Back in the early ’70s, Flesh Gordon (1974) producers found themselves in a bit of a bind. The film was considered pornography, and at that time in Los Angeles, porn was legally viewed as pandering, and the footage had to be seized. Instead of sitting around and waiting, they produced a sleazy crime thriller called Cop Killers (1977). They hoped to recoup some of the money they were losing by being unable to release Flesh Gordon. MVD Classics has brought this piece of cinematic history to Blu-ray, and I enjoyed every minute of it.
Ray (Jason Williams) and Alex (Bill Osco) have scored a massive amount of cocaine in a deal with plans to get rich off it. On their way to dump it, there’s a police barricade in the way. They quickly become cop killers when they make their escape. They have to think quickly and take a hostage while traveling across the country to make their escape. Ray and Alex have no trouble putting anyone down who might try to get in their way.
What’s not to like about Cop Killers? It’s drive-in madness straight from the ’70s and a whole lot of fun. Williams and Osco are perfect for the roles and give performances over the top enough to make it a memorable pairing. It’s violent, with lots of blood, and the cocaine-fueled paranoia the lead characters go through is pretty wild.
Director Walter Cichy was mostly known as a writer, and Cop Killers would be his sole directing credit. Jason Williams may be best known as the title character in Flesh Gordon, but if you’ve never seen him in anything else, this would be the movie to watch. It should also be noted that Academy Award-winning effects artist Rick Baker did the effects for this. As expected, he does a phenomenal job ensuring enough blood is thrown around for the cameras.
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Cop Killers was shot in 1972 but released in 1977. I’m not sure if Bill Osco and his producing partners ever made back their money (supposedly a budget of $50,000), but it’s great to see MVD swooping in to give it another life. Although it has been available on DVD, I believe this is the first Blu-ray release as a solo film, although it is on a double bill with another movie.
The release includes some notable special features like an audio commentary from Jason Williams, an interview with the actor, and the trailer, all of which I believe was ported over from the DVD release. I’d never seen this film before and quite enjoyed it for what it was. You’ve got to love these drive-in classics, especially when they’re as bloody as this is.
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