Devil's Express

Yeah, this one is a good ways away from being as awesome as it might have been. Which is not to say that its a complete failure, rather that those enticed by its combination of genres into thinking it might be some trash colossus should substantially downgrade their expectations. It reminded me most of some of the better works of Godfrey Ho, those films in which the cut 'n splice ninja flick maestro actually had an original script and a cast of semi capable performers. Inept, insane and idiotic in roughly equal measures, but conducted with verve and never dull. The inspired story is of martial arts school leader Luke Curtis who goes to visit his sifu in Hong Kong along with his shiftless buddy Roldan (though I preferred the subtitles in which his name was Rodan) who steals a sacred medallion and unleashes a demon, who returns to New York, possesses a Chinese man and sets up shop in a subway, killing at random and contributing to a race war between Chinese and black gangs. Lots of fighting ensues, as well as plenty of laughter. The attitude behind the writing seems to have been to cram the film with incident so that the audience could never relax and process the cinematic shortcomings. So more or less every moment has either fighting, people saying stupid things, the monster dragging people to their doom or spurts of picturesque photography in the Hong Kong section or vintage urban grime in the rest. The fighting isn't especially convincing (plenty of blows fall obviously wide plus some dodgy framing and people moving at unrealistic speeds), but it's a lot better than expected, with a cast that at least know how to move and a shooting style that lets you see whats going on. It helps that much of the fighting involves hero Luke, played by the awesomely named and almost as awesomely afroed War Hawk Tanzania. His character isn't as badass as his name but he has a solid presence and carries the film nicely, delivering his frequently hilarious jive dialogue with aplomb. In fact everyone gives it their all, even extras like a nasty old bag lady, crazy street preacher or clueless cop. Sadly the monster scenes are quite weak and there are only a couple of gore shots, also the dodgy quality of current available prints renders the subway scenes too dark. The climax is too abrupt as well, though when ultimately revealed the monster is kinda cool in a cheap-jack kinda way. Altogether its a likable rather than good film and a bit tricky to fully appreciate until a spruced up DVD appears, but trash junkies could do far worse with 80 minutes of their time. Slightly generous 6/10 from me...

DEVIL'S EXPRESS starts off in China (200 BC), where a coffin and a mysterious jewel are lowered into the ground, resulting in death and doom.

Fast-forward to modern day NYC, and we're introduced to Luke (Warhawk Tanzania), karate master and all-around bada$$. Accompanied by his friend, Rodan (Wilfredo Roldan), Luke hops on a jet to Hong Kong in hopes of becoming an ultra-bada$$.

Mission accomplished.

Unfortunately, Rodan's toying with eeevil forces winds up creating a zombie situation back in the NYC subway system. Police are baffled as several mutilation deaths occur. Can Luke and Rodan help "the man" sort things out? Let the astounding, downtown, underground showdown begin!

This movie is what 1970's entertainment is all about! Mr. Tanzania is exquisite in his incredible, two-tone, blue denim, bellbottom outfit! If that's not enough, just wait until you see him encased in his gold velour jumpsuit!

EXTRA POINTS FOR: The karate gang fight sequence, complete with screams, wails, and punches and kicks that sound like liver-filled mattresses being swung into brick walls!...

Some demon travels from China to New York City to get an ancient Chinese amulet from some white guy who thinks he is a black guy and a kung fu soul brutha must stop it. Now I haven't seen too many blaxploitation movies but this has to be the most incompetently made blaxploitation movie ever. The dialogue is just idiotic to a tee. The editing is sloppier than a cesspool particularly the last scene when this guy was making a joke and the credits just suddenly cut him off as if to say "I just don't care anymore". The fight choreography was just the worst as you can clearly see that these guys were not making contact at all and missing each other by two feet. And I don't get why a Chinese guy would fight a soul brutha with a samurai sword bare handed. Ugh! The acting was horrendous..... I can go all day. This is the best ####ing movie ever I don't care what you think. Aargh! Yes, despite the trashy wacky incomprehensible crap and the aforementioned flaws, Devil's Express entertainment value is enormous.

The working title of "Gang Wars" was "The Phantom of the Subway" but it was first released as "The Devil's Express".The film mixes blaxploitation genre,American martial arts and horror flick and does this with huge enthusiasm.The acting is mostly wooden and Warhawk Tanzania is not as awesome as his name.The fights are well-shot and there is a decent amount of blood and gore.The film's running time is padded out by random inserts of not exactly important scenes for example the fight between two sleazeballs and karate waitress.The gang war and subway murders committed by amulet seeking demon are fun to watch.A trash classic.7 out of 10.

The Devil's Express is part blaxploitation, part horror, and part martial arts flick, but the film fails to do any of those genres justice, with an unlikeable protagonist, tepid frights, and some of the worst punching and kicking imaginable.

The wonderfully named Warhawk Tanzania plays Luke, a black New York martial arts master who, accompanied by his drug-dealing student Rodan (Wilfredo Roldan), travels to China to complete his training. When Rodan finds an ancient amulet in a cave, he takes the trinket, and, in doing so, unleashes a bloodthirsty demon that follows him back to the Big Apple.

When mutilated bodies begin to show up in the city's subway, the police believe it to be the result of a gang war between the blacks and the Chinese, but when Rodan joins the list of victims, Luke investigates and learns of the supernatural creature lurking in the dark and heads underground to settle the score.

Technically inept (several scenes feature characters talking but we can hear no dialogue), poorly written (horrible jive street-talk is taken to the max) and dreadfully directed (the fight scenes are laughable), The Devil's Express is, without a doubt, a terrible film, but is still just about worth a watch to witness a possessed man with eyes like Kermit the frog, a Chinese man with an afro (a chifro?), and Luke's show-stopping gold velvet onepiece playsuit, complete with flares and button down shoulder straps.