VFW

Imagine Hobo With A Shotgun met Assault On Precinct 13 and they had a child. Then that child grew into an adult weened on the movies of Jim Van Bebber and that run of 80's Italian flicks influenced by Escape From New York. That adult's name?  VFW. 

Viciously fuckin wild.

The barfly's of the Veterans of Foreign Wars bar are having a wicked one. It's Fred (Stephen Lang) the bartender's birthday and they're on a mission to get tanked up before they hit the local strip bar. These guys fought in 'Nam together and they're going to spend the rest of their lives getting drunk together. Unfortunately their life spans are about to be dramatically shortened when Lizard (Sierra McCormick), a young street girl,  seeks refuge in their bar after she's ripped off Boz (Travis Hammer), the drug dealer who coerced her sister into suicide. The men of the VFW find themselves back in action for one last time when Boz and his army of drugged up goons decide to raid the establishment looking for revenge.

First things first. Are you squeamish? If you are stop reading now. If you aren't and fancy a gloriously gory slice of madness then this is the film for you. Secondly, it all sounds very cliche and rather DTV doesn't it. A story told a million times before. Ya, maybe, but when it's this much fun who really cares. It's not like we're going to get to see many new films this year so we may as well enjoy the ones we've got. It's the cast that makes this one anyway. One consisting of character actors you may not be able to name but you'll recognise them instantly. Martin Kove from The Karate Kid, David Patrick Kelly from Commando, Stephen Lang from Tombstone, William Sadler from Die Hard 2, George Wendt from Cheers, Fred Williamson from Black Caesar and many more. Old craggy faces with a lifetime of cinema behind them. It's a good idea populating a cast like this, it creates instant audience empathy with the characters onscreen. You don't want to see these old timers get hurt, you wanna see them kick some fuckin' ass and kick some fuckin' ass they do indeed.

Well actually, they do a little more than that. Faces are axed, bodies are skewered, skulls are literally kicked into jam, heads explode, people are crushed, squashed, dismembered and destroyed in any way you can think of. And it's all done using practical effects, no silly cgi to take you out of the movie here, every squelch and splat is lovingly rendered. Fans of 80's action and horror will be in heaven. It sounds horrifying but it's all so knowing and silly that you can't possibly take it seriously. Unless, as mentioned early you're a squeamish one. There's not much plot here, there's no denying that but there's nods and asides to US foreign policy here, the treatment or lack thereof of war veterans, the opioid abuse rampant in the country. It's not dwelt on because that would get in the way of the carnage (of course) but it adds a tiny and welcome bit of depth to the gore.

It's a shoddy watch but jesus it's a fun one. It's low budget is evident but you just won't care. Seeing cranky old guys blitz their way through a faceless swarm is something that we've been enjoying for decades and it continues here in the sure hands of director Joe Begos. Between this and last years Bliss this young director has settled into a comfortable groove. 

VFW is out now on disc and on streaming platforms.