Silent Rage

Silent Rage

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Michael Miller
Produced by Anthony B. Unger
Written by
Starring
Music by
Cinematography
  • Robert C, Jessup
  • Neil Roach
Edited by Richard C. Meyer
Production
company
Topkick Productions
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release dates
  • April 2, 1982 (1982-04-02)
Running time
 103 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Box office $10.5 million (US)[1]

Silent Rage is a 1982 science fiction horror film directed by Michael Miller. It stars Chuck Norris as a sheriff who must stop a mentally ill man (Brian Libby) who goes on a rampage after being granted near-indestructibility in a medical experiment. It grossed $10.5 million on release.

Plot

In a small Texas town, mentally ill John Kirby (Brian Libby) goes insane and kills two members of the family with whom he was staying. Sheriff Daniel "Dan" Stevens (Chuck Norris) and his deputy Charlie (Stephen Furst) respond and eventually arrest Kirby, but Kirby breaks out of the handcuffs, overpowers the other officers and grabs one of their revolvers, forcing the officers to open fire and shoot Kirby. Kirby suffers severe gunshot wounds and is near death.

Kirby is transported to an institute where his psychiatrist, Thomas "Tom" Halman (Ron Silver), works along with two medical doctors who are also genetic engineers: Dr. Phillip Spires (Steven Keats) and Dr. Paul Vaughn (William Finley). In an attempt to save Kirby, Dr. Spires suggests that they use the formula they created. However, Dr. Halman objects in light of Kirby's psychosis. Dr. Spires first decides that Halman is right, but then ignores the consequences and proceeds to use the formula once Dr. Halman leaves. The formula revives Kirby and renders him nearly invulnerable. Kirby then escapes from the institute and tracks Dr Halman at his home.

Halman attempts to kill Kirby, but Kirby gets to him first and kills him. Nancy, Halman's wife, discovers Halman's body and tries to run away from Kirby, only to get killed as well. Allison arrives at Halman's to pick up some gear for a trip she and Stevens are going on, only to discover the Halmans' corpses. Kirby escapes and Stevens, along with the police arrive at the scene, and Allison is taken to the Institute by Stevens and Charlie.

Kirby returns to the institute to get his wounds treated by Dr Spires and Dr Vaughn. However, Spires and Vaughn realize the situation is out of control. Spires leaves to go and look through some samples leaving Vaughn with Kirby. Vaughn injects Kirby with a fatal dose of poison. However Kirby revives and in a brief struggle, stabs Vaughn with the poison syringe. Spires then discovers Vaughn's body and goes to his office where Kirby tracks him down and snaps his neck. Meanwhile, Charlie is watching Allison while Stevens is out. Charlie and Allison leave the office and come across Kirby killing one of the workers. Charlie tries to make Kirby surrender, but Kirby attacks and breaks Charlie's back in a bear hug. Stevens arrives and finds Charlie fatally injured. Stevens saves Allison from Kirby's attack in Spires' office.

Stevens pursues Kirby to put an end to Kirby's rampage. They engage in a car chase that ends with the vehicle crashing, lighting Kirby on fire. This injures him, but he jumps into a nearby lake and quickly recovers. With Allison watching, Stevens and Kirby engage in hand-to-hand combat. Both men score blows, but Stevens overwhelms Kirby by roundhouse kicking him several times before throwing him into an old well, seemingly killing him.

With Kirby's carnage at an end, Stevens and Allison leave. However, deep in the well, Kirby suddenly bursts from the water, having survived.

Cast

Release

The film was released theatrically in the United States by Columbia Pictures in April 1982. It grossed $10,490,791 at the box office.[1]

The film was released on DVD by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in 2001.[2]

RiffTrax released Silent Rage on demand on September 6, 2013.[3]

Reception

Variety called it an unintentionally funny attempt to cash in on popular exploitation film tropes.[4] John Corry of The New York Times wrote that the only interesting scenes are those with the mad scientists, as Norris has no charisma or presence.[5] Rita Kempley of The Washington Post called Norris' martial arts "a curious footnote in a formula horror film".[6] Norris said that he received negative feedback from fans over his love scenes. He subsequently resolved to avoid them in the future.[7]

Remake

The film was remade in 2009 as Indestructible.[8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Silent Rage". boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
  2. ↑ "Silent Rage (DVD)". dvdempire.com. Retrieved 2011-04-13.
  3. ↑ New RiffTrax VOD Title and Some Reminders « Satellite News
  4. ↑ "Review: 'Silent Rage'". Variety. 1982. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
  5. ↑ Corry, John (April 2, 1982). "CHUCK NORRIS IN 'SILENT RAGE'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-08-08.
  6. ↑ Kempley, Rita (1982-04-02). "'Silent Rage'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
  7. ↑ Broeske, Pat (1986-06-22). "Real Men Don't Need Kisses". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
  8. ↑ Indestructible (Video 2009) - Connections - IMDb
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