Sudden Fury Review on DVD from Giallo Films
Whoa boy, where do you start on a film like Sudden Fury? Firstly, it has the honour of starring the late and missed legend, David (The Beyond, The Last Hunter, Rat Man, The Black Cat) Warbeck in one of his final roles. David is seen in his cameo clearly enjoying himself and why not? He always championed the Italian films he starred in, unlike some others who made out the old genre was silly. David was THE MAN!
In his final years, he did well off property but, even though extremely ill, appeared in a handful of low budget UK releases, just for the Hell of it I suppose, and to use his name to help out. Whatever money was spent on him in this movie was very well spent, for his character, though in a few scenes only, has a meaty and memorable aura.
So let’s mention Darren Ward. This guy is a micro budget maestro of guns and gore. The film which followed this one (this was his debut full length release) was called A Day of Violence and it upped the ante on the sheer brutality. It had a better central cast and an improved Nick Rendell. It also featured in a tiny cameo by the one and only, Giovanni Lombardo Radice (a.k.a. John Morghen)! The man of a thousand or so violent exits from films such as City of the Living Dead (The Gates of Hell), Cannibal Apocalypse, House on the Edge of the Park and Cannibal Ferox (Make Them Die Slowly).
So many years pass between films for Darren Ward, which is a shame. It’s an uphill struggle for low budget cult directors in the UK. However, as I reported on Severed Cinema mid 2015 the final part of his splatter trilogy, Beyond Fury, is coming…
However, on to Sudden Fury. We begin and meet Jimmy, a loud voiced suited up guy slapping the hell out of a lad because he’s messed up a job and started a few issues. He does sound like a sales floor manager conducting a morning meeting. “Don’t fuck with me! You fuckin’ moron I’ll blow your brains out!” He threatens Leech, with a gun, becoming angrier by the minute. He does adore the word “Fuck!” Leech gives the money back owed to his boss. Randell, then starts being arrogant. Jimmy gets on his phone and calls Randell, who happens to be outside. Leach fills the back of his pants as Randell, who’s like a Krays sort of dude, steps inside. Random senseless violence breaks out!
Randell is concerned about going to war with another boss, Harris, over this screw up that’s happened. He calls up Walker, who’s a hard kind of clean up guy. As Randell and Jimmy agree, even if Walker fails when going after Harris, they cannot be traced. There’s a man in the Harris camp and besides, Walker is a pro.
Randell receives a call from Pike, who’s a posh and campy David Warbeck. He has two of Randell’s men tied to a chair and is happily using a blow torch on their faces. “You sick son of a bitch!” spits Randell. “Yes, aren’t I?” laughs Warbeck, totally relishing his role as Pike. “This diabolical torture will continue until Mr. Harris gets all of his shipment back.”
It seems their day is getting worse. They organise Walker and he will be sent in when the meeting is made for the handover. Enter, Walker, who’s a screw-faced ‘80s slick and smooth sassy mouthed fella. £750k to do the job. A choice of weapons, and the dangling carrot of a million if Walker can take everyone out. Afterwards, Randell tells Jimmy that he wants Walker dead.
The meeting is held at a stereotypical warehouse. Pike camps it up to Walker. “You’ve been a naughty bunny. I’ve seen the pictures!” Walker is famous in the underworld. Of course it’s down to a gory shootout to sort everything. Chest and throat shots galore. Walker is left shot in the arm and the leg, but is firm chinned about it all. Outside, Jimmy confronts him, but Walker is way too hardcore. He injures Jimmy, telling him to pass on a message. He’s coming after Randell.
In solid and pure Italian crime caper style, he will keep his word and what you have to realise with a Darren Ward film is, yeah not all the actors are professional — suited more to a YouTube homemade 5 minute movie in the woods — but the blood squibs and gore are so over-the-top it makes the viewing essential.
“Why don’t you piss off somewhere, marry some bitch and get some sun?” says Alex Lenzi (awesome surname), Walker’s friend as he lays up healing his wounds. Alex’s idea is to let this all cool off for a while. Walker agrees to take a couple of months off, even though he has some of Randall’s gear with him — 2.5 million pounds worth.
Meanwhile, Randell has a chat with Jimmy who’s hobbling about on crutches. Jimmy is threatened and punched a bit. The gang man decides he wants a face to face with Harris, and to twist everything and get Harris’ help. Or so it seems, until he’s in the Harris household with one of his mates who’s been undercover. Harris and his family are slaughtered, one lad is killed wearing a Mutant Ninja Turtles t-shirt and is reading a Viz comic — nothing to do with the plot, I just thought it was cool! Randell also kills his mate because he’s a bad bastard. Now Randell has complete distribution of the South and South West. Jimmy is a bit stunned to find out his boss killed the kids. He’s obviously a bit more human, I mean, he can act better as well.
It’s not long before Alex is chucked in a van after leaving a pub, with bag over his head. He’s severely tortured in a warehouse with a baseball bat and other things, all in rather graphic fashion. “Where is Walker and where is the coke?” Meanwhile, Walker is seen coming out of the house letting a lady in. The torture continues, but Alex finds a way out, calling the central torturer, Lennox, a “Nigger fucking son of a bitch!” He gets shot for that. It transpires that Lennox knows Walker only too well.
There’s a lengthy sexual caper with Walker and the lady. Randell organises a visit. Walker receives an anonymous tip off and goes all ‘80s action hero facials. In a shocking move for the story, someone blasts the Hell out of Randell as he drinks wine in his nice back garden. We don’t see who did it, of course. That’s good writing, keep us guessing, see?
Walker dresses up in black, tools up, and heads off to try and save his friend, plus earn some sweet badass payback. All the while suffering flashback to his days in the military, filmed somewhere near the city probably.
Darren Ward can take about a hundred quid (maybe) to spend on a film, and still have change for a packet of crisps. The man is a genius when it comes to action set pieces and gore. This film has so many bullet wounds, and thumbs gouging throats, saw blades in necks, and much more. Sudden Fury is a VHS shop late night beer and pizza dream. It doesn’t know how to stop. It keeps giving you more and more blood.
Okay, so the acting, the music and the vast majority of the script sucks on a shotgun barrel, but this film has so much more going for it. A casual viewer who simply doesn’t know the art of an amazing brutal nasty will probably switch off not getting the ‘70s love letter this film simply is. In fact, Sudden Fury can be seen as a homage to John Woo’s glory days. As a matter of fact, there’s a neat moment in the finale when you can see The Killer. Besides, like John’s best, gangsters are expendable insects and everybody shits bullets from each orifice.
Sudden Fury, released on DVD by Boudicca. The extras are down to a trailer and a 17min short which is like an early blueprint for the main feature starring Nick Rendell and Paul Murphy, plus a quarry and guns. There’s a 40 plus minute special effects behind the scenes thing which drags a bit, as do the outtakes. I would have loved some interviews.
A.K.A.: Furia Gore
Directed by: Darren Ward
Written by: Darren Ward
Produced by: Darren Ward
Cinematography by: Peter Dobson
Editing by: Peter Dobson
Music by: Francois Evans
Special Effects by: Stuart Ferris-Brown, Alastair Vardy
Cast: Nick Rendell, David Warbeck, Paul Murphy, Stephen Lewis, Andy Ranger, Chris Barfoot
Year: 1997
Country: UK
Language: English
Colour: Colour
Runtime: 1h 42min
Studio: Giallo Films
Distributor: Boudicca
