TOMB OF NOSTALGIA: UNDER SIEGE 2: DARK TERRITORY (1995)

UNDER SIEGE 2: DARK TERRITORY (1995)

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Sequel finds a retired Casey Ryback (Steven Seagal) now owning a restaurant and taking a train to Los Angeles for his brother’s funeral, along with his rebellious niece Sarah (Katherine Heigl). As Ryback has the same luck as John McClane, terrorist and computer hacker Travis Dane (Eric Bogosian) hijacks the train to take over the ATAC’s Grazer One weapons satellite. Using information from CIA agent Tom Breaker (Nick Mancuso) and ATAC Captain Linda Gilder (Brenda Bakke) who are romancing onboard, the train becomes Dane’s mobile base and the passengers his hostages…all save one…Ryback. Now Ryback must defeat the terrorists’ plan, rescue his hostage niece and save the day with only a young porter (Morris Chestnut) to help him.

With On Deadly Ground being a box office disappointment, Steven Seagal wisely returned to his Casey Ryback character from one of his most successful films. This time he is directed by Geoff Murphy from a script by Richard Hatem and Matt Reeves. It’s not quite up to the first flick’s standards, but is still a fun action movie with a lot of the bone crunching martial arts we expect from Seagal. Dane is more of a cyber villain and Everett McGill’s mercenary Marcus Penn becomes the physical threat Ryback must eventually overcome. The relationship between Ryback and niece Sarah works well, as it gives us a chance to see Casey a bit befuddled dealing with a teenager. Once she becomes a hostage, his camaraderie with Chestnut’s porter Bobby, works well, too. There is a lot of action and suspense as Dane uses the Grazer One for hire and for revenge and Ryback must somehow stop him before the military takes out the train and it’s passengers to eliminate Dane. The cat and mouse game between terrorist and exNavy SEAL works well, as it did before. The script writers even work out a way to get action on and off the train, here and there, and it’s only a couple of really badly executed SPFX during the overblown conclusion that bring the flick down a few notches. Otherwise, it’s not quite Under Siege, but entertaining enough in it’s own right and a welcome return to one of Seagal’s best characters.

Sequel has a good cast. Seagal’s is very likable as Ryback. He’s a noble character, but a little bit less intense than some of the other stone-faced tough guys he’s portrayed. He has some fun scenes with Katherine Heigl as his niece, as even Ryback admits he’s not trained for dealing with a rebellious teenager. Heigl is good as the feisty Sarah, though is more of a damsel in distress in the second half. Morris Chestnut is fun as the reluctant hero Bobby, whose porter is dragged into being Ryback’s sidekick. Eric Bogosian is a solid enough villain as cyber terrorist Dane. He doesn’t quite have the personality of Tommy Lee Jones’ Stranix from part one, but he works well enough, as does Everett McGill as his muscle. There are some returning supporting characters from the first installment, such as the before mentioned Nick Mancuso as Agent Tom Breaker, Dale Dye as Captain Garza and Andy Romano as Admiral Bates. Another good cast to support the action star.

A solid action flick that may not be quite as good as the first Under Siege, but is still action packed and fun. One of Seagal’s last big hits and one of his last major theatrical releases before his flicks started hitting direct to video status. He had a brief theatrical comeback with the flick Exit Wounds in 2001, but that fizzled out quickly. Too bad the often rumored Under Siege 3 never got made, Ryback is by far his most likable and memorable character.

-MonsterZero NJ

Rated 3 (out of 4) cooks who moonlight as SEALs.

 

 

 

 

 

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TOMB OF NOSTALGIA: THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS (1991)

THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS (1991)

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The People Under The Stairs is just another example of director Wes Craven’s versatility as he treats us to a darkly humored tale of urban horror. Story finds young “Fool” (Brandon Adams) on his 13th birthday finding out his mother is ill and his family is about to be evicted from the ghetto tenement they live in. Street tough Leroy (Ving Rhames) talks the boy into helping him get payback and a paycheck by robbing the house of the reclusive rich landlords. Once entering the former funeral parlor that is home to the bizarre Robeson’s (Everett McGill and Wendy Robie), Fool finds himself in a house of horrors that includes, kidnapping, murder, cannibalism and…the people under the stairs!

While Craven certainly gives his flick some disturbing moments, he tells his story with a very twisted sense of dark humor as we follow our heroic teen as he tries to escape the virtual fortress of horror. The legendary director has a good time filling his house full of devious and deadly traps, the psychotic Robesons and the tormented souls they keep in the basement. The movie moves quickly, thought could have benefited, pace-wise, from being a few minutes shorter and there is enough action and laughs to keeps us entertained. Sure, the film’s messages about ghetto life and the vastly uneven distribution of wealth between the haves and have-nots is a bit too obvious, but we can overlook that since we are having ghoulish fun with the story those messages are attached to. Despite the humorous tone, Craven doesn’t skimp on the blood and gore and the FX portraying the carnage and the house’s hidden inhabitants are well done and shown in just the right amounts to keep them effective. The house itself is a creepy fun-house of secret doors, hidden passages, traps, bones and cobweb filled rooms…and if that’s not enough, we have Everett McGill running around in his bizarre S & M gear that he wears when on the hunt. It’s loaded with atmosphere and is a fun flick with a ghoulish sense of humor that still holds up well almost a quarter century later.

Craven also has a good cast to portray his oddball characters. Young Brandon Adams is quite an engaging and noble hero as young “Fool”. An inner city teen who, despite his nickname, is wise beyond his years and is tough when he needs to be, but has a surprising sense of honor for a kid his age and the hard life he lives. Adams does a good job making him three dimensional and very likable. Everett McGill reaches near Bruce Campbell levels with his borderline slapstick portrayal of the weird and put-upon Robeson. He may be a twisted killer, but conveys the essence of a man who truly never gets a break…especially when dealing with Fool. Wendy Robie is equally creepy as his disturbed sister and one can truly believe of the two, she is the one to really be scared of. A.J. Langer is sweet, naive and sympathetic as the Robeson’s captive “daughter” Alice. She has lived in captivity all her life, but knows she is being mistreated and bonds with Fool as she sees a possible means to finally seeing the outside world. Rounding out the main cast is Ving Rhames, who is effective as the tough, street crook Leroy, pretty Kelly Jo Minter, who is sweet and street-wise as Fool’s tarot card reading sister Ruby and Sean Whalen is likable as Roach, one of the escaped captives loose in the house’s walls. A good cast for a very offbeat film.

Maybe not the best of Craven’s work, but it is an original and fun flick. It entertains us with a bizarre and twisted sense of humor without sacrificing the tense action, chills or gore. It may get a little preachy, especially in the last act and could have had a bit tighter with it’s running time, but overall, is ghoulish fun and another example of how versatile Craven was as a filmmaker.

Wes Craven 1938-2015

-MonsterZero NJ

3 kitchen knives.