Before Subversive Cinema decided to release a box set of his work last year, I had never heard of Mark Savage. Of course, as soon as I learned about an impending release of three films by a controversial Australian director I was unfamiliar with, I began to look into his career and see what this guy was all about. It appears as though his films have a reputation for being violent and offensive and filled with blood and sex. Needless to say, I was intrigued and looked forward to checking out Savage's work. When I cracked open the box set and popped into Marauders, I didn't know what to expect but I think I may have psyched myself a little too much as the end result was not nearly as shocking or nasty as I was expecting. Although there were moments that had unsavory intentions, I found that the execution of these scenes held back. In comparison to some other revenge flicks or movies about social deviants such as Combat Shock, this movie lacked some of the visceral impact.

The film begins by introducing our two main characters, JD and Emilio, at their respective homes. These guys obviously have some crappy domestic lives as JD is torturing his mom in the first few minutes and Emilio is beating the crap out of his girlfriend. Before long, the two 'marauders' meet up downtown where JD is run over by a guy named David. This of course pisses the bad boys off so they hit the road in pursuit hoping to track down David and teach him some manners with their fists. Along the way, they tear it up by robbing a hotel, dragging a gas jockey from their car window, and raping a local girl. Meanwhile, David picks up his girlfriend Becky and takes her to a cabin where he plans on having his way with her. What he doesn't know is that Emilio and JD are tracking him down and an angry mob of local townsfolk are tracking them down.

On paper, this sounded like a fast moving and violent delinquent movie of the 80's. While I could see the comparisons to The Boys Next Door and Last House on the Left (to a lesser degree), I would hardly put this in the same realm as Straw Dogs (which the box mentions). This was a cheap film and it looked it from the obvious fact that it was shot on video and employed friends and family in the cast and crew. Luckily for Savage, his brother Colin did a great job as the foul mouthed psychotic Emilio and his performance alone kept the film trucking along. Zero Montana was fine as JD as was Paul Harrington as David but it was really Colin Savage's show here as he demanded your attention with his obnoxiousness and he nailed the essence of the sociopath that he was portraying. Megan Napier also did a decent job as Becky and provided us with the only character that had any positive qualities.

The script ended up working quite well even though it was a very simple story. I have to admit that I wasn't sure where it was going in the first half hour as it seemed to be lacking a focus but by the end, it delivered an entertaining tale that ran its course perfectly in the 74 minute running time, Any longer and it would have gotten a little old. If you remember the days of Draculina magazine and you enjoyed the slew of shot on video (not digital video) releases in the late 80's and 90's, Marauders was above average. It was a great example of no-budget filmmaking that did its best with the resources available and managed to be a decent introduction to this filmmaker. The best thing that I can relate this to is a lite version of the cinema of transgression films that were being produced in New York around the same time. The acting and shooting style was very similar but the sleaze and shock factor didn't seem as authentic as movies from Richard Kern or Nick Zedd. I am looking forward to checking out Savage's other stuff and I am curious to see if he lives up to his name on subsequent releases. (Josh Pasnak, 1/24/07)

Directed By: Mark Savage.
Written By: Mark Savage.

Starring: Colin Savage, Zero Montana, Megan Napier, Paul Harrington.

Picture Ratio: Full Frame.

Picture Quality: The movie looked surprisingly good for a 20-year old shot-on-video production.

Extras: The extras actually enhanced my enjoyment of the movie as the four main people involved have such fond memories about the making of the film. Mark Savage, Colin Savage, Paul Harrington, and co-producer Richard Wolstencroft all participated in an entertaining commentary track as well as a featurette that ran just shy of half an hour. They discussed a number of topics and gave numerous anecdotes about the making of the film as well as digs at Colin's 80's hairstyle whenever they got the chance. The disc also contains cast and crew bios, a two minute self running photo gallery, trailers for some other Subversive releases including two more Savage films, and a booklet that duplicates Savage's production diary.

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