Movie Review: "VFW" (2020)
A host of horror/action/exploitation /TV legends? Check. Batshit levels of gore? Check. Creative and brutally violent kills? Check. One-liners? Check. A kick-ass montage? Check. The proverbial sacrificial death? Check. The ensuing triumphant return from hopelessness? Check. And you know there’s a final showdown for the ages…
Take all that and throw in note-perfect synth from the likes of Zombi and a smoky color palette tinged in red and blue. Add in an army of zombie-like junkies and some uber-punk drug dealers straight out of The Warriors or Class of Nuke ‘Em High. Finish it off by pitting that smack-crazed army against a group of grizzled old Vietnam vets (and one Korean War vet) at the nearby VFW, and you’ve got the brilliantly unsubtle joys of Joe Begos’ (Bliss) newest film, VFW (produced by Fangoria).
Fred (Stephen Lang; Don’t Breathe, Tombstone) runs the bar at VFW Post 2494. It’s his birthday, and his buddies are there to help him “celebrate”. There’s Walter Reed (William Sadler; Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, Tales From the Crypt presents Demon Knight), the smart ass storyteller. Next to him at the bar is Abe Hawkins (Fred Williamson; From Dusk Till Dawn; Boss Nigger), the hulking bad ass point man. The slick one in the suit is Lou Clayton (Martin Kove; The Karate Kid series, Rambo II), the soldier turned used car salesman. Thomas “Z” Zabriski (George Wendt; Cheers, House) is at his usual place with a beer. Rounding out the group is Doug Clayton (David Patrick Kelly; The Crow, Twin Peaks), the elder statesman who did his time in Korea. Before the action really gets started, a young soldier just back from the sandbox will enter named Shawn Mason (Thomas Williamson; All Cheerleaders Die). These current and former military heroes drink whiskey, tell stories, and debate the merit of shaved genitals until a young girl with a backpack bursts through the door with bloodthirsty goons on her tail. Before you know it, axes are buried in skulls and the gore is flying. Then the trouble starts- a pack of savages has them under siege and they want what she took.
It’s almost staggering, in this day and age, to see a movie get it right in so many ways. First and foremost, the assemblage of talent and genre cred here is staggering. There’s no other way to put it. They have a natural chemistry that’s too much fun to watch, but they also know how to deliver the goods and play the roles you want and expect of them. The opposing force of the “big baddie” Boz (Travis Hammer; Godless) and his female companion, Gutter (Dora Madison; Bliss) steal scene after scene and chew ‘em up. The set design of their burned-out theater lair is first-rate apocalyptic punk madness. As for the “damsel in distress” who’s anything but, Lizard (Sierra McCormick; Disney’s A.N.T. Farm)? Well, she’s a name to watch. If anything, she was underutilized to some degree.
Shot on location at the VFW Hall #2494 in Grand Prairie, Texas (not too far down the road from yours truly), VFW is awash in throwback ambience. The synth heavy score sets an atmospheric tone that’s ominous while staying lively (and avoiding straight funky). The grainy, grindhouse aesthetic rounds all that out to make a movie that feels like it came from 1982 without veering into nostalgic manipulation. There’s nothing hokey about it, thank God. That gets harder and harder to do with every passing year, but Joe Begos effortlessly pulls it off.
As good as all that is, the SFX will be the main thing VFW is remembered for. No kill in this movie is average. We all know that blood doesn’t spray that hard, but we don’t give a damn and neither do they. I can’t remember the last movie to bury a proper fire axe in so many heads! You get full decapitations, middle of the head decapitations, limb severing, corkscrew brutality, shotgun blasts to the head for days, deadeye pistol work…the list is long. Also, I’ve never seen a movie use BOTH deer antlers and a flag pole as beautifully as VFW does. The physical impact of the blows and the unrestrained violence is damned refreshing.
VFW is a mashup, a love letter to multiple genres without apology. It’s Assault on Precinct 13 by way of Escape From New York with a musical pulse that part John Carpenter, part Italian synth. I thoroughly dug Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich, and I got a big kick out of Satanic Panic, but VFW is the crown jewel of Fangoria’s new lineup so far. And how in the hell did Joe Begos follow up something as insane as Bliss with this level of nasty?!
Get yourself a bottle of whiskey and assemble your squad. This shit gets messy.
