Search - Alley Cat on DVD

A small beans "Savage Streets" esque film turns out to be mo

BayAreaSav | Northern California | 05/08/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Over the past couple of years I've watched many low budget exploitation films from the 70's and 80's. In 2009, I consider myself a seasoned veteran and an expert on what are the memorable gems from each period that truly deserve credit. ALLEY CAT is one of those films that succeeds in accomplishing its' simple goal, to entertain the audience! I've heard that this was a favorite with the 42nd Street fanatics of the early 80's and I can see why. All the crowd pleasing exploitable elements are in place, abundant nudity, chop-socky martial arts, drug abuse, clever one liners, unintentionally funny dialogue and a unexpected plot set-up that turns the film into a quick women in prison segment.

This movie falls into the woman out for revenge sub-genre but this one plays more like a Drama than an Action film. The story is about a young woman named Billie who lives in Los Angeles who gets into a beef with some street punks that started over a botched robbery attempt that was foiled by her kung fu skills and her grandpa's pistol. The gang decides to retaliate by attacking her grandparents at a liquor store. Billie chooses the vigilante route because the law turns out to be inefficient help. Can Billie put an end to the drug dealing scumbags that terrorize the innocent and not end up going to jail herself?

By no means is this a classic movie even for exploitation standards. It is a fun little film that knows its' limitations and makes the best of what it has to offer. The plot moves at a snappy pace, the villians are convincing and they all have the look and charisma of criminals that actually came from the streets. There's a nice 80's synthesizer score and all of the actors seem to have fun playing their roles. The photography is dark because a lot of the scenes were shot at night but the transfer on this DVD is good enough to see clearly. I'm glad Madacy Home Video put this out before it became a popular thing to release obscure Grindhouse movies. I'm also happy they were smart enough to use the original poster art for the sleeve. The only special features are the theatrical trailer for ALLEY CAT and some trailers for other DVD releases from the company. Seeing the high prices for used copies makes me proud to have this on my shelf. There are a lot of B-movies that have Hollywood-like production values and marketed as exploitation films. Those types usually end up falling flat on their face because it can't decide what it wants to be. ALLEY CAT is a genuine trash film that has its' heart in the right place and stays there. Don't set your expectations high and you won't be disappointed.

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