Death Promise

source: Death Promise

Yet another example of the end of the world New York City of the late 1970s, Death Promise - not a threat, but a death promise - is all about the residents of a tenement building (but not Tenement) are being forced out of their homes by a realty company who goes past shutting off the air conditioning, power and water to murder, not to mention lighting fires in the hall and releasing rats, the bad guys kill off Charley's old man boxer father, the man who was trying to keep the tenants all together in the face of these slumlord tactics. Fortunately for the audience - and bad for the antagonists - Charley (Charles Bonet, Way of the Black Dragon, The Black Dragon Revenges the Death of Bruce Lee, Don't Go in the House) and his friend Speedy (Speedy Leacock) are martial arts experts, making this movie the result of a one night stand between Enter the Dragon and Death Wish. Beyond just ruining the board members of Iguana Realty's lives, our friends are now planning on murdering each and every one of them. Well, it wasn't called Maim Promise, so that makes sense. To get his revenge, Charly's master Shibata (Thompson Kao Kang, who was the action director of this movie, as well as a stuntman who appeared in movies like The Karate Killers; sadly he was killed by a Hong Kong cop in what was called a "trivial street quarrel") reads him a letter from the dead dad, which sends him to study under Ying (Tony Liu, who was in The Big Boss, Enter the Dragon, Fist of Fury and many more), where he learns how to take out everyone in his way. That means throwing stars, arrows to the head and death by rats. Brought to theaters by Howard Mahler Films, the same people who brought From Beyond the Grave, The Big Doll House, The Killer Must Kill Again, Deep Red and Devil's Express to your grindhouse, this movie boasts an incredible Neal Adams-drawn poster.

I really like the energy put into this movie from the principal actors! Charles Bonet and Speedy Leacock play "brothers," best friends who are championed by the father of Bonet's character, Bob O'Connell. They band together to battle the greedy landlords, who are intent on evicting their poor tenants in favor of cashing in on a real estate development deal. Before long, things go awry and Bonet embarks on a personal vendetta to avenge his father. Some of the story is ridiculous, much of it is incompetently made and the acting ranges from nearly adequate to downright agonizing. (Check out that somnambulism on display from Thompson Kao Kang.) Nonetheless, I enjoyed nearly every minute of this! Bonet and Leacock come across with chemistry that makes their friendship seem genuine and by the time they team up with Sup Kim (Bill Louie), I was full of warm fuzzies for all the diverse, Enterprise-style humanity going down. If you want to watch some exciting and impressive displays of martial arts, check out Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan or Jimmy Wang Yu. If you want to watch some feel-good, American chop socky, you won't do much better than "Death Promise."

I was a bit disappointed with this film. I love the revenge films of the 70's, but this one just didn't do it for me. Stilted dialog made it feel like a student project. Unrealistic cast of characters, especially the corporate types in the film. The "outrage" of the tenants got a groan from me. I know it's low budget, Grindhouse, but it just didn't deliver for me. Just not enough here for me to recommend.

DEATH PROMISE is a low rent urban martial arts film from 1977, shot in New York on a remarkably low budget. The story is about a bunch of ruthless landlords who terrorise their tenants and end up committing murder. The victim's son swears revenge and teams up with a bunch of martial arts experts to train and exact it. This is very much a product of its time so expect lots of wacca-wacca guitar music and massive flares. The street grittiness of New York during the era is well captured. The script is pretty poor, with risible dialogue, and the acting fails to ignite the screen to boot. It's amusing to see all of the Asian stereotypes in the cast list. Worst of all, the slow fight scenes are nothing to get excited about, and that rooftop fight at the climax is completely interminable.

.....so to will you be bemoaning the same auric pain if you sit through the final 20 or so minutes of this enjoyable martial arts knock about. In fact, said final minutes are amongst the noisiest I have ever sat through in a movie as a series of vicious fights ensue with the combatants yelling madly at the top of their voices before and as they pummel the crap out of each other with lethal blows. Yes, as other reviewers have quite rightly noted, this my friends is a gloriously bad movie boasting some pretty terrible performances throughout by everyone concerned in addition to a threadbare plot, more clichés than I care to mention and a somewhat predictable 'twist' ending. HOWEVER......it is just so much damn fun! From the funky soundtrack to the cool seventies fashions and of course the plethora of fights that break out virtually every few minutes, there is certainly never a dull moment. Best scene? Well for me it has to be a fight near the end wherein two of our heroes tackle some of the bad guys in an office including a mad blonde geezer called Mike who proceeds to scream like a banshee as he fights and another frizzy haired guy who, after taking off his shirt in a decidedly macho gesture, puts a knife between his teeth and starts flexing his pecs whilst yelling at the top of his lungs(!) Why was he doing this? - Who the hell knows but it certainly made me laugh like hell. Great fun and dig that cool title song! Groovy!!!!

New York City, the 70's. Corrupt landlords run the city, kicking out the poor and driving up prices in their buildings. Those who won't leave are forced out, either by turning the water and gas off, or by much rougher means. When Charlie's father is killed while defending his turf, he sets out on a quest to murder the landlords one by one...but who's really pulling the strings? This is everything I want from a Vinegar Syndrome release. This is a C-level action film and everything is bottom of the barrel except for the fun factor. The acting is wooden and stiff. The dialogue is laughable. The fight scenes are slow and amateurish. A man tosses a dead guy from a rooftop (which is clearly a badly made dummy) but it still screams all the way down. There's a training montage. Terrible 70's clothing. I loved every second of Death Promise. It tells the tale of a man on a revenge mission against those who killed his father. In what could have been inspiration for Kill Bill, Charlie works from a list, crossing the names out as he knocks them off in incredibly satisfying and unbelievable ways...like tying someone up and putting them behind a bow and arrow target with the hope that someone actually shoots an arrow at it before the guy just gets up and leaves. Before he has access to the list, of course he has to go train with a 'Big Master' in order to get his karate up to snuff. The training doesn't appear to actually do anything, but I'm a sucker for a good training montage. Death Promise also has one of the coolest theme songs of all time. "That's a proooooomise!" It belts out over the opening credits as Charlie and his best friend/sparring partner Speedy run through 70's NYC decked out in velour jumpsuits. It's glorious. All of those things that would be considered 'bad' in this film turn it from a serious, city-hopping actioneer into a straight up unintentional comedy. From technical snafus like boom mics bobbing in and out of frame to background extras staring straight into the camera, this film has it all. If you're a fan of the so-bad-it's-good genre, Death Promise has you covered in spades. This was Robert Warmflash's only film, so I guess he got it out of his system. Most of the bad guys aren't really interesting, a bunch of old white men in suits, but there's one - "Mr. Big" - who pulls his weight. The film is also full of Asian stereotypes, which seems to be par for the course in late 70's films. This film has one of the most gnarly deaths that I can remember seeing in a picture like this. It involves some hungry rats, and I'll be damned if it didn't make me get up out of my seat because I was so uncomfortable. I didn't see that coming. As a social commentary, like many films from the 70's and 80's, the themes are still relevant today (even if the wardrobe isn't). Death Promise is a blast. It's horribly executed schlock, but it's action packed and fun as heck. Get your velour jumpsuit, pop that collar, and prepare to have your ass kicked in the grungiest part of 1970's New York. The Vinegar Syndrome disc looks great - the first time I saw this was on Amazon Prime and the print just looked like it had been put through the ringer, but they really cleaned this up. Unfortunately, the only extra is an interview with Jim Markovic, the editor of the film.

Rinky-dink thrills which pit a young martial arts student against a group of evil suits, the villains responsible for his father's death. A definite winner for anyone interested in grindhouse action films of the 70s, this one is as entertaining as it is entirely preposterous, with obligatory "wakka-wakka-waa" guitar interludes. Plethoric tired clichés and ham-handed performances may well give you a good laugh, but DEATH PROMISE will simultaneously treat you to some decent fight scenes and a few gratis gore moments. Not all types with find this one chewable, but a select few folks will dig the retrocious charm of this funky little cost-friendly quickie...if, that is, they are fortunate enough to find a copy. 4.5/10

A group of evil businessmen need to knock down a building to build a huge complex, but they can't remove the tenants. The tenants and businessmen with their hired thugs clash until the film ends with one of the funniest fights ever! The guy with the ginger hair who goes 'eeeeehhhh' every time he throws a punch and the other guy who poses with a knife in his mouth instead of fighting, only to be beaten off camera, make this essential viewing if you like to laugh at films rather than with them.

A group of Fat Cats has their eye on a couple of buildings that they'd like to level and redevelop. The problem is that the buildings are home to several dozen people. The Fat Cats decide to do what they can to force the tenants to leave - turn off the water, attack residents, release a box of rats, etc. When everything else fails, the Fat Cats approve the murder of the tenants' leader. But Charley Roman isn't going to sit by and let his father's murderers go unpunished. He takes the law into his own hands and uses his martial arts skills to exact revenge. How can one movie be so bad, yet so watchable at the same time? Death Promise really tests my notion that I rate films primarily on entertainment value, because everything else you can name about Death Promise is bottom-of-the-barrel. Pathetic acting, horrible lighting, lazy one-take direction, ridiculous plot, bad make-up, silly dialogue, "stagey" fight choreography, a "twist" ending that should surprise no one, incomprehensible lapses in logic (more on that later) - Death Promise has it all. One of the more annoying facets of the film is how the title - Death Promise - actually relates to the film. After his father's death, Charley Roman engages in an ongoing conversation with his dead father where he "promises" to avenge his "death". This monologue happens at regular intervals for at least half the film. Silly doesn't begin to describe this plot device. However, despite all the flaws, Death Promise still manages to be surprisingly watchable - if not entertaining at times. What's Death Promise got going for it? First, they may not be real actors, but Charles Bonet and Speedy Leacock seem to know their martial arts. Their kicks, jumps, and punches look authentic. Second, I know it's unintentional, but the bad guys are so clichéd, they end up being a real hoot. I had more fun watching this group than I could have ever hoped. Third, Death Promise has a really cool bow-chicka-wow-wow soundtrack that worked on me. Gotta love these 70s films. Finally, Death Promise falls solidly into that "so bad it's good" category. I never like using the phrase, but it applies here. Considering the good and the bad, I think my 5/10 rating seems about right. I previously mentioned incomprehensible logic. Well, here's what I mean. BIG TIME SPOILER Charley Roman wants revenge for his father's death. His martial arts instructor, Master Shibata, advises him to seek out some special training from another martial arts master. Charley Roman returns home more ready than ever to face his father's killers. How absolutely illogical is it when we discover (and it's no real surprise) that Shibata is the head baddie? So, Shibata sends Charley Roman for more training so that he can return to face him. What? How does that make any sense in the slightest? END BIG TIME SPOILER