Customer Reviews

Vice Squad

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

According to the film Vice Squad (1982), the streets of Hollywood seem to be the place to be if you're a hustler, hooker, pimp, fiend, junkie, pusher, freak, weirdo, drag queen, deviant, reprobate, toe sucker, or just a degenerate miscreant in general...co-written and directed by Gary Sherman (Death Line, Dead & Buried, Poltergeist III), the film features Season Hubley (Escape from New York), Gary Swanson (The Bone Collector), and Wings Hauser (Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time, Tales from the Hood). Also appearing is former MTV video disc jockey Nina Blackwood, Beverly Todd (They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!), Lydia Lei (Doctor Detroit), Fred `Rerun' Berry ("What's Happening!!"), and Hispanic character actor Pepe Serna (Red Dawn, Silverado), whom your may remember as Al Pacino's henchman who lost a few inches off the top via a chainsaw in the 1983 Brian De Palma film Scarface.

Season Hubley plays a single mother with a young daughter, relatively new to town, who makes ends meet as a prostitute named `Princess'. As she's preparing to send her daughter away for the weekend so that she can hit the streets to ply her trade, she gets a frantic phone call from another streetwalker named `Ginger' (Blackwood), who's since gone into hiding after a vicious beating she received from her psychotic cowboy pimp named Ramrod (Hauser). Princess, who's what's known as an `outlaw' (she works for herself), tries to give Ginger some advice, but it's pretty much a waste of time as Ginger's kind of stupid, possibly due to the fact Ramrod cracked her in the skull a few too many times (Ramrod eventually catches up to Ginger and whips her Mommie Dearest style with a `pimp stick', which is basically a bent out of shape clothes hanger). A vice detective named Walsh (Swanson) makes the scene and vows to get Ramrod after seeing his overly sadistic handiwork. To this end he enlists the aid of Princess (actually, he blackmails her) to lure Ramrod into a trap, which is successful, but a wily Ramrod manages to escape custody and is back on the streets...with a vengeance. As you can imagine, old Ramrod is pretty P.O.ed about being set up (one might say he's seething cauldron of hostility, with serious anger management issues), so after equipping himself with a few, choice weapons (including a switchblade that looks more like a machete), he begins scouring the streets for Princess, who's unaware of his subsequent escape (and the beating she's surely in for once Captain Insano catches up to her). Walsh and his colleagues are now desperately searching for either Princess or Ramrod before the nastiness goes down, sticking mainly with the latter as his trail of carnage is much easier to follow (Princess continues to work, taking on various clients including a rich weirdo and a sleazy conventioneer, among others). The situation eventually comes to a head as the vindictive Ramrod catches up to Princess, and Walsh and his crew catch up to Ramrod, who isn't about to go down without a fight.

Vice Squad is a mean, grimy, sleazy, nasty and misogynistic film, seeped with a strong sense of realism driven by the composite characterizations and various location shots. On the surface the main characters seem pretty standard (a hooker with a heart of gold, a sadistic pimp, an overworked veteran vice cop who's seen too much), but the lead actors manage to infuse enough in terms of personal touches to keep things interesting. I originally saw this film a number of years ago on cable, and since then whenever I hear the name Wings Hauser, my mind immediately goes to the character he played here, mainly because his presence so fills the screen. The one scene that really sticks with me is during the sting operation. The cops bust in on his pad, attempt to subdue him, but he manages to grab Princess and use her as a shield with one arm, while beating her over the head with a barstool with the other arm. Hauser didn't appear to be holding anything back, and I will admit sometimes it did seem a little comical, but more often than not it provided for some pretty tense stuff. Swanson, on the other hand, felt reserved most of the time, which would seem in tune with the character as if I were a vice detective cruising Hollywood's mean streets, I probably wouldn't want to get to close to the ever present slime and moral decay for fear it might glom on...I thought Season Hubley also did very well as a woman who does what she feels she must for her and her daughter to survive, basically disconnecting herself from the harsh, nasty, seedy reality of her job if only to keep from taking her own life out of misery. Keep an eye out for the late, great Fred `Rerun' Berry, as a hustler named `Super Pimp', in a short, but memorable scene in which Ramrod is shaking him down for information, right before he uses his giant switchblade to do something very unpleasant...let's just say Rerun won't be dancing for awhile. As far as Ms. Blackwood, I didn't even recognize her in her role, given her character's used and seriously abused appearance. This is a very violent film, but the really brutal bits aren't shown as the scenes ends prior to the nastiness, usually picking up again during the aftermath, supplying the viewer enough visuals to draw their own mental images. I thought director Gary Swanson did a wonderful job as the pacing rarely slowed down. I especially liked the latter half of the film, as the story breaks off into three, separate threads, one following Princess, the second Ramrod, and the third Walsh and the police. We're constantly switching between these three elements until they finally converge near the end, providing for a highly climatic and satisfying finish.

Anchor Bay Entertainment provides a good-looking anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) print on this DVD release. There is a noticeable graininess in some scenes, but it didn't draw away from the images on the film. Other than that, the print is very clear and sharp. The Dolby Digital mono audio comes through well, although some of the dialog was kind of muffled at times, making me wish there were English subtitles provided, but there aren't. None of Anchor Bay Entertainment's past releases feature subtitles, which always seemed odd to me given their general commitment to quality overall. As far as extras included, there's an audio commentary track with director Gary Swanson, a theatrical trailer for the film, two radio spots, a poster and still gallery, and a five page insert booklet with liner notes provided by Richard Harland Smith, a staff writer for Video Watchdog Magazine.

Cookieman108

By the way, Hauser himself sang the theme song titled `Neon Slime', played at the beginning and end of the film. Also, I learned cops get pretty upset when you steal their paper clips.

Wow...I have not thought about this movie in over 20 years. I recall seeing it first at a drive in when if first came out and later on TV. This is really an outstanding movie that really doesn't star any major names. Wings Hauser playing psychotic pimp and for the older MTV crowd, Nina Blackwood, one of the original VJ's plays a hooker named Ginger. After murdering a hooker, the LA police are after Ramrod. They use another hooker named Princess played by Season Hubley as bait to bring him down. The plan goes awry when he escapes from the police and then begins to relentlessly track down Princess intent on killing her as well.

The scene is the gritty, seedy streets of nighttime Hollywood filled with prostitutes, pimps, drug dealers, and every sort of degenerate and the film does a marvelous job of capturing this potent atmosphere. Wings Hauser is absolutely mesmerizing and terrifying as Ramrod. Almost like Jason from Friday the 13th except with a personality. He's pure malice and sadistic to the core and he really makes the film. In many ways Vice Squad was a bit ahead of its time as far as a gritty street thriller and is definitely worth a look.

Back a few years ago, this movie was really hard-to-find on VHS. Anchor Bay, as always, has done a stellar job on the presentation of this movie. Everything from utilizing the original movie poster artwork for the DVD cover, to the picture quality- it's all perfect. If you like trashy, gritty, and violent movies, this movie will deliver big time. I remember it was released in 1982, but kept being brought back as an added feature at the drive-ins here in Toronto, right up until 1984. If you are a fan of early '80s movies, and with a lot of violence, but a great plotline that will keep you captivated, "Vice Squad" will not disappoint!

Oh, Vice Squad. A starring vehicle for our favorite girl in Chock Full O' Nuts, Season Hubley. What can i say? I haven't seen this in a while, so that was the biggest treat. Watching the trailer brought back memories of seeing the commercial over and over on tv. This film was the tail end of '70's exploitation holdouts, and delivers in so many ways as far as tactless brutality you just don't see anymore. Wings Hauser is of course fantastic as "Ramrod" (the killer pimp), and Gary Swanson has plenty of great lines as the cop possesed w/ bringing him down. The name says it all, so i won't waste time w/ a plot synopsis. What i will cover is what surely others will, and that's Anchor Bay's treatment. The movie looks and sounds fine, and thats probably all we really need. I'm content to have a dvd copy. (Do we need a HD transfer of this?) But Anchor Bay is spreading out and paying much more attention to it's other areas, and the days of 3 - disc Suspirias' may be gone. There is grainy film in several scenes, and the extras do not exist.(Trailer only) AB has gave us so much, so i can be forgiving, and Blue Underground has been spectacular, so....

In the eighties there were two indelible portrayals of psychotic pimps, Morgan Freeman as Fast Black in "Street Smart" and Wings Hauser as Ramrod in "Vice Squad". Unfortunate for Freeman, "Street Smart" was a rather forgettable venture but Hauser was luckier. Hauser's contribution is reason alone to see "Vice Squad" but the picture is so much more. The film works on two levels. Firstly, it's a cinema verite document of the vice scene in Hollywood. Secondly, it's a dark comedy about the proclivities of the johns that frequent the strip. A personal fave of mine is Season Hubley in Frederick's of Hollywood bridal wear to fulfill a rich john's fantasy. The film is also beautifully photographed in all it's neon decadence. I note this because some would dismiss "Vice Squad" as "B" movie fodder. The cinematographer here is John Alcott who won an Oscar lensing Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon". "Vice Squad" may not be for all tastes but I thought it was great.

Considering this movie was made in 1982, it's pretty good especially if you enjoy watching a woman beater and murderer get his just rewards ( no matter if she is a hooker and he is her Pimp ). With the violence, sexual content and strong language, this isn't a movie for everyone and the Thanksgiving family get-together probably isn't the time to break it out.

Vice Squad is a great action movie from the 80's if you like shows like "The Shield". The movie stars a young "Wings Hauser"(Ramrod) and "Season Hubley"(Princess). Ramrod is a pimp in the dark streets of L.A. who kills one of his ladies of the evening (Ginger) who is friends with Princess. After speaking with the police, Princess is distraught over the death of her friend Ginger and agrees to set up Ramrod. The two battle it out in the means streets!! Check out this action thriller!!

This is a very good action movie that will probably more likely than not make the average veiwer amazed (but then again maybe not) that this kind of stuff actually goes on in big cities.

WOW, the adventures of Princess, Blue Chip, Ko Ko and all the rest are brought vibrantly to the screen in this DVD release of a campy and over-the-top look at a typical night on the Hollywood Vice Squad. You know the story, Princess has a daughter who is sent away to San Diego with her rent-a-nanny while mommy turns tricks to pay for her stuffed animals. In the mean time, a friend has been pimp-sticked to death and a Vice squad officer guilts Princess into wearing a wire to entrap the psycho pimp who killed her friend. He is captured, but then escapes and goes on a hunt to get even with the bitch who entrapped him. So now the vice squad has to hunt two people instead of one, and it turns into a been there, done that day late dollar short series of misses until Ramrod and Princess meet up and she gets worked over good before Ramrod is crushed by the vice squad cops car just in the nick of time.

This movie is full of wonderful characters, Princess, Walsh, the Vice Squad cop who has a thing for her, Ko Ko the Korean hooker, Blue Chip who wears blue poker chip earings, also a hooker, a sugar pimp named Dorsey, leather guys like Fast Eddy with the mother of all tattoos, angry African-American bar patrons, a psycho garage owner named Roscoe, Mrs. Cruckshank, the owner of a motel on the strip who plays mah jong with Wong, a small "ornamental" whose diminutive stature belies a powerful martial arts background and an old rich guy who gets off on laying in a coffin while Princess in a wedding gown marches down the stairs to the mixed tuneage of the Wedding March and a funeral durge.

Great lines include:

"Blink motherf#*&er and you die in the dark" and "Not that one, the blue Ford, five-hundred don't get you no Eldorado", and my favorite, "My man will have a kilo of white stuff here before you can jump out of your leathers and spank yourself."

Well, that may be too much info, but I like the flick. It's a scream, it's campy and above all, it's out of date.

Vice Squad is a pretty cool movie. This was back in the day when crime dramas were nice and gritty without any real message to get across. Plotwise it's kept basic: Season Hubley's a hooker. An "outlaw" hooker coz she ain't got no pimp. She's also an equal opportunity hooker catering to foot fetishists, golden shower enthusiasts and amputees. She helps the cops nail a psychotic pimp named Ramrod(Great name. I have to laugh ever time this name is spoken in the film), he escapes custody, then the search is on for the vice suad to find either Hubley or Ramrod before Ramrod gets his revenge on the sneaky hooker. That's all it really is. Ramrod arms himself and searches the streets of Hollywood for Hubley. Hubley continues to do her job, meeting an interesting bunch of "johns" along the way. B movie regular Wings Hauser appears to be having the time of his life playing Ramrod, a character who should earn his place right next to Cape Fear's Max Cady or Blue Velvet's Frank Booth. Hubley is a decent actress in this, but I certainly don't see what all the guys in this film are drooling over(then again I must consider the guys doing the drooling). The film was directed by Gary Sherman who horror fans may remember as the director of Dead and Buried as well as Poltergeist 3. A very fun piece of junkfood for around midnight on Saturday. Leonard Maltin calls it "dull and sleazy", but he's only half right. Plus, Maltin's a schmuck. A priceless theme song sung by Hauser as well.