SAVAGE DAWN (1985) Vinegar Syndrome Archive #4 Blu-ray
Director: Simon Nuchtern
Vinegar Syndrome

Lance Henriksen takes on bikers during a SAVAGE DAWN, on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

Vietnam vet Stryker (Henriksen) rides into desert town Agua Dulce to reconnect with war buddy Tick Rand (George Kennedy, DEATH SHIP) but runs into trouble even before he arrives when he stops biker gang The Savages – lead by Pigiron (William Forsythe, RAISING ARIZONA) from hassling the owners of a general store – and is just as unwelcome by macho Deputy Joe Bob (Lewis Van Bergen, RAGE OF HONOR) and the sheriff (Leo Gordon, THE HAUNTED PALACE). Rand's grown daughter Katie (Claudia Udy, JOY), however, is glad to see him having nursed a crush on him for years while teenage son Danny (Michael Sharrett, DEADLY FRIEND) is looking for a role model to show him how to deal with bullying and violence in town since old Tick is looking for redemption for everything he did in Vietnam by trying to bring back prosperity to the town by digging out the gold mine which has been inaccessible since the spring dried up (leading to Agua Dulce becoming a ghost town). When The Savages crash the annual Tough Guy Competition, Stryker refuses to rise to the challenges to his machismo by both Joe Bob and Pigiron; however, bar owner Rachel (Karen Black, TRILOGY OF TERROR) is sexually charged by Pigiron's brutality, riding off into the desert with him when the townspeople force the bikers to retreat and then literally arming Pigiron with a means of getting back at the denizens of Agua Dulce. Outgunned and outmanned, Stryker is unwilling to lead the citizens into a massacre until the Rand family endanger themselves and many other innocents with their own plan to take back their town.

A hybrid biker pic/1980s action flick, SAVAGE DAWN is pure dumb fun with the characterizations of Henriksen and Kennedy paper-thin to effect their motivations while Black and Forsythe stand out in the juicier roles and the rest of the bikers – among them BEVERLY HILLS COP II's John Lisbon Wood as the weasely Spyder and SLING BLADE's Mickey Jones as the hulking Zero – are brutal and vile enough for the viewer to cheer their comeuppance, and the law enforcement as hypocritical and ineffectual as the village's corrupt mayor/reverend (Richard Lynch, BAD DREAMS). Comedian Sam Kinison (BACK TO SCHOOL) has an oddly restrained role as the singing village barber, Wendy Barry (3:15) gets too little time as Lipservice, and Elizabeth Kaitan (SLAVE GIRLS FROM BEYOND INFINITY) is the mistress of a Vegas convention-bound married businessman who runs afoul of the bikers on the road. The desert landscape photography of Gerard Feil (HE KNOWS YOU'RE ALONE) is consistently striking, as is the production design of Robb Wilson King (SWAMP THING). Composer Pino Donaggio (CARRIE) would reuse his self-penned song "Wild Dawn Knights" in as background music in Ruggero Deodato's giallo PHANTOM OF DEATH. The film was an early credit for make-up effects artist Mark Shostrum before moving up to bigger assignments like PHANTASM II and EVIL DEAD 2.

Released direct-to-video by Media Home Entertainment, SAVAGE DAWN had an obscure DVD release from Image Entertainment in a triple feature with CAGED FURY and DRUG TRAFFIKERS (aka THUNDER WARRIOR). Transferred from a 2K scan of the original 35mm camera negative, SAVAGE DAWN's magic hour vistas look stunning in the 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 encode while skin tones are deliberately warm and the resolution brings out the rugged textures of the locations. The Dolby Stereo track delivers dialogue, explosions, and Donaggio's scoring effectively in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo even if it is not an overly directional track apart from explosive projectiles and zipping motorcycles (as with SPOOKIES, there is a second lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 track that seems otherwise identical to the lossless one). Optional English SDH subtitles are included.

Besides the theatrical trailer (3:02), there is an audio commentary by director Simon Nuchtern, moderated by Vinegar Syndrome's Joe Rubin. Nuchtern had worked for years for companies like New Line Cinema on English dubs and subtitled versions of foreign titles, as well as directing the additional footage for SNUFF. He met film packager C. Gregory Earls while working on the American release of the Swedish film THE FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE, and he collaborated with Nuchtern on the 3D slasher SILENT MADNESS along with writer/producer Bill Milling (ALL AMERICAN GIRLS). Rubin points out the resemblance to 1960s AIP biker films crossed with an 1980s action film, and Nuchtern reveals that the story was inspired by a 16mm feature he made about thugs taking over a bus. He also reveals that the film was supposed to be shot in New Jersey but Milling thought they would find better talent and technicians in California, and the choice of bikers was determined by the change of setting. The disc comes with a reversible cover and foldout poster packaged in the Vinegar Syndrome Archive line bottom-loading hard slipcase. (Eric Cotenas)

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