B.O.R.N.

My review was written in August 1989 after watching the movie on Prism video cassette.

A thriller in the genre of Michael Crichton's "Coma", "B. O. R. N." is a direct-to-video feature notable for its veteran cast and pleasantly old-fashioned approach.

Title is an acronym for Body Organ Replacement Network.

Actor-director Ross Hagen has made this a family affair, with numerous relatives and pals doubling both in front of and behind the camera. He portrays an ordinary guy caught in a deadly situation in which evil doctors (led by ever-villainous William Smith) kidnap his pretty daughters to kill them and obrtain organs for lucrative black-market transplants.

With the aid of chums Charlie (Hoke Howell) and Rosie (the late Amanda Blake), he goes after the baddies himself, since the police, notably corrupt detective Morrison (Rance Howard), offer little help.

Pic combines its exploitation elements with a solidly moralistic tone, just like its low budget counterparts from the '50s. Pace is swift and acting effective, especially Russ Tamblyn as a vicious heavy. Poster girl Kelly Mullis (who's graced artwork for such pics as "Shotgun" and "Fortress of Amerikka") gets an acting role here as Hagen's blonde daughter, and has a good screen presence.

BORN (Body Organ Replacement Network) takes perfectly healthy people right off the streets and then slices and dices them and then sells the unwilling donor's organs on the black market. Coma ripoff given the B movie treatment; low production values and once famous actors looking mighty embarassed to be in this film to cash in on a quick paycheck.

Well, my last hope of watching a semi-decent 80s horror movie completely flew out the window when, at least on the copy that I own, the film started with a video-introduction by Troma-founder and notorious bad taste jester Lloyd Kaufman. Apparently Troma served as the distributor for "B.O.R.N", and in case you know a little something about the horror industry, you also know that this company stands for low-budgeted, silly and overall inept horror trash. On the other hand, however, Kaufman's intro was perhaps the least boring part of the entire film. In his very own and almost retarded style Kaufman makes a couple of jokes about the cast and plot. For example, when he explains that the film deals will illegal organ transplants he add-libs the wordplay: "I kidney you not!"

"B.O.R.N" is overall a disappointment and this in spite of several potential strongpoints. The black market organ business is a very macabre topic and the idea of ruthless gangsters cruising around the big city in an authentic ambulance and scouting for innocent victims to kidnap is quite tense and disturbing. Moreover, there a few interesting names in the cast, like William Smith as an emotionless surgeon, Russ Tamblyn as a sleazy kidnapper, P.J. Soles as the vicious brain behind the criminal organization and the odd-by-nature Clint Howard as a police deputy. Then why isn't "B.O.R.N" an undiscovered gem of the late 80s horror era? Well, basically because the whole thing turns into a dull and semi-sentimental soap-opera almost straight from the beginning! The very first victims that we see abducted in the ambulance are already critical to the rest of the plot. A movie such as this needs at least two or three random 'collateral damage' victims in order to set the tone and illustrate how relentless this organ-network in fact is! But here the cowboy- father (played by writer/director Ross Hagen) immediately witnesses how his three adopted daughters are dragged into the ambulance and calls in the help of a befriended former detective to track them down. The rest of the film is a derivative and boring cat-and-mouse thriller instead of a gruesome horror flick. There's hardly any action or suspense, let alone gore and bloodshed, and the coolest actors are given the least screen time. This is even Troma unworthy! In case you want to see better and/or more entertaining movies dealing with more or less the same subjects, look for the intelligent Michael Crichton thriller "Coma" (1978) and the overlooked Larry Cohen gem "The Ambulance" (1990).

Veteran Ross Hagen is star, co-writer, and director of this reasonably diverting B movie with a good (if not terribly original) premise. He plays Buck Cassidy, an amiable cowboy who sees his three kids snatched off the street in front of his eyes. They're taken away in a speeding ambulance to become some of the latest victims in a scheme to cut up healthy people as unwilling organ donors; said organs are then sold on the black market for a hefty price by ice queen villainess Liz (P.J. Soles). Fortunately, Buck has his old buddy Charlie Stack (Hoke Howell), an ex-cop, on his side, and they immediately start the process of tracking the girls down.

You know that with a cast like this that the movie has to have some value, if mainly as a curio. Big bad William Smith plays the evil surgeon, Russ Tamblyn is a volatile thug, Amanda Blake is the kindly Rosie, and both Rance *and* Clint Howard turn up, as a crooked detective and a creepy orderly, respectively. Hagens' wife Claire plays his wife in the movie. Hagen and Howell (with whom Hagen wrote the movie) are a good team, and it's interesting to see the dynamic between them. Charlie is a cynical grump given to saying things like, "The world's a stinking toilet waiting to be flushed." Soles is fun to watch in the antagonist role, as is Smith, who's as scary a surgeon as you're apt to see, and Tamblyn, who really looks like he's enjoying himself.

The movie itself isn't as satisfying. It's a bit of a wait to get to the best stuff. Still, there are good moments, such as the shock when we see just how demented Tamblyn is. He'll kill *anybody*. Things truly get exciting for the final third when Hagen finally kicks the action into high gear. There's one effective car chase and *tons* of gunfire to keep the audiences' attention from wandering too much. The whole thing is nicely shot by the legendary, extremely prolific Gary Graver, and the music by Peter Meisner and William Belote is good. Ultimately, though, the wrap-up just doesn't have as much punch as one would like.

The title stands for Body Organ Replacement Network; the movie is alternatively known as "Merchants of Death". Claire Hagen served as producer, and Howell and Soles take associate producer credits.

Seven out of 10.

#216 Merchants Of Death (AKA: B. O. R. N.) - 1989 (This Film Rates a C- ) This film follows an ambulance crew that abducts three women, intending to harvest their organs for sale on the black market. "People die so people can live". The crew's nefarious activities are part of a larger, well-connected network that fraudulently overcharges for illicit services. When one of the victims' fathers, Buck, is left for dead but survives, he teams up with Charlie, a volatile former cop, to rescue the girls. As Buck and Charlie embark on their quest, they travel in a Winnebago, gathering information, drinking beer and engaging in violent confrontations. Meanwhile, the abducted women are held captive, constantly sedated, and subjected to inhumane treatment to "get them ready for surgery". The film also depicts other victims being brought in, but not all are suitable for the crew's sinister purposes. The storyline and script are somewhat lackluster, and the pacing is slow. While there are some intense moments, including a car chase sequence and shootouts, the gore and effects are minimal. The film also tackles disturbing themes, such as child abuse and male-on-female rape, although these scenes are not extensively depicted. "Don't you just hate kids?" Despite its too numerous flaws, the film has some memorable lines, showcasing a dark, cynical humor. The dialogue often highlights the characters' depravity and greed, with lines like "The whole world is a stinking toilet waiting to be flushed", "All those years of shit stacked up. Hell. You're the one that needs flushing" and "Your greed feeds mine doctor" or "Nobody wants body parts that have been used that much", "Yeah, fuck me, fuck you, fuck all of us", or "I bet you can't even get a hard on anymore". The film's brief nudity and minimal exploitation elements are not enough to redeem its overall lack of coherent storytelling. Ultimately, this film falls short in delivering a compelling narrative or any memorable viewing experience.