Die Vergelter

In the same year that Fred Olen Ray turned out the self-indulgently campy low-budget trash Prison Ship, he made this generic VHS action flick for his then main employer, CineTel Films. In terms of action, Armed Response doesn't have much to offer, though as was common with the more generously budgeted direct-to-video productions of the time, when the second crew was given room to handle the execution and filming of the action scenes, the quality of craftsmanship rises significantly in comparison with the other crap on the market. However, the main strength of Armed Response consists in its magnificent casting, which put a respectable ensemble of the era’s leading B-movie faces in front of the camera. Besides Lee Van Cleef and Mako, who recall their better days, the relatively subdued David Carradine is a pleasant surprise. Lovers of trash flicks will be delighted by the wonderfully self-indulgent Michael Berryman, as well as by the smaller parts played by Ross Hagen, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Michelle Bauer and Conan Lee, who, as the film’s only real action-capable actor, peculiarly plays the role of a generic Asian who only cuts off his finger and does not in any way get involved in the action scenes. The icing on the cake is the rogue duo of Laurene Landon and Dick Miller. (14.03.2021)