User reviews

Frank Challenge, state senate hopeful, is about to bring down the house of his crooked mobster running-mate with a cache of highly incriminating documents. His efforts are halted when he is beaten nearly to death, and his wife and daughter simultaneously murdered in a deliberately set house fire. The vigilante revenge tale which transpires, while entirely formulaic, is briskly paced and imparts a few strong moments.

As is case with the gamut of Earl Owensby drive-in fodder, CHALLENGE is both slight on original ideas and behind the proverbial eight-ball financially. It's quite watchable, regardless, with Owensby bringing surprising vitality to his otherwise unstimulating character.

Inconsequential testosterone fodder, but a worthy enough waste of ninety minutes. 4/10

What a surprise find this is! Earl Owensby had to be a reasonable independent film producer along the line, and it's absolutely wise to explain the excellent production values in this intriguing action thriller, which was released under the title MANHUNTER (remember, it stars Owensby!) Please understand that this isn't the work of hundreds of thousands of crew members from a 007 picture. Since this was made in North Carolina, expect to hear some Southern accents from the cast members, and do realize that it was filmed on a very low budget. All of these details won't keep the movie from being less enjoyable, though. The smooth pace of the action is its strongest point, with a couple of big explosions and some nifty car chasing and plane flying along the way. Its central character, Frank Challenge, can be best compared to James Bond 007 or other secret agent, but he does not retain that kind of personality like in the other big action movies, rather he is an ordinary individual living in North Carolina doing his duty. Still, he delivers to the audience on what we demand: seriously well fed action-packed fun! Another nice touch in the film is its practical sense of humor, which goes well with the low budget acting and it's greatly appreciated for a solid indie outing. MANHUNTER proves why it doesn't take millions of dollars and strenuous workmanship to make a very good action-packed production, although it's still not the greatest gem in the world. H.B. Halicki did the same thing with his GONE IN 60 SECONDS by putting out brilliant ideas in the making of a solid indie cult classic. Earl Owensby should be satisfied of the credit he deserved in this one, plus his other past films. A must-see for action and independent film fanatics!