Alley Cat Blu Ray Review (Vinegar Syndrome)
Alley Cat is a 1984 revenge film directed by Victor M. Ordonez, Eduardo Palmos (Bitag, Claudia, Working Students, and Gloria, Gloria Labandera), and Al Valletta (Runaway Nightmare, Sole Survivor, and Hollywood’s New Blood) all under the name Edward Victor. Billie (played by: Karen Mani from The Slavers and Avenging Angel) has had enough of the thugs, scumbags, and gangsters lead by William “Scarface” Krug (played by: Michael Wayne) who have been terrorizing her own neighborhood.
After her grandparents (played by: Jay Fisher from The Power and Claudia Decea from On the Air Live with Captain Midnight) are brutality attacked on their way home, she decides to take matters into her own hands. She uses her knowledge of martial arts, begins dishing out her own brand of vigilante justice. She gets help from rookie cop Johnny (played by: Robert Torti from That Thing You Do!, Submerged, The Drew Carey Show, and Generations). What she doesn’t expect is that it’s not just the local criminals who have put a target on her back, but the justice system itself is stacked against her and they are ready to make her life a living hell for her revenge!!!!
Alley Cat is an interesting entry when it comes to the revenge sub-genre. They were pumping them out back then when it came to lower budget productions. Death Wish was very popular at the time so lots of producers were trying to capitalize on it, this project added something different to the typical vengeance flick which was karate. Karate was really big in the 80’s so they figured that they would mixed sub-genres and see they could cash in with that hype at that time. Alley Cat’s script is a little silly at times plus it’s rather ambitious for it’s trying to do but it’s super entertaining.
Alley Cat delivers all the typical and favorite material when it comes to this type of movie. It has plenty of violence and nudity for any vigilante fan. They honestly could have done better when it came to their choice for the lead here but overall Karen Mani was decent in Alley Cat. Michael Wayne was a solid main villain. The rest of the cast were either alright or just a bit much when it came to over acting but it fits this style of cinema. Various different directing styles together here make this one a little more unique. Vinegar Syndrome comes through once again when it comes to under-appreciated and rarely brought up independent features from the past. RECOMMENDED!!!!
This 1080p (1.85:1) transfer from a 4K scan of the 35mm negative element is a massive upgrade compared to the older DVD release. It has a few different audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English: Dolby Digital 2.0 on the disc. The audio here is also a big improvement compared to the past and every other home video release for Alley Cat. It has English SDH subtitles. “Walking the Alley”is a little over 13 minute interview with co-director Al Valetta. “We Hustled” is a litle over 14 minute interview with actor Robert Torti. It has a “Trailer” for the film. This Vinegar Syndrome Archive release is limited. It comes with a high quality slipcover, a poster, and reversible artwork. UPDATE: This home video release is SOLD OUT!!!!
