Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Bea Swanson This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

udar55 Singer/stripper Delilah (Jessica Mark) is stalked by a creepy ex- mercenary (Jimmy Broome), who likes to leave severed fingers in her dressing room. Justifiably spooked, she hires private eye Brit Alwood (Charlie Spradling) for protection but that ends rather quickly when the psycho shows up in Brit's office minutes after the hiring and kills her. So it is up to Jo Alwood (Maria Ford), Brit's stepsister, to take on the job and stop this killer. Not only that, but she has to deal with sleazy mafia type and former adversary Sonny Luso (Bob McFarland), Delilah's funder who is upset she is too racy and wants her to be more "like Peggy Lee" (what!?!). I can't believe how long this B-movie masterpiece has eluded me. I don't want to oversell it, but this is about as perfect an exploitation film as you can get with director Charles Philip Moore (DEMON WIND) cramming in everything he could. Essentially a riff on 1992's popular THE BODYGUARD (and essentially a remake of Moore's earlier BLACKBELT [1992], a BODYGUARD ripoff with Don "The Dragon" Wilson that went into production when news of Costner's vehicle hit and beat it to release by 6 months), the film ups the violence and nudity to insane levels. If a fight isn't happening on screen, most likely one of Delilah's nudity filled shows is. Moore reaches the pinnacle during a nighttime assassination attempt where Ford thwarts the goons with her kickboxing skills while clad only in a g-string. It is the type of thing you would expect from a HK production (ESCAPE FROM BROTHEL did it in 1992), but not readily seen in US stuff. The bloody shootouts (done in glorious slo-mo) also echo the HK style at the time. The production tried to get the Philippines to stand in for Hawaii but it doesn't really work.

kimberlymhn I love this movie. Maria Ford is beautiful and deadly and god knows why she did not make more martial arts movies like this. I read here that she was only cast in the film when the original star Charlie Spradling refused to do a topless fight scene. I applauded Spradling at first for making an ideological stand, (and I was quite anti Ford at first) but then found Spradling has actually done nude sequences which are far less empowering than the scene she supposedly objected to. Spradling's character Britt appears early in the film and is an irritating swaggering imitation of a 'tough guy' male. She defeats several guys with martial arts but is easily beaten up and killed by a giant psychopathic soldier called Kell. Enter Ms Ford as her sister Jo. Everything Spradling does wrong, the talented Ms Ford does right. Her character is not trying to act 'male' in any way - she is confident, sexy and totally feminine. However when she fights nothing will stop her. Ms Ford must kill about 20 men with firearms and her body in this movie and what is satisfying is she has no 'super powers - she is just trained, fit and ruthless. The most famous scene is where Jo stays over at the house of the irritatingly fake 'female pop star' and her 'lesbian' lover . Several goons enter the house to kill or kidnap them but they don't count on the presence of Jo, who leaps from her bedroom dressed only in a thong and proceeds to destroy them with her hands and feet. Some have claimed that this scene was exploitative, but the thugs attacked at night – it's 99% certain that in a hot climate Jo would sleep in her underwear or nude. A friend of mine told me how she was awoken in her home when she heard an intruder. She was in bed naked at the time but confronted the startled thief and chased him out of her house without getting dressed! Regarding Ms Ford's body she is unconventional and refreshingly real for a 'B' actress with her then small breasts & untanned skin. The fact she is topless with her buttocks exposed makes her destruction of the attackers even more explosive and satisfying – here is an unarmed almost naked woman who uses deadly force to defend herself, crushing one man to death with her bare foot and snapping her final opponents neck with a beautifully executed roundhouse kick. I'm pretty sure it was not the intention of the director to produce a scene which appealed to me, but watching Maria Ford fight so powerfully and convincingly in attire which we normally associate with female passivity and the oppression of the 'glamour' industry is amazing. Straight afterwards she has a sex scene, but it's notable that she initiates the encounter and dominates it.It's not all good news though – there are a couple of embarrassing 'pop videos' which feature topless women for no reason other than 'eye candy' and Ford herself performs a silly and pointless striptease, but these obvious inserted scenes of titillation do not spoil the whole experience. I also liked that Jo is not invulnerable - she takes a beating in the final confrontation with Kell and realistically needs help to take him down. I heartily recommend this movie to those who want to see a powerful, uninhibited performance from an under appreciated star. It's a pity Quentin Tarantino didn't cast her as 'The Bride' in 'Kill Bill' as apparently he (like me) is a huge fan.

capkronos Unlike the reviewers below (who are probably just looking for a larger set of knockers on display), I am GLAD Maria Ford took over the lead in this film. She plays tough undercover cop Jo Alwood, who is out to avenge her sisters death at the hands of a serial killer. This serviceable exploitation story is a staple of the Roger Corman studios (look way back to the early 70s and TNT JACKSON), but this film would not be half as entertaining if not for the infinite talents of the leading lady.Aside from just being a gorgeous and sexy lady, Maria is one of most talented, most watchable B-movie actresses of all time. As adept at high kicks and convincingly kicking sleazy male butt as she is at dramatic moments AND delivering her Clint Eastwood-style bad-ass dialogue, one must wonder...Is there anything this lovely lady cannot do well? Ms. Ford is terrific with or without her clothes on and carries this entire picture from beginning to end. It is a true shame she has seemingly retired. I know she will be sorely missed by late night cable and video watchers. Does anyone know what happened to her?The film in general? Well, I can promise you you won't bored! There's action, blood, lots of laughs, good one-liners, nudity, explosions, music video sequences, severed fingers and much much more.

Stephen This movie is overacted, and it's great! If you like watching B movies this is a great one. The line that sticks in my mind and will stick in yours once you see it because of the ho-hum delivery "did your father rape you?" as if she is asking if stamps still cost $.32. This is an example of a film that if the actors were replaced with mainstream actors would cause the film to suck, but the way it is so overly done makes it funny and entertaining. If you feel like making fun of a movie this is the one to rent.