Bullet Points: Wild Cactus
I love a good trailer… or more accurately I love a trailer. First, because trailers are short and succinct mini movies and second, trailers can let you learn about movies you have never heard of before. This was especially true when I watched a forgettable Thomas Ian Griffith Imperial Entertainment VHS, Ulterior Motives, and came across a couple of nice trailers. One film is already on this site, My Samurai, another needed to be so I tracked down the 1993 film Wild Cactus to present you with these Wild Cactus Bullet Points…
- Saguaro – Wild Cactus stars David Naughton as Philip Marcus and India Allen as his wife Alexandria ‘Alex’ Marcus. If you are asking yourself how a movie starring David Naughton and India Allen can be an action movie you are partly correct. Wild Cactus would better be categorized as a thriller, but I suppose that is the one downside of a trailer as they can be deceiving. Don’t let the action level turn you away because the pair is surprisingly good together and Wild Cactus works in its intended purpose.
- Barrel – Philip and Alex are heading out to the desert of Arizona so Philip can study plant life and hopefully it will also allow the couple to work on their marriage problems. In a different part of the state, convict Randall Murphy (Gary Hudson) is getting released from prison, and his main goal now is to get revenge on the woman who put him in jail. A job that is made easier when he picks up the equally devilish hitchhiker Maggie (Michelle Moffett) as his running mate. Who thinks that these two pairs are going to meet up?
- Blue Columnar – Randall and Maggie are causing trouble on their way to get to Celeste (Kathy Shower), Randall’s ex who had him locked away. Of course they do end up crossing paths with Philip and Alex and Wild Cactus turns into a home invasion flick, and I am all for it. Randall and Maggie’s trouble has Sheriff Brenner (Paul Gleason) on the hunt and thank God for Paul Gleason because he adds just enough levity to a pretty serious picture. David Naughton certainly could have used a Dr. Pepper before filming, but I suppose his role was supposed to be that of a sad sack. India Allen was fine, but she was probably in the movie for one reason (or two reasons). However, Gary Hudson and Michelle Moffett are more than enough crazy and over the top for the entire cast.
- Prickly Pear – Wild Cactus may not have a lot of action, but it is smart enough to know that if you have a scene in a biker bar you better have a fight, even if the fight is short. I shouldn’t be surprised because I saw the trailer for Wild Cactus on the VHS tape for Ulterior Motives and that film was also very light on the action (c’mon, Imperial Entertainment). The tension is there through the end and the home invasion angle was a great way for Wild Cactus to go. Especially as the movie makes Randall crazier and crazier and shows mostly ineptitude from Philip and Alex being the one with some gumption.
Wild Cactus is a thriller that is light on the action (at least the fighting kind) and was made to entertain in a different manner. You have to know what kind of movie you will be watching when you look for Wild Cactus, something the trailer really sells short on, but it also didn’t let me know the finale was so awesome. I certainly wasn’t expecting a homemade flamethrower and rattlesnake to play such a large role. I won’t spoil any more, but I will let you know that in a pretty heavy movie like Wild Cactus with a crazy bad guy, nobody wants to see the good guys finish second. Having said all of this, most people probably aren’t checking out Wild Cactus for the story, but since you stuck around to the end, here are some Wild Cactus Bonus Bullet Points.
- Familiar Face – Robert Z’Dar plays the lawman who releases Randall from jail in a role that is as long as this Bonus Bullet Point.
- An American Scooter in Arizona – David Naughton riding a scooter is as funny as it sounds.
- Bleat – “He has all the manners of a mountain goat.”
- If You Ever… – Wanted to see Gary Hudson kiss a rabbit then Wild Cactus is for you.
- Cold Shower – I have seen Kathy Shower in only two movies, Wild Cactus and The Further Adventures of Tennessee Buck and in both movies her character is… let us just say forced to do something she doesn’t want to do. What a unique niche to fill as an actress, but both are now on this site.
- Larry Legend – Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Bird makes an indirect appearance on the back of a box of Corn Flakes. His Wild Cactus appearance has to be at the top of his list of accomplishments.
- “O Canada” – Wild Cactus has a lot of adult themes including an alternate use for maple syrup.
