Assault on Precint 13 (1976)
Starring Austin Stoker, Darwin Joston, Laurie Zimmer, Martin West, Tony Burton, Charles Cyphers, and Nancy Kyes.
Review by Laurence Mixson (jarls@datasync.com)
***1/2 out of ****
I like Quentin Tarantino alot. In fact, he's one of my favorite directors. After all, here's the man that did Pulp Fiction, a movie so good I gave it ***** out of ****. Which is why I rented Assault on Precint 13. Normally, I don't rent too many movies from the 70's(although I loved One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), I checked this one out because the video cover had a quote from Quentin Tarantino saying, "One of my favorite movies!", or something like that. So I gave this one a shot.
Assault on Precint 13 was directed by John Carpenter(Halloween, Escape from L.A.) another one of my favorite directors. As a matter of fact, let me just get this over with and state my favorite directors right here: Quentin Tarantino, Robert Zemeckis, John Carpenter, and James Cameron.
Now, back to the point. If you know anything about John Carpenter, you know he's a very "hands-own" film-maker, usually writing AND scoring the movies he directs. Assault on Precint 13 is no different. While the music(he's famous for electronic synthesizers) isn't quite as catchy as his masterpiece Halloween, it's excellent in its own right, and certainly captures the eerie feeling of the movie.
So here's where I stop talking about the film makers and production and give the plot. Actually, this one's pretty easy. If you've seen Night of the Living Dead, you've basically seen this film. While Assault doesn't have endless hordes of zombies, it does have endless hordes of teenage gang members. Then again, there isn't really that much difference between the two...
Okay, back to the plot. The teenage gangs in L.A. are unifying and have captured a huge arms shipment. Meanwhile, Station 13, Precint 9(interestingly, the title is incorrect)is closing down. Only one police officer, Bishop(Stokes), with two secretaries, is left to care of the station until it's permanently shut down tomorrow. However, a bus of 3 Death Row-headed inmates arrives at the station because one is sick, including Napoleon Wilson(Joston, portraying a sage-like inmate), upping the ante a little. Soon after, another cast member is introduced, as a man who runs into the station in shock after seeing his daughter murdered by some gang members. The man retaliated, killing one, and now the gang has chased him to the station. The assault begins...
Here's where the fun(and the Living Dead similarities)begin. The suspense climaxes again and again as endless waves of silent gang members seige the station, with our heroes armed with little ammunition and no lighting. John Carpenter's high-pitched music only adds to the suspense and helps to create some of the best low-key action sequences I've ever seen.
So what did I think of this movie? I loved it. The gang members, who never say one word, are great villains. This movie, for an action movie, is very realistic, which is one of the reasons I loved Pulp Ficton. Everything that happens in both of these movies could technically happen in real life. Then again, that airplane scene in Eraser could technically happen, but you know what I mean...
This is definitely one of my favorite movies out there. So why did I only give it ***1/2, instead of ****. Because the acting in this movie is horrible. If the actions that take place are plausible, the dialogue isn't. The responses are flat and poorly-timed. A secretary is shot in the arm and doesn't even flich. C'mon. Unfortunately, the only thing that holds Assault down is the pathetic acting, except for the character of Napoleon Wilson. But don't let that discourage you from renting it. It certainly hasn't discouraged me from renting it almost a dozen times, copying it, and buying the laserdisc.
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