Bullet Points: Vigilante Force
Sometimes it’s the unknown classics that blow you out of the water. Back in the day actor Jan-Michael Vincent could do no wrong and turned out a slew of revenge classics such as White Line Fever, Defiance, The Mechanic and the classic I’m about to tell you about: Vigilante Force.
- The Premise: A nearby oil reserve brings a lot of wealth to a small California town. Unfortunately, it also brings a lot of riff raff that start killing everyone in their way including the local cops. While running out of options the police chief takes the advice of a local business owner named Ben Arnold and hires his ex- veteran brother Aaron to clean shit up. Within a few days Aaron and his four newly deputized buddies do what they promised and they run all the hoods out of town.
- Flip you. Flip ya for real: The story line takes a surprising twist when Aaron and his friends start shaking down the local business owners for protection money, kill anyone that opposes them and open their own gambling establishment. Not to mention, they use their new legal clout to order a ton of military weapons with enough firepower to take control of an entire state. Shit gets real.
- Cockfight: This is an exploitation film at its finest so don’t act surprised when you encounter an illegal cockfight scene. There are massive amounts of explosions, action scenes, shootouts and senseless violence to round out exactly what you would expect from a classic 70s film.
- Taking Back the Streets: Ben is now responsible for the monster he created and without giving too much away, Aaron crosses the line leaving Ben no choice but to go to war with his own kin. With the help of the community an all-out war breaks out with a climactic and energized ending.
- Walking Tall: Fans of Joe Don Baker’s 1973 classic revenge film will appreciate Vigilante Force. It carries that same small town feel and violence. Both characters wage their own personal wars and the films do not hold back on the payback elements.
- Mayberry RFD: Speaking of small towns, Vigilante Force was the last film made on the Mayberry back lot. Too bad Andy Griffith wasn’t still in charge because none of this would have happened.
- Final Thoughts: Though Jan-Michael Vincent is really known for his role as Stringfellow Hawke on the television show Airwolf, it’s his revenge films from the 70s and early 80s that really defined him as a good guy that stood up for the everyday man. Get your hands on this grindhouse classic you won’t be disappointed
