about making movies for peanuts in a difficult overseas location? Here it is.

I watched the film once for story, then ran it again with the commentary track. Cut out the middle man and go straight to the commentary. Anyway, Ray throws in enough of the plot (sometimes puzzled by it himself) that you can follow the story with no problem. You can find the DVD, if you shop around, for somewhere in the neighborhood of $5, and if you love Poverty Row movies as much as I do, you'll think it a bargain at twice the price. Forget about the plot and concentrate on America's most prolific non-porn filmmaker at work.

This was a very fun 90's b action film by Don Wilson. Its a pretty standard revenge movie that is fairly predictable but it did enough to stand out that i ended up having a good time. It was interesting to see a movie like this take place and be filmed in India. It allowed for some unique characters and different setting then is the usual. The action is solid and there is a decent supporting cast that kept the movie fun. While the acting and dialogue were below average it plays to the silliness of the film. I had a good time and it's worth a watch if you like Don Wilson films as its one of his better ones.

A surprisingly enjoyable combo from Don Wilson and Fred Olen Ray; a better one from both their resumes. This reminded me a lot of the mainstream Chris Hemsworth film EXTRACTION, with our hero tasked with going to India to take down some villains. Good scumbags for him to battle against and fun fights throughout, although a bit too much of the Playboy-style sex scenes.