Sun 3 Jan 2016
A Chuck Norris Movie Review by Jonathan Lewis: HERO AND THE TERROR (1988).
Posted by Steve under Action Adventure movies , Reviews[5] Comments
HERO AND THE TERROR. Golan-Globus Productions/Cannon Films, 1988. Chuck Norris, Brynn Thayer, Steve James, Jack O’Halloran, Jeffrey Kramer, Ron O’Neal. Based on the novel by Michael Blodgett. Director: William Tannen.
Chuck Norris shows his sensitive side in this somewhat effective, although hardly outstanding, Cannon Films thriller. Indeed, there’s enough suspense in Hero and The Terror to keep the viewer engaged with what turns out to be a rather formulaic story about a cop determined to stop a deranged serial killer.
Norris portrays Danny O’Brien, a Los Angeles cop nicknamed “Hero.†O’Brien, who is as much a brooder as a fighter, is haunted by nightmares stemming from the time in which he successfully apprehended a notorious serial killer named Sam Moon (Jack O’Halloran). Moon, who doesn’t speak a word in the entire movie, is known as “The Terror.†And it’s not difficult to understand why. He’s less of a serial killer in the cop drama sense than some sort of hulking, supernatural evil. What are his motivations? We never learn.
Time has passed and O’Brien is now in a relationship with his therapist, Kay (Brynn Thayer) and trying to move on with his life. But reality intrudes and intrudes hard. Turns out that The Terror might have successfully escaped from a mental institution and resumed his nefarious activities. So it’s up to O’Brien to once and for all exercise his demons and to stop The Terror. There aren’t too many surprises in this story, but it’s kind of mindless fun to see Norris shed his ultra tough guy persona for a little while.
January 3rd, 2016 at 6:23 pm
The ONLY Golan-Globus movie really worth seeing is Runaway Train with Jon Voight. If I’m wrong about this, please correct me. They were notoriously the cheapest/tight with a buck company around at the time, and it showed.
January 3rd, 2016 at 7:55 pm
I am somewhat partial to the (admittedly dumb) ninja movies put out by Golan-Globus, mainly because I have fond memories of watching them on VHS when I was in middle school. DELTA FORCE has its moments too, especially with Robert Forster playing a Lebanese terrorist. But most of them are low quality in every way.
January 3rd, 2016 at 8:21 pm
I used to enjoy some of Cannon’s films in the 1980’s.
Have no idea if these films would appeal to anyone else. So watch at your own risk!
Particularly fun were the low-budget mod musicals directed by Joel Silberg::Breakin, Rappin and Lambada. Each centered on a music craze of the era.
Also the teen thriller Dangerously Close (Albert Pyun, 1986).
Cinematically, the best Cannon film seen here is “Mata Hari”.
Yes, it is a soft core erotic film with Sylvia Kristel.
But it also gave director Curtis Harrington a chance to lavish his visual style on a film with a decent budget. It is visually spectacular.
January 3rd, 2016 at 8:24 pm
And American Ninja 2: The Confrontation (Sam Firstenberg, 1987) seemed fun!
January 4th, 2016 at 7:21 pm
This one wasn’t bad for what it is. The low budget was no problem here since it is mostly a setup for the big confrontation between Norris and O’Halloran and that pays off as far as these things go.
If you like Norris its a worthwhile effort, if not, don’t go out of your way.