ADRENALIN: FEAR THE RUSH
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 0.5 Alternative Scale: no stars out of ****
United States, 1996 U.S. Release Date: 12/6/96 (limited) Running Length: 1:15 MPAA Classification: R (Violence, profanity, gore) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.25:1
Cast: Christopher Lambert, Natasha Henstridge, Elizabeth Barondes, Xavier Declie, Norbert Weisser, Craig Davis Director: Albert Pyun Producers: Tom Karnowski, Gary Schmoeller Screenplay: Albert Pyun Cinematography: George Mooradian Music: Anthony Riparetti U.S. Distributor: Dimension Films
With the title of ADRENALIN: FEAR THE RUSH, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this film, but it certainly wasn't the newest entry onto my "worst movies of all time" list. Even the presence of wooden actor Christopher Lambert (one of only a few performers in Hollywood to rival Steven Seagal for lack of discernible acting talent) and writer/director Albert Pyun (the man who gave us, among other immortal films, BRAINSMASHER... A LOVE STORY) didn't create expectations of a motion picture that sinks to such memorable depths.
I have no idea how this film got its title, or why the word "adrenaline" is misspelled. (Actually, the fact that the movie was made in Slovakia probably has something to do with the error.) There's certainly nothing in here that's likely to jolt anyone, and even the typical, cheesy scares offered by low-budget horror flicks are ruined by Pyun's heavy-handed direction. If anything, even at only seventy-five minutes in length, the movie is more apt to put viewers to sleep than keep them awake.
The tired premise, which uses a recycled post-apocalyptic scenario, involves a bizarre psycho mutant killer on the loose in 2007 Boston. Following some sort of radiation leak in the former Soviet Union, a plague-like contamination has spread throughout Europe, eventually reaching the United States via immigrants. In an attempt to contain the disease, the U.S. government has segregated all newcomers into concentration camps. Over a few short years, as the population of these camps has ballooned, they have developed into small cities, complete with governments, police forces, and overwhelming poverty.
Of course, this is all background. The real story is about a group of four intrepid cops in Immigrant Boston chasing a homicidal mutant through sewers, air vents, and dank, disused prison corridors. This chase, which generates absolutely no tension, comprises the entire movie. There are no tangents, interesting variations, or anything else to break the monotony. In fact, there's not even much dialogue, and what little there is makes the tripe from Sylvester Stallone's DAYLIGHT seem like Shakespeare.
Attention to detail is not exactly ADRENALIN's forte, either. All of the police cars in Boston look like Yugos and have the word "Policia" stamped on them. Why "Policia" instead of "Police"? Who knows. Who cares. One character apparently comes back from the dead without a word of explanation. Other characters are still around, alive and kicking, after getting riddled with about a dozen bullets. If I tried to list all the holes, inconsistencies, and other obvious problems with this movie, it would take me the rest of the week to write this review.
A few words have to be said about this particular bizarre psycho mutant killer, who is perhaps the most lame bizarre psycho mutant killer ever to grace the big screen. This guy looks like Quasimodo on a bad day. "Awful" doesn't even begin to describe the makeup job; Disney's recent Hunchback looked better, and he was a cartoon. And, on top of that, we're expected to believe that this creature, with only a hand blade, has the ability to snuff out dozens of men and women, some of whom are armed? Of course, considering the intelligence (or lack thereof) of the characters we're exposed to, maybe that's not such a farfetched concept.
I realize that aficionados of this genre don't expect much from their films, but ADRENALIN takes ineptness to new levels. Christopher Lambert fans (are there such people?) aren't likely to be happy, since he doesn't get much of a chance to act heroic (he grunts, groans, shouts, gets shot, then grunts and groans some more). Natasha Henstridge fans will probably be equally disappointed, since, unlike in SPECIES, she keeps all her clothes on. In fact, I'm hard-pressed to think of anyone who will appreciate this movie, unless it's someone who adores really, really bad movies. Thus far, 1996 hasn't given us anything else that's in ADRENALIN's category. Hands down, I nominate this as the worst movie of the year.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
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