VFW

The only previous work of director Joe Begos that I watched was "Almost Human", which was a likeable and entertaining - albeit unmemorable - throwback to alien invasion flicks & body horror of the 1980s. "VFW" can also be categorized as homage-horror, yet this time Begos aims his periscope at the 70s, and processes typically contemporary cult themes in his film, like (Vietnam) veteran vigilante squads and violent sieges. Fellow fans of that era will definitely recognize the subtle and less subtle references towards classics like "Assault on Precinct 13", "Rolling Thunder", "Escape from New York", "The Exterminator" and a handful of others.

"VFW" is highly unoriginal, but Joe Begos is a clever guy and realizes that approximately 80% of the success-rate for this type of movies is determined by the casting. The group he assembled for "VFW" is downright awesome, and undoubtedly the greatest asset of the entire film. What self-respecting fan of horror & cult wouldn't want to see a blood-soaked vigilante thriller starring cool old blokes, like Stephen Lang, William Sadler, David Patrick Kelly, Fred Williamson, Martin Kove and George Wendt? They all star as "Veterans of Foreign Wars", currently useless in the eyes of society, but still gathering in their lair to drink beer and remember the old days. They are forced to demonstrate their combat skills one last time when the bar is invaded by derailed, psychopathic junkies. Good unscrupulous fun, but the camerawork is often very hectic and the lighting is very poor.