Death Dimension (1978) ** (out of 4)A mad scientist known as The Pig creates a bomb that when it explodes it can freeze anything close to it. Detective J. Ash (Jim Kelly) is asked to try and track down the people behind it before it falls into the wrong hands.Al Adamson was the master at creating ultra-cheap movies for the drive-in circuit. He could make just about any type of genre and more times than not he was able to mix the various genres into one crazy little film. He created some good movies like Dracula VS FRANKENSTEIN as well as countless really awful ones. DEATH DIMENSION is pretty much cheap non-sense that fans of the blaxploitation and martial arts genres should enjoy.Obviously, if you're walking into an Adamson picture, you shouldn't be expecting high art or a quality picture. Basically what you want to do is just sit back, turn your brain off and just enjoy what's in front of you. Storywise the film is certainly a mess and it rarely makes too much sense but if you're a fan of Kelly and his martial arts style then there are plenty of fights here. The fights certainly aren't going to rival ENTER THE DRAGON but they're fun enough for this type of action picture.There's obviously nothing ground-breaking here but for a cheap drive-in picture it at least has some energy and some charm.
... View MoreA routine action vehicle for Jim Kelly (ENTER THE DRAGON), directed without any flair whatsoever by Al Adamson, one of the kings of the "exploitation quickies" along with Andy Milligan and Larry Buchanan. This is deeply clichéd stuff which manages to get by through the interesting and funny characters, the upbeat groovy '70s music and the martial arts sequences, which make up for in quantity what they lack in finesse.Enter Jim Kelly, fresh from his success and short-lived career as a martial artist, as a "mean and moody" cop who likes to wear red shell suits on occasion. Kelly spends most of the film fighting and little time acting, as he repeatedly finds himself attacked by lots of bad guys. These fight scenes are hardly what you would term "well-photographed" but they are very entertainingly done, complete with over-emphasised sound effects.Now, you would think that a film containing plentiful action (plus a couple of topless women for exploitation purposes) would have to be pretty exciting, right? Wrong. Adamson's tacky and cheap direction is evident at all moments, sucking vitality from the movie; loads of scenes consist of people arguing whilst sitting around in darkened rooms, which is hardly what I would call fun.Kelly is pretty athletic in the lead role, but gets no chance to act or develop a character. George Lazenby (ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE) co-stars as Kelly's chief; Harold Sakata plays the chief villain, the Pig, and his line readings are a hoot; it's a shame that it's impossible to take him seriously! Also around for good measure are a hulking black bodyguard with a nasty scar across his face who likes to break people's arms and necks, a couple of prostitutes who take their clothes off a lot, an incredibly evil-looking tortoise (the scariest tortoise I've ever seen in a film, actually) and lots of dumb criminal henchmen who appear from nowhere.DEATH DIMENSIONis a bad film, to be sure, but quite an entertaining one, mainly for the interesting cast alone. I forgot to mention the Bruce Lee clone who actually ends up being called "Bruce Lee". Guess they had to throw in as many personalities as they could here. Lots of boredom is countered by lots of action, making a pretty fair movie in the end, which isn't that bad.
... View MorePoorly written and directed; you get the impression this flick was done on a budget that relied on a bounced check. Probably in its day, this film that was also released as DEATH FACTOR, was just perfect for the screens of discount priced theaters. Exploiting the rash of "black" movies and also those relying on martial arts to lure viewers. Karate expert Jim Kelly stars as Lt. Ash, who is involved with the investigation of a re-known scientist being murdered after creating a "freeze bomb". The top suspect is The Pig(Harold 'Odd Job' Sakata), a widely known whore-monger. The cast also features: George Lazenby, Aldo Ray, Terry Moore and Myron Bruce Lee.
... View Morehot dang, this was the movie to watch. i have never seen a movie so poorly done, this was hilarious. from the really cheezy acting to the awful lighting and editing this movie had it all. sure it wasn't supposed to be funny but hey, neither was shaft and yet i still cryed myself laughing. the acting alone was worth watching. from the mob boss cardboard cut out of oddjob, to the unbelivabley repetitive asking of questions (so why is it hatien?)if bad is what you are looking for bad is what you will get, long live the black eliminator. HEE HEE
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