Episode 37 - Nightforce (1981) (Blairvember Part 5)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD EPISODE 37 - NIGHTFORCE (1987)

Well here we are friends, the conclusion of the first annual Blairvember - and what a Blairvember it was! We've laughed, we've cried and we've watched some truly bad movies but they have one great thing in common: Linda Blair. 

On the surface Nightforce would appear to be just another direct-to-video action film (that poster above is lying to you about the theatrical release) - low budget, bad fight scenes, a few explosions, and horrific acting - and it has all those things but it also has Linda Blair; and some of the most baffling story choices you could ever imagine.

This movie is one of those rare occurences where everything goes bad in a really good way. Don't get us wrong, this is a BAD movie, but it's bad in such a way that we can't help but love it. 

Let's start with the premise - a senator's daughter is kidnapped by a cartel and five idiot friends of hers rent a U-Haul, pack it full of guns and explosives, and drive into "Central America" to go rescue her. What could go wrong?

You would think that a premise like that would be intended to be funny but you'd be wrong. This movie takes itself seriously and that's what makes it great. Never does it stray from the idea that these kids are doing what is right, even though they know nothing about guns, warfare, cartel's or even what country they need to go to. No, their determination in saving their friend is enough to make them heroes because that damn government just gets in the way!

Movies like this littered the shelves of video stores in the 1980's. There was a hunger for action movies and small studios would pump these out faster then they could write the scripts. When you would take a trip to the video store and see Predator or Commando was all checked out you would simply look at the boxart and choose whatever looked best. And tell me friends, could you pass this boxart up?

I didn't think so. 

We're sad to see Blairvember come to a close but happy to report that as long as this podcast still exists in a year, Blairvember will return - we have plenty more Linda movies to talk about.

Next Week's Film

Gas Pump Girls (1979)

Director: Joel Bender

Writers: David A. Davies, Joel Bender

Stars: Kirsten Baker, Linda Lawrence, Sandy Johnson