During the 80s if something became a mainstream hit you could be sure there'd be producers in Italy and the Philippines just itching to make a knock-off. Such was the case with the surprise success of George Miller's Mad Max flicks and following in its post-apocalyptic wake were the Italians (2019: After the Fall of New York, 1990: The Bronx Warriors) and dependable rip-off artist Cirio H. Santiago. A year after unleashing obvious Max clone Stryker, Santiago was at it again with Wheels of Fire. An indescribable piece of low-budget fodder this is the type of movie that would litter the television landscape most weekends in my youth and that could go a long way to explaining why I spent more of the 81 minute running time with a grin plastered on my face. No matter how ridiculous it got, and believe me it gets ape-shit crazy and silly at times, I couldn't help but be entertained by our black leather clad hero Trace (Gary Watkins), his various sidekicks he meets along the way and a pared down script that seemed to have a quota on the amount of action sequences.

When we first see Trace he's tearing down the road with his rocket powered Mustang before stopping in at a makeshift settlement to meet up with his sister Arlie (Lynda Wiesmeier). He's soon thrown into action when he has to jump in and defend Arlie's boyfriend who has decided to put up the keys to her car in an arena style fight and is getting beaten up by a baddie who, much to my amusement, looks like singer Wayne Newton. This leads to the films first, of many, car chases where numerous baddies cars fall off cliffs and explode in balls of flame.

Not long after getting away they spot the pirate-like baddies dubbed "Scourge" and agree to meet-up ninety miles down the road. Trace doesn't really want to let Arlie go alone and he had good reason for that as his sister (and her wobbly boobs) ends up being kidnapped and taken back to their base tied naked to the front of a car. Trace meanwhile is burning baddies up with his car mounted flamethrower, jumping off the side of a rocky hill slow-motion comic book style with machine gun blasting away and showing up too late to save her.

The action rarely lets up from here for such things as plot but that's completely okay as outrageous things continue to happen when Trace's journey finds him teamed-up with tough girl Stinger (Laura Banks), a girl who can read minds and a mute midget to go after the Scourge and rescue his sister. On the way to a chaotic final showdown at an abandoned military fortress base Santiago throws in more car crashes, a whole slew of gunfire and one "what the Hell?" moment where they all end-up in the underground lair of some cave-dwelling cannibalistic little people with silly white wigs on. It's the kind of out there absurdity typical of not only 80s low-brow rip-offs but pretty much everything Santiago, and the Filipino film industry, put their names on in the decade.

As our gruff hero Watkins tries his hardest to emulate Gibson and does a satisfactory job at it considering all the hackneyed dialogue he has to deliver between bouts of looking macho. He's certainly a better action hero than most of the former kickboxing champions (such as Jerry Trimble) that Santiago would employ in later movies. Former Playboy Playmate Wiesmeier spends almost the entire movie topless and gets to spit out a few choice insults at our grope-friendly kidnappers while Santiago regular Joe Mari Avellana (Bloodfist, Caged Fury), billed here as "Joseph Anderson", is suitably sleazy as the gang's leader, the aptly named Scourge.

Wheels of Fire is more proof that, before passing away in 2008, Santiago was probably the most efficient exploitation director around as it's yet another highly entertaining slice of the over-the-top and cheaply made flicks I used to gravitate toward during the home video boom of the early 80s. It's also notable for being the first time he worked with screenwriter Frederick Bailey as they'd collaborate six more times - including the cult favourite Silk and awful creature feature Demon of Paradise. Highly regarded composer Christopher Young (Hellraiser, Drag Me to Hell) also supplied the energetic and fun musical score. (Chris Hartley, 4/17/10)

Directed By: Cirio H. Santiago.
Written By: Frederick Bailey.

Starring: Gary Watkins, Laura Banks, Lynda Wiesmeier, Linda Grovenor.