Furious / Dinosaur Valley Girls

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. But boutique label Visual Vengeance doesn’t even bother to make a distinction.  Their curated collection of SOV and homemade genre cinema makes no apologies for bad taste or low budgets, but it’s a guaranteed good time.  And the two latest additions to their growing library keep the anything-goes aesthetic alive with a DIY martial arts epic and schlocky prehistoric sex spoof.

1984’s Furious is an early showcase for the Rhee Brothers (Simon and Phillip) who would go on to star in the Best of the Best franchise. As choreographers and performers the duo put on quite a show, but it’s nothing compared to the bizarre plot unfolding around them.  On a quest to avenge the death of his sister, Simon (Simon Rhee) is lured into a series of deadly confrontations by his former instructor Master Chan (Phillip Rhee) to collect pieces of a mystic amulet.  Each boss battle pits him against a ridiculously cartoonish opponent, including a mute sherpa with bad teeth and a close-up magic performer who shoots flaming chickens. With virtually no dialogue except a few poorly dubbed lines and cartoonish sound effects, Furious plays like a silent comedy with zero self-awareness


On the other hand, 1997’s Dinosaur Valley Girls know exactly what it wants to be…but can never quite get there.  This sexed-up series of stop-motion monster attacks and defective string bikinis always feels a bit too manufactured.  When Hollywood action star Tony Markham (Jeff Rector) gets zapped back to the stone age, he falls hard for buxom cavegirl Hea-Thor (Denise Ames).  But her all-female tribe is feuding with their male counterparts, leading to a battle between the sexes that puts Tony in the middle.  Intentionally brainless and finding any excuse to put flesh on display, director Don Glut calls in a few favors to pad the cast with notable faces such as Karen Black (Burnt Offerings), William Marshall (Blacula) and genre historians Forry Ackerman and Bill Warren. Oh, and the whole film comes to a screeching halt to make room for a choreographed music video set to the original theme song Jurassic Punk. There are a few flashes of old-school effects that will interest completists, but it mostly feels like an inside joke only the Skinamax crowd would fully appreciate.

Besides bringing both films to Blu-ray for the first time, Visual Vengeance stacks both titles (sold separately) with enough extras to keep viewers busy all day.  Furious gets two commentaries, interviews with co-directors Tom Sartori and Tim Everitt, a video essay, super 8 footage from the Devo-inspired sub-plot (along with a full six song EP), short films and a ton more.  Dinosaur Valley Girls gets two commentaries as well plus an archival Making Of, interviews, music video reel, storyboard and a complete PG-13 version of the film in which all the actresses keep their tops on.  Two-sided insert art, slip cover, fold-out posters and a slick sticker set also come with each package. 

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