Since Cauldron Films is independently owned and operated by two lifelong film fans, it’s no surprise that they’re dedicated to curating, restoring, and releasing cult movies on physical media in truly wonderful special editions. With heavy hitters like City of the Living Dead (1980) and The House of Clocks (1989), they’re on their way to becoming one of the best labels in the game. They even have a sub-label, Neon Eagle Video, that highlights Asian cult cinema. Cauldron’s latest release, Mad Foxes (1981), fits in perfectly with what audiences expect from them, and they’re limited edition 4K set really drives that home.
Hal (José Gras) and his girlfriend are out for a carefree night of cruising when a gang of bikers starts toying with them on the open road. Fed up with their taunts, Hal retaliates, triggering a deadly crash that leaves one biker dead. What follows is a relentless spiral of vengeance as the gang hunts them down, beating Hal senseless and brutally assaulting his girlfriend.
From there, the violence explodes into an all-out war of revenge, each act more savage than the last. Who will win the war in this delirious, no-holds-barred collision of biker chaos and grindhouse revenge mayhem?
Those walking into Mad Foxes expecting a straight-up action flick are in for a rude awakening. What unfolds is an unhinged mashup of sleaze, violence, and unintentional comedy that feels like madmen stitched it together. One minute, it’s rape, decapitations, and bloody revenge; the next is a melodrama.
Andrea Albani brings a touch of doomed sweetness as Babsy, the fiancée who suffers horribly after Hal crosses paths with a gang of Nazi bikers. Hal (José Gras) himself is no hero; a reckless womanizer caught in a vicious tit-for-tat war that spirals into full-blown insanity. The fight scenes are clumsy but somehow loop back around to brilliance, and the metal soundtrack only makes the carnage more surreal.
Mad Foxes isn’t necessarily good, but it’s an absolute riot. A deranged, blood-soaked fever dream that plays like a grindhouse comedy of errors, tailor-made for those who crave their trash cinema loud, lewd, and completely off the rails.
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Cauldron has released a limited edition that includes a restored 4K scan of the original uncensored negative, English-dubbed and Spanish-language versions with new subtitles, a commentary by critics Nanni Cobretti and Merlyn Roberts, and The Untold Story of Robert O’Neal. It features an interview with actor José Gras and producer Erwin C. Dietrich. Additionally, actors Eric Falk and Helmi Sigg discuss Mad Foxes, along with an interview with Eric Falk.
The package also includes Nazi Fox Bikers Must Die – An Essay by Troy Howarth, an image gallery, a trailer, a folded poster, and a rigid slipcase, exclusive to the limited edition.
It amazes me that films like these get such glorious special editions, while other higher-profile films don’t receive a quarter of the same treatment. Let’s keep them coming. Cauldron and Mad Foxes should be at the top of your list.
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