Bullet Points: Out for Blood (1992)
Starting a movie late at night, while lying on the couch with all the lights off is a recipe for disaster. But that is exactly what I did years ago when I first attempted to watch Out for Blood. A few minutes in and I was out much like the lights in my house.
For whatever reason it wasn’t until this past week that I decided to give 1992’s Out for Blood another go…
- Lawyer by Day, Vigilante by Night: Don “The Dragon” Wilson plays John Decker. Decker is a lawyer by day but after his wife and son were violently slain he adds vigilante by night to his resume. After going on a night run in the streets of Los Angeles and having partial flashbacks to the horrible night that changed his life during the opening credits, we see an example of Decker cleaning up “the dirt” in the city when he has an altercation with a street dealer (played by Art Camacho) and his heavies… which results in the first three victims on what ends up being an impressive kill count for John Decker, who is dubbed “The Karate Man” by the media based on a homeless woman’s eyewitness account.
- Joanna: It is no surprise that after everything he witnessed on the night his family was killed that Decker is in need of some psychotherapy… and he is getting that psychotherapy from Dr. Mac or just Mack to Decker since the two have become friends over the course of Decker’s sessions. In fact, Decker and Mack meet up at an art gallery run by another one of Mack’s patients, Joanna (Shari Shattuck, On Deadly Ground)… Decker is instantly attracted to Joanna so it is no surprise that she ends up getting him to buy a painting and she even introduces him to the artist that painted it, Hiroshi (Aki Aleong, Pound of Flesh). Hiroshi becomes much more than a guy that Decker bought a painting from… he becomes Decker’s spiritual advisor and gives him some valuable advice.
- Full Plate: In addition to going after drug dealers in the dark of night, Decker now finds himself getting involved with Joanna, much to Mack’s dismay. Now it has been more than a year since Decker lost his wife, so Mack is all for Decker seeking out some female companionship, but knows full well that Joanna brings a lot of baggage with her… like her ex-boyfriend Geisler (Robert Miano, Guardian Angel) who happens to be a mob boss. Geisler isn’t too happy that Joanna has moved on and he becomes someone else that Decker has to worry about. And I haven’t even mentioned Lt. Croft (Michael DeLano, Fists of Iron)… Croft is dealing with the pressure of the unsolved murders of Decker’s wife and son and can’t help but think that Decker knows more than he has shared especially since Decker’s excuse of “selective amnesia” is not a real thing, so Croft is yet another thorn in Decker’s side. Plus, Croft (and the rest of the LAPD) is also on the hunt for Decker’s alter ego…
- The Karate Man: The Karate Man’s kill count continues to grow and more and more drugs are being taken off the streets. This one man crusade is starting to thin out the ranks of one of the major narcotics players in town… Rick (Todd Curtis, Chain of Command) Now get this, Rick and his right hand man Blade (Ken McLeod, College Kickboxers) were two of the three guys responsible for killing Decker’s family… which is one of those perfect movie coincidences for sure. And before the movie is all said and done they are looking to put Decker through the pain all over again when Joanna gets used as bait to draw out The Karate Man and put an end to his war on drugs.
- Something is Missing: As the movie was nearing the end I couldn’t help but feel like something was missing especially since this is a movie from the PM Entertainment library and that’s when I realized, there was not the usual copious amounts of vehicular mayhem that PM Entertainment is known for… and then a few minutes later a plane mysteriously explodes… but not before we get a good martial arts battle between The Dragon and Ken McLeod, a big shoot out and the reveal of the third person responsible for the death of Decker’s family!
After watching Out for Blood, I regret sleeping on this movie both literally and figuratively. I felt it was one of Don “The Dragon” Wilson’s better efforts and that could be in part because the movie was based on concept by “The Dragon” himself… a concept I feel came to Wilson after watching a Death Wish marathon since there are clearly elements from Death Wish and Death Wish 4: The Crackdown throughout the movie, which may be why I enjoyed this movie as much as I did.
These Bonus Bullet Points clearly have elements from other Bonus Bullet Points…
- Out for More Blood: A sequel is teased at the end, with The Karate Man working for the cops to continue the war on drugs… a vigilante working with the cops?!? Sounds a little like Death Wish 3 to me. Sadly it never happened, which is strange since Wilson would continue to work with PM Entertainment making three Ring of Fire movies and two Cyber Tracker movies.
- Familiar Faces: Timothy D. Baker aka the sad sack father from No Retreat, No Surrender played a sad sack parking attendant… Deron McBee of The Killing Zone and T-Force fame, played one of Geisler’s bodyguards… And Bob Schott of Gymkata and Aftershock fame, played the Mad Biker who goes crazy at the hospital and is knocked out by John Decker who used his briefcase handle as some makeshift brass knuckles. And speaking of his briefcase handle…
- If You Ever: …wanted to see Don “The Dragon” Wilson try to reattach the handle on a briefcase using duct tape, then Out for Blood is the movie for you.
