KILL AND KILL AGAIN (1981)
Article 4599 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 8-5-2014
Directed by Ivan Hall
Featuring James Ryan, Anneline Kriel, Michael Mayer
Country: South Africa / USA
What it is: Martial arts comic action movie

A scientist who has invented a mind-control drug is kidnapped by a super-criminal who plans to use it to take over the world A martial arts expert is hired to rescue him, and he assembles a band of friends to help him on his mission.

I don’t take this movie very seriously, but then, neither did the ones who made it. It’s something of a cross between THE SEVEN SAMURAI and ENTER THE DRAGON done in a comic mode, but I suspect it would have been a little funnier if it had taken itself seriously. The mind-control serum is more than just a maguffin here; the villain (who wears one of the worst fake beards in motion picture history) uses it to control his minions; furthermore, some of the martial artists have mystical abilities that allow them to levitate, though this doesn’t really come into play during the action sequences. James Ryan was a South African action star, and though he’s certainly no Bruce Lee, he does all right. Overall, the movie is entertaining in that “turn off your mind and let it wash over you” way, but it’s certainly no classic.