Savage Streets
Encyclopedia
Savage Streets is a 1984 American vigilante
action film
starring Linda Blair
. Directed by Danny Steinmann
, the film premiered on October 5, 1984.
The car stops, and its occupants are no stranger to Brenda. They're "The Scars", a gang of mid-level dope dealers that employ a number of street level hustlers to sell their product. Behind the wheel is Fargo (Sal Landi), leader Jake (Robert Dryer) is in the passenger seat, Red is in the back seat, and Vince, the gang's meek and weak-willed "pet" sits next to Red.
Rather than get an apology, Brenda instead gets propositioned for sex and drugs by Jake, which she flatly refuses. The gang takes off. Brenda and her friends then happen upon the Scars' empty vehicle parked in an alley while the gang is delivering a collection beating to Fadden (one of their pushers and a classmate of Vince's). The girls jump in the car and take off, shouting obscenities to the gang as they drive off. The gang tries to catch the car on foot, but their efforts are in vain. They later find the car in a nearby alley with garbage strewn inside.
The gang arrives at Vince's school to deliver another beating to Fadden, and while there, Red spots Heather among the crowd and suggests to Jake getting revenge for the car-trashing incident. Though Jake tells Red to shut up, he doesn't nix the idea.
As Heather is waiting in the gym for Brenda to take her home, Red sneaks into the gym. He talks to Heather and manages to gain her trust in a rather short period of time. He then tries to forcibly kiss her. She breaks away from him and tries to flee, but the other gang members have all the gym entrances covered. They drag the helpless girl to one of the locker rooms where they take turns at raping her.
Jake yanks Vince's pants down and has him go first, as a "first-time" gift. The other gang members follow. Jake, not wanting to take any chances with the local police, then kicks Heather in the side of the head. The unresponsive and bloodied girl is then left in the locker room.
Brenda returns from one of her routine Principal's office visits to the gym to collect her sister, and finds her gone. The girls spread out to search for her, and a hysterical Maria charges into the gym from the locker rooms screaming for Brenda, having made the grisly discovery.
Heather is rushed to the hospital, where she is listed in critical condition. Brenda, frustrated at the slow pace of the investigation, goes out to a bar with her friends, where she confides her fears of losing Heather to a bartending friend, Charlene. Also at the same bar are The Scars, who are collecting again from Fadden. While there, the Scars are also trying to find Vince another "date" for the evening, by pulling over any woman within reach towards their table. One of them happens to be Francine. As they continue to pass her around their table, two men witnessing the scene go to the table and tell Jake and his gang to leave her alone. A fight breaks out between the men and the Scars, and while Jake is delivering a beating to one, Francine sticks Jake in the back with a switchblade. Jake gets up and lunges towards Francine, but she is out of reach by this time.
The Scars show up at Vince's school not long after the melee in the bar. Vince tells Jake that Heather's rape is all over the school. Jake tells Vince to forget about it, but he wants to know how to find Francine. Vince gives Jake the information after extracting a promise that he won't hurt her, but simply scare her. They confront Francine on a bridge as she's walking home from a dress shop carrying her new bridal gown for her upcoming wedding to her boyfriend Richie. Francine spits in Jake's face, and he lifts her up over his head and throws her off the bridge railing and to her death. Unable to confront his conscience any longer, a hysterical Vince runs from the gang, expressing his hatred of Jake and the rest of them. He runs to Heather's hospital bedside and tries to apologize to the comatose girl for his actions, but Brenda runs him off.
Brenda, knowing that Francine is missing, fears the worst and decides it's time to take action. Dressing in a leather suit and armed with a switchblade, bear traps and crossbow, she takes off from her home. In the meantime, her mother gets the call telling them that Francine is dead. Her mother tries to stop her, but Brenda is long gone.
Brenda's first stop is at Vince's house, where she tricks her way inside by telling his father that she needs his help for a homework assignment. She makes her way to his bedroom, where she sees him packing to run. At knifepoint, Vince tells Brenda that Francine is dead and that he couldn't do anything to stop it. She spares Vince' life after he tells her where to find the gang.
Knowing that his fate is doomed if he doesn't run, Vince goes to work and gets a loan from his boss, telling her he'll be back after things cool down. What Vince doesn't know is that Jake is parked in the alley with his headlights dimmed, waiting for Vince. Jake speeds towards him, knocking him in the air and onto the pavement, presumably dead.
Meanwhile, Brenda is waiting for Fargo and Red as they return to their "home" in a warehouse. She confronts them and coerces them inside, despite Red's sense that something's wrong if she's not afraid of them. Fargo proceeds ahead with Red behind him. Fargo eventually finds Brenda, and tells her what he's going to do to her once he gets his hands on her. Brenda responds by launching a crossbow arrow into his throat. Moments later, Red finds Fargo's body, and also Brenda waiting for him. Brenda doesn't launch another arrow, as the bear traps take care of Red as he falls upon them.
Jake finally returns to the warehouse, pounding on the door for Fargo and Red to raise it. Not getting a response, he raises the overhead door and sees the two strung-up bodies of his fallen gangmates. Brenda's voice calls off from a distance, telling him he's next. Jake pulls out a pistol and fires it in every direction, hoping one of the bullets will hit her. Brenda responds by launching an arrow into both of his thighs.
Jake stumbles towards the warehouse gate, but Brenda has a snare trap in wait, suspending him upside down by his ankles. After stringing him up, she tells him his death is not going to be quick. Jake manages to distract her long enough to grab the gate's door and pull it towards her, knocking her in the head and to the ground. He manages to free himself and climb on top of her, but she frees herself and escapes to another warehouse full of paints and solvents. Armed with a can of the solvent, she manages to squirt Jake with the can's contents as he tries to strangle her. She pulls a cigarette lighter out and sets him on fire just as she's ready to pass out.
A screaming Jake, now on fire, flees the warehouse and stumbles into the parking lot, presumably dead, as police arrive on the scene. Brenda and her friends, including a fully recovered Heather, go to Francine's gravesite. Though according to the girls, Brenda "made things right", her actions still did not bring back Francine. The film's ending also leans toward the fact Brenda was caught by the Police at the end of her vigilante-killings and therefore faced an upcoming prosecution.
Ned Daigle of BMN Review disliked the film and said "Everything about Savage Streets is bad, from the acting, to the screenplay, to the direction, to even the horrid music score and songs performed by John Farnham who sounds like the unholy lovechild of Loverboy and Foreigner. Deplorable is the only word I can come up with as a description. See Savage Streets at your own risk."
Saturn Award
was never officially released to the public but may be found on rare promos which were sent to DJ's at the time of the picture's release. The reason for the "non-release" was marketing. Some copies of Savage Streets LP, complete with Linda Blair as the main character "Brenda" on the cover, have made it onto online auctions and are stamped "demo only". These releases were put out by the Curb Records
group, and are now highly sought-after due to Farnham's increased popularity.
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
action film
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
starring Linda Blair
Linda Blair
Linda Denise Blair is an American actress. Blair is best known for her role as the possessed child, Regan, in the 1973 film The Exorcist, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and two Golden Globes, winning one. She reprised her role in 1977's Exorcist II: The Heretic.-Biography:Blair...
. Directed by Danny Steinmann
Danny Steinmann
Danny Steinmann is an American film director. He is best known for directing Friday the 13th: A New Beginning.- External links :...
, the film premiered on October 5, 1984.
Plot
Brenda, Francine and Brenda's deaf sister Heather are out one evening, along with two other friends, Maria and Stella. Unable to hear her surroundings, Heather innocently wanders into the path of a 1957 Chevy Bel-Air convertible, which sees her but doesn't slow down. Brenda pulls her sister out of the way before she's hit by the vehicle.The car stops, and its occupants are no stranger to Brenda. They're "The Scars", a gang of mid-level dope dealers that employ a number of street level hustlers to sell their product. Behind the wheel is Fargo (Sal Landi), leader Jake (Robert Dryer) is in the passenger seat, Red is in the back seat, and Vince, the gang's meek and weak-willed "pet" sits next to Red.
Rather than get an apology, Brenda instead gets propositioned for sex and drugs by Jake, which she flatly refuses. The gang takes off. Brenda and her friends then happen upon the Scars' empty vehicle parked in an alley while the gang is delivering a collection beating to Fadden (one of their pushers and a classmate of Vince's). The girls jump in the car and take off, shouting obscenities to the gang as they drive off. The gang tries to catch the car on foot, but their efforts are in vain. They later find the car in a nearby alley with garbage strewn inside.
The gang arrives at Vince's school to deliver another beating to Fadden, and while there, Red spots Heather among the crowd and suggests to Jake getting revenge for the car-trashing incident. Though Jake tells Red to shut up, he doesn't nix the idea.
As Heather is waiting in the gym for Brenda to take her home, Red sneaks into the gym. He talks to Heather and manages to gain her trust in a rather short period of time. He then tries to forcibly kiss her. She breaks away from him and tries to flee, but the other gang members have all the gym entrances covered. They drag the helpless girl to one of the locker rooms where they take turns at raping her.
Jake yanks Vince's pants down and has him go first, as a "first-time" gift. The other gang members follow. Jake, not wanting to take any chances with the local police, then kicks Heather in the side of the head. The unresponsive and bloodied girl is then left in the locker room.
Brenda returns from one of her routine Principal's office visits to the gym to collect her sister, and finds her gone. The girls spread out to search for her, and a hysterical Maria charges into the gym from the locker rooms screaming for Brenda, having made the grisly discovery.
Heather is rushed to the hospital, where she is listed in critical condition. Brenda, frustrated at the slow pace of the investigation, goes out to a bar with her friends, where she confides her fears of losing Heather to a bartending friend, Charlene. Also at the same bar are The Scars, who are collecting again from Fadden. While there, the Scars are also trying to find Vince another "date" for the evening, by pulling over any woman within reach towards their table. One of them happens to be Francine. As they continue to pass her around their table, two men witnessing the scene go to the table and tell Jake and his gang to leave her alone. A fight breaks out between the men and the Scars, and while Jake is delivering a beating to one, Francine sticks Jake in the back with a switchblade. Jake gets up and lunges towards Francine, but she is out of reach by this time.
The Scars show up at Vince's school not long after the melee in the bar. Vince tells Jake that Heather's rape is all over the school. Jake tells Vince to forget about it, but he wants to know how to find Francine. Vince gives Jake the information after extracting a promise that he won't hurt her, but simply scare her. They confront Francine on a bridge as she's walking home from a dress shop carrying her new bridal gown for her upcoming wedding to her boyfriend Richie. Francine spits in Jake's face, and he lifts her up over his head and throws her off the bridge railing and to her death. Unable to confront his conscience any longer, a hysterical Vince runs from the gang, expressing his hatred of Jake and the rest of them. He runs to Heather's hospital bedside and tries to apologize to the comatose girl for his actions, but Brenda runs him off.
Brenda, knowing that Francine is missing, fears the worst and decides it's time to take action. Dressing in a leather suit and armed with a switchblade, bear traps and crossbow, she takes off from her home. In the meantime, her mother gets the call telling them that Francine is dead. Her mother tries to stop her, but Brenda is long gone.
Brenda's first stop is at Vince's house, where she tricks her way inside by telling his father that she needs his help for a homework assignment. She makes her way to his bedroom, where she sees him packing to run. At knifepoint, Vince tells Brenda that Francine is dead and that he couldn't do anything to stop it. She spares Vince' life after he tells her where to find the gang.
Knowing that his fate is doomed if he doesn't run, Vince goes to work and gets a loan from his boss, telling her he'll be back after things cool down. What Vince doesn't know is that Jake is parked in the alley with his headlights dimmed, waiting for Vince. Jake speeds towards him, knocking him in the air and onto the pavement, presumably dead.
Meanwhile, Brenda is waiting for Fargo and Red as they return to their "home" in a warehouse. She confronts them and coerces them inside, despite Red's sense that something's wrong if she's not afraid of them. Fargo proceeds ahead with Red behind him. Fargo eventually finds Brenda, and tells her what he's going to do to her once he gets his hands on her. Brenda responds by launching a crossbow arrow into his throat. Moments later, Red finds Fargo's body, and also Brenda waiting for him. Brenda doesn't launch another arrow, as the bear traps take care of Red as he falls upon them.
Jake finally returns to the warehouse, pounding on the door for Fargo and Red to raise it. Not getting a response, he raises the overhead door and sees the two strung-up bodies of his fallen gangmates. Brenda's voice calls off from a distance, telling him he's next. Jake pulls out a pistol and fires it in every direction, hoping one of the bullets will hit her. Brenda responds by launching an arrow into both of his thighs.
Jake stumbles towards the warehouse gate, but Brenda has a snare trap in wait, suspending him upside down by his ankles. After stringing him up, she tells him his death is not going to be quick. Jake manages to distract her long enough to grab the gate's door and pull it towards her, knocking her in the head and to the ground. He manages to free himself and climb on top of her, but she frees herself and escapes to another warehouse full of paints and solvents. Armed with a can of the solvent, she manages to squirt Jake with the can's contents as he tries to strangle her. She pulls a cigarette lighter out and sets him on fire just as she's ready to pass out.
A screaming Jake, now on fire, flees the warehouse and stumbles into the parking lot, presumably dead, as police arrive on the scene. Brenda and her friends, including a fully recovered Heather, go to Francine's gravesite. Though according to the girls, Brenda "made things right", her actions still did not bring back Francine. The film's ending also leans toward the fact Brenda was caught by the Police at the end of her vigilante-killings and therefore faced an upcoming prosecution.
Cast
- Linda BlairLinda BlairLinda Denise Blair is an American actress. Blair is best known for her role as the possessed child, Regan, in the 1973 film The Exorcist, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and two Golden Globes, winning one. She reprised her role in 1977's Exorcist II: The Heretic.-Biography:Blair...
as Brenda - Linnea QuigleyLinnea QuigleyLinnea Barbara Quigley is an American scream queen, B movie actress, and film producer.-Early life:Quigley was born in Davenport, Iowa, the daughter of Dorothy and W. Heath Quigley, a chiropractor and psychologist. She moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970s to pursue her dreams of acting...
as Heather - John VernonJohn VernonJohn Keith Vernon was a Canadian actor. He made a career in Hollywood after achieving initial television stardom in Canada.-Early life:...
as Underwood - Robert Dryer as Jake
- Johnny Venocur as Vince
- Sal Landi as Fargo
- Scott MayerScott MayerScott Mayer may refer to:* Scott Mayer , race car driver* Scott Mayer , fifth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northwest Texas...
as Red - Debra Blee as Rachel
- Lisa Freeman as Francine
- Marcia Karr as Stevie
- Luisa Leschin as Maria
Reviews
Freddie Young of Full Moon Reviews said "Savage Streets is a film I had never seen before until now and I'm really ashamed by that because it rocked my socks off. Obviously a Death Wish ripoff, Savage Streets is perfect 80s exploitation, with nudity, over-the-top acting and dialogue, and plot elements that aren't subtle and are quite disturbing on paper."Ned Daigle of BMN Review disliked the film and said "Everything about Savage Streets is bad, from the acting, to the screenplay, to the direction, to even the horrid music score and songs performed by John Farnham who sounds like the unholy lovechild of Loverboy and Foreigner. Deplorable is the only word I can come up with as a description. See Savage Streets at your own risk."
Awards
Razzie Awards- 1986 - Linda BlairLinda BlairLinda Denise Blair is an American actress. Blair is best known for her role as the possessed child, Regan, in the 1973 film The Exorcist, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and two Golden Globes, winning one. She reprised her role in 1977's Exorcist II: The Heretic.-Biography:Blair...
(Nominated)- Worst Actress
Saturn Award
Saturn Award
The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within...
- 1985 - Linda BlairLinda BlairLinda Denise Blair is an American actress. Blair is best known for her role as the possessed child, Regan, in the 1973 film The Exorcist, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and two Golden Globes, winning one. She reprised her role in 1977's Exorcist II: The Heretic.-Biography:Blair...
(Nominated) - Best Actress - 1985 - Linnea QuigleyLinnea QuigleyLinnea Barbara Quigley is an American scream queen, B movie actress, and film producer.-Early life:Quigley was born in Davenport, Iowa, the daughter of Dorothy and W. Heath Quigley, a chiropractor and psychologist. She moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970s to pursue her dreams of acting...
(Nominated) - Best Supporting Actress - 1985 - Danny SteinmannDanny SteinmannDanny Steinmann is an American film director. He is best known for directing Friday the 13th: A New Beginning.- External links :...
, Norman Yonemoto (Nominated) - Best Screenplay
Soundtrack
The movie soundtrack featuring the theme song "Justice For One," performed by John FarnhamJohn Farnham
John Peter Farnham, AO, formerly billed as Johnny Farnham , is an English-born Australian pop singer. He was a teen pop idol from 1964 to 1979, and has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer. His career has mostly been as a solo artist although he briefly replaced Glenn Shorrock as...
was never officially released to the public but may be found on rare promos which were sent to DJ's at the time of the picture's release. The reason for the "non-release" was marketing. Some copies of Savage Streets LP, complete with Linda Blair as the main character "Brenda" on the cover, have made it onto online auctions and are stamped "demo only". These releases were put out by the Curb Records
Curb Records
Curb Records is a record label started by Mike Curb originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963...
group, and are now highly sought-after due to Farnham's increased popularity.