It's an unwritten but commonly known fact among exploitation fanatics that, next to tons of blood and uncompromising violence, action/thriller movies from The Philippines also provide a lot of laughter! These films are often so incredibly incompetent in terms of scripting, editing and acting that they are ideal to watch late at night with a group of friends and many beers. The plots of these mini-budgeted flicks are straightforward but senseless, there are usually one or two washed up Hollywood stars involved and there's always plenty of sleaze & bloodshed, but it's never shocking or disturbing. Cirio H. Santiago is The Philippines' most legendary inept director, but also Eddie Romero made his share of crazy popcorn flicks, and this "Sudden Death" is a masterwork in its own secluded domain. The opening sequence, taking place even before the title credits, is the best part of the film. Unknown assailants brutally enter the garden party of a happy American family and slaughter everyone in sight, including a few young children. The father, Ed Neilson, narrowly survives and it turns out he's an American businessman living in The Philippines. Neilson's fellow board members and shareholders clearly didn't like his some of his business decisions. The man seeks the help of Duke Smith (Robert Conrad), a retired CIA turned mercenary, but Smith refuses and prefers to go out drinking and visiting prostitutes with his buddies. Only when poor Neilson is the victim of yet another savage attack, Smith feels ashamed and investigates what's going on. That is just really stupid of Smith, of course. If he had accepted the job when Ed Neilson first came to him, begging for help, he probably would have been well paid for it! Now he risks his life for nothing because his "client" is already dead! Anyway, the filthy rich bastards are familiar with Smith's bad-ass reputation and thus hire a notorious (and eccentric) hired killer by the name of Dominic Aldo (Don Stroud) to protect themselves against Smith's wrath. "Sudden Death" is, simply put, a tasty 70s exploitation cocktail! Robert Conrad and his black buddy shoot and bare-knuckle-fight their way through a seemingly endless army of hysterically overacting Philippine extras and ad-lib the stupidest and most misplaced comical one-liners. There isn't any tension or character development whatsoever, the dialogues are abysmal and, near the end, even the whole synchronization process goes bonkers. Two sequences are memorable and worth mentioning, however, namely an uncomfortable moment involving a perverted Western bastard and his underage, local toy-boy and the surprisingly downbeat end shot, which comes more or less unexpected.
Review of Sudden Death
