Fritz Kiersch

Going into "Tuff Turf" I anticipated a retro-futuristic street gang movie, but instead I ended up in a romantic teen-rebel musical drama - and a reasonably good one at that! Morgan Miller (James Spader) and his country-club family move from Connecticut to a down trodden LA suburb after his father's business goes bust. His first day in his new school sees him making friends with local punk drummer Jimmy (Robert Downey Jr.) and getting on the wrong side of gang leader and unhinged thug Nick (Paul Mones). Not put off by casual abuse and regular beatings Morgan falls for Nick's crimped and punky girlfriend, Frankie (Kim Richards). This doesn't go down too well with the violent Nick and his gang pals and before long Morgan finds himself in a fight for his life. Written by Jette Rinck and directed by Fritz Kiersch, "Tuff Turf" is full of simplistic zip and energy, with a story that jumps from scene-to-scene and theme-to-theme with great abandon. This gives it an uneven tone and it never feels clear what Rinck and Kiersch are actually aiming at - one minute high school hi-jinks, the next forbidden romance, then on to dysfunctional family drama with a touch of social commentary by way of violent beat downs, all interspersed by spiky musical and dance numbers. Kiersch also throws in some bloody violence, with a particularly brutal final showdown between Morgan and Nick. The typically '80s moody synth score is by Jonathan Elias, whose noodlings are supported by spiky pop songs and tough balladry by the likes of Marianne Faithfull, Jim Carroll, Southside Johnny, Jack Mack & the Heart Attack and Lene Lovitch. The young cast are good despite reservations: James Spader is cool and suave as Morgan, but difficult to take seriously as a kick-ass street fighter; Robert Downey Jr. is fun, if a tough nondescript despite the bondage trousers and Kim Richards and her long, stunningly-crimped mane of hair is mighty fine as sexy, street tough punkette Frankie. Overall then, "Tuff Turf" is a reasonably enjoyable piece of 1980s teen lunacy. The story is a touch derivative and uneven, but it is never dull and it sparkles with plenty of sassy street-wise attitude throughout. And it has plenty of lunatic '80s hairstyles and fashions to gawp at not to mention plenty of atmospheric synth and catchy new wave pop.… (mais)

Real life kick-boxing champ Kathy Long is the titular stranger who rides into an isolated desert town run by a vicious biker gang, led by the psychotic Angel (Andrew Divoff). The stranger is in search of revenge for past misdeeds and begins working her way through the bikers one-by-one 'till the inevitable showdown with Angel. Directed by Fritz Kiersch as a post-modern take on the spaghetti western, with long dusty shots, controlled build ups and sudden bursts of violence. Adding to the spaghetti feel is Kevin Kiner's score, which plagiarises Ennio Morricone's elegiac "Once Upon a Time in the West" score mercilessly - but to enjoyable effect. Kathy Long is kick-ass perfect and looks incredible in her skin-tight black basque and leather jeans (with whip accessory); obviously the ideal attire for kicking seven bells out of marauding bikers. Andrew Divoff makes for an excellent nemesis; Danny Trejo pops up as a kill-crazy biker and porno legend Ginger Lynn adds some colour as a desperate waitress. Overall a first class slice of b-movie trash - some decent direction, acting and action, with perhaps a touch of feminist subtext lurking in the mix.… (mais)

This “loose” adaptation of an excellent Stephen King short story originally appeared in his 1978 collection “Night Shift”. In King's story we are given little explanation, with the tale hanging on a mounting sense of dread based around the presence of “He Who Walks Behind the Rows” before arriving at a horrifically downbeat ending. The film version begins in the small Nebraskan town of Gatlin, where child preacher Isaac (John Franklin) and his murderous henchman Malachai (Courtney Gains) lead the town’s children to slaughter the adult inhabitants and establish their own vicious theocracy that worships the strange entity referred to as “He Who Walks Behind the Rows”. A number of years later Burt (Peter Horton) and Vicky (Linda Hamilton) are driving cross-country when they accidentally arrive in Gatlin, having previously ignored the warnings of Diehl, (R. G. Armstrong), a grizzled petrol station attendant. They’re soon in a fight for their lives when Vicky is captured by the religion-crazed children and is prepared for crucifixion. There are a number of good points in “Children of the Corn” – the premise of religious indoctrination remains powerful (though shockingly little is done with it); director Fritz Kiersch occasionally comes up with an atmospheric sequence; there’s a decent chanting-imbued score by Jonathan Ellias and the young actors do reasonably well. John Franklin and Courtney Gains, in particular are both extremely creepy and a young Linda Hamilton is strong as Vicky. Unfortunately, the film-makers make the fundamental error of trying to show “He Who Walks Behind the Rows”, who apparently appears to be little more than a giant burrowing gopher with the ability to conjure up the occasional strong wind. The special effects work is weak, which helps make “He Who Walks Behind the Rows” a bit of a non-entity. This takes all the strangeness and mystery out of the film and turns it into a simple action piece as we now have a physical villain, who can be destroyed, rather than a dark, unknowable, Lovecraftian threat of the type that was presented by King. Given this approach the happy ending almost becomes inevitable and we’re left with a straight forward “good beats evil” ending rather than something more challenging and thoughtful.… (mais)