1991 was a pivotal era for Filipino hard action movies and later that same year saw the release of the hardest tagalog action flick called Bukas Tatakpan Ka Ng Dyaryo. Maybe what I've just said is a bit exaggerated but the one off directing gig by veteran movie editor, Ruben Natividad doesn't pull punches and is a gleeful spectacle of one bloody set piece after another. Unlike today's "action films", Natividad's movie doesn't give a flying f-ck about the easily offended sensibilities of upper class yuppy viewers and channels the spirit of old Sam Peckinpah films in its urban depiction of a modern day Billy The Kid.
The antihero protagonist is of course, unsurprisingly named "Billy" as well which is very fitting as he is also quite young, obviously echoing the legend of the infamous juvenile cattle rustler from the Old Wild West. Ian Veneracion plays the part quite well with his simple and straight approach to the character's teenage criminal proclivities, largely colored by a traumatized childhood after witnessing the brutal slaying of his father. To become more believable in the gritty role, the actor had to grow a sort of moustache, which adds a little personality and maturity to Veneracion's usual boy next door image.
Usually, many Filipino gang oriented movies feature gang members as often cliched and generic characters. Not so in this film as the people who make up Billy's crew are the most colorful and outrageous personalities to grace a tagalog hard action film (well, two of them at least). There's a mute guy played with zeal and aplomb by John Regala, a crazy punk (George Estregan Jr.), a gigolo type (Gardo Versoza) and a somewhat "nerdy" type (Jon Hernandez). The funniest and most memorable of these is easily Regala's performance, specially in the scene in the massage parlor (that sequence is absolute comedy gold). Aside from the main protagonists, the film is supported by other commendable actors such as the ever reliable and funny Dick Israel, the underrated Roldan Aquino and the always charismatic Tony Ferrer.
Natividad's film is an improved, revised and a more coherent draft of an earlier Toto Natividad movie called "Durugin Ng Bala Si Peter Torres". The film editor borrowed the more viable ideas from his cousin's movie (Though I'm not sure how they are related. Maybe they are actually brothers?) and hired a script writer to come up with a suitable screenplay. The most identical sequences that were inspired from the other Natividad's (Toto) film are the scene in which Billy and his buddies walk towards a party attired and made up in clown costumes, brandishing high powered firearms as well as the final stand off sequence against the cops. The first aforementioned scene was also later ripped off by Willy Milan for the film Boy Praning though the original raincoat getup from the Peter Torres movie was used instead of the clown outfits. In addition to the upgraded scenes, the movie also share a few other similarities to the Jess Lapid Jr., starrer such as in the technical aspects of lighting and in the copious amounts of of blood effects.
The script of the film is efficient and balanced with the dialogue being particularly realistic street lingo; the lines delivered by both cop and hoodlum characters are vulgar and humorous in a low brow sort of way. The melodramatic scenes are kind of stereotypical and par for the course; nothing really exceptional happens in these other subplots but they are passable.
The film is simply a technical accomplishment for Natividad and also a success of crime drama storytelling. It manages to rise above the mediocrity of crime themed tagalog action movies that were proliferating in the late 80s to early 90s.
