SOUTH BRONX HEROES (1985)

   

                                                     "Climb a fence ya faggit!"

 I have this movie on DVD as part of a blaxploitation box set and even though it features Mario Van Peebles(and his sister Megan) in featured parts it isn't a blaxploitation film at all. It's actually more of a drama with some action bits tossed in. That's not to say it doesn't have some very exploitative elements. In fact the film starts out with a little boy being forced to participate in the making of a kiddie-porn-shoot, which is one hell of a memorable way to kick off your movie!! From there we follow the adventures of a couple of white foster-kids(with super-thick New Yawk accents!) as they run-away from their extremely pervy and physically-abusive step-dad and end up in the 1980's Bronx. From here we get roaming gangs of interracial hooligans looking for trouble to pad things out until we get to the big unlikely sting-operation of a climax. This film is bizarre enough, thanks to it's horrific villainous character, break-dancing interlude and a talking? ferret that I've had to re-watch it a couple of times now just to make sure I actually saw what I thought I did. The only big minus is that most of the music in this thing is headache-inducingly awful with lyrics that tell the story as they ramble along. The break-dancing rap(which sounded very Grandmaster Flash-like) is the only tune that's at all listenable. If your ears can overlook this you're in for a very strange trip through 80's New York. AKA REVENGE OF THE INNOCENTS

STORY OF A JUNKIE (1985)

 If you have an aversion to seeing people shove needles in their arms this might not be the film for you. If, however, you can appreciate a dark look at 1980's New York City junkie subculture then give this one a look. It's mostly a documentary about John Spacely, who was a heroin-addicted punk who lived on the lower east side way before it became a big shopping mall for rich snobs like it is today. He eventually ended up dying of the AIDS in the 1992. There's also some reenactments of criminal activities here and there to liven things up. It's a pretty cool/gritty look at drug abuse and people generally making bad life choices. It does get a little slow in parts but I think this just adds to the artsy quality of the whole thing. This has got to be the most artsy-fartsy thing Troma ever released. AKA GRINGO