True Blood (1989) Fries Entertainment/Action-Drama RT: 100 minutes Rated R (violence, language) Director: Frank Kerr Screenplay: Frank Kerr Music: Scott Roewe Cinematography: Mark Morris Release date: June 23, 1989 (Philadelphia, PA) Cast: Jeff Fahey, Chad Lowe, Sherilyn Fenn, James Tolkan, Ken Foree, Billy Drago, Brodie Greer, John Capodice, Leon Addison Brown, Stanley Perryman, Everett Mendes, Shawn O’Neil, Jeffrey Vaughn, Eavenly Shin, Maurice Phelps, Robert LaSardo. Box Office: N/A
Rating: ***
The gangland drama True Blood is custom made for sleazy urban grindhouse viewing. It’s the kind of movie that would never be shown in respectable theaters. When it opened here in Philly, it played at one theater (Eric’s Place, Chestnut St.) in Center City. In ’89, it was the closest thing to a grindhouse theater in town. It was only fitting that they showed True Blood.
I’d like to start by talking about the movie’s aesthetic; it’ll give you a good idea of what to expect. It’s set in the grimy streets, dark alleys and abandoned warehouses of New York’s Lower East Side, a lawless place where grudges are settled with guns and switchblades. Is it not the ideal setting for a story of two estranged brothers reconnecting after a ten-year separation?
Gang member Ray Trueblood (Fahey, Psycho III) didn’t want to abandon his younger brother Donny but he had no choice. The heat was on after a psychotic rival gangbanger Billy “Spider” Masters (Drago, The Untouchables) framed him for the murder of a cop. He had to get out of Dodge in a hurry and travel light. He returns ten years later a changed man. Fresh out of the Marine Corps, he’s come to find Donny (Lowe, Highway to Hell) and relocate to Wyoming like they always talked about. One problem, Donny wants nothing to do with Ray. He still hates him for leaving him with their alcoholic father. Even worse, he’s a member of a street gang run by his old enemy Masters. On top of that, Ray is still a wanted man especially by the murdered cop’s partner Hanley (Tolkan, Back to the Future). When he finds out Ray is back in town, he tears up the place looking for him. He’s determined not to let him get away this time.
The brothers find an ally in Jennifer (Fenn, The Wraith), a waitress with an affinity for poetry. Initially cold towards Ray (she doesn’t like Marines), he melts her icy exterior by revealing a fondness for Yeats. It’s a tenuous connection he takes as an open invitation to show up at her door in the middle of the night for help in treating a gunshot wound sustained by Donny in a botched robbery attempt. Does this count as a first date?
It’s cheap and scuzzy looking, but I like True Blood. When you look past its grindhouse veneer, you can see that writer-director Frank Kerr has slightly higher aspirations. While it has the prerequisite fights and chases, it also has a heart with its brotherly love drama albeit one that borders on mawkish at several points. This story arc follows a predictable trajectory. You know Ray will start to break through Donny’s angry young man façade after a punch or two is thrown. As Ray, Fahey is too long in the tooth to be playing him as a teen in the opening scenes. He looks almost as silly as Tolkan with that wig. He’s better when playing adult Ray. Lowe does good work as Donny, a kid so deprived he doesn’t even know what French toast is. His character shift from Neanderthal street tough to civilized young man is a little rushed but believable. Fenn tops them both as Jennifer, a young woman with class and dreams of making a better life for herself. In a surprising move, she doesn’t end up in bed with Ray or Donny. Tolkan is very good as the vengeful, pissed off cop looking for justice.
You can always count on Billy Drago to bring his A-game to every movie he’s in. He’s one of my favorite movie villains. He delivers a wonderfully OTT performance as Spider, the very definition of creep especially with that facial scar. He doesn’t have that many scenes but what he does have is nothing short of awesome. The industry lost a great character actor when Drago passed away in ’19. The cast also includes Ken Foree (the original Dawn of the Dead) as Hanley’s new partner and John Capodice (Q) as a diner owner who gives Ray a job.
The action scenes in True Blood are well mounted. There’s a cool chase at the beginning with Ray driving like a maniac through the streets to evade the cops. There’s also a nifty scene where the brothers hide from Hanley in a trash receptacle and get dumped into a garbage truck making its rounds. My only real gripe is that it’s too dark to see what’s going on in several scenes. But since we already know that technical perfection isn’t a priority in low-budget actioners, we just accept it and move on.
Yes, I saw True Blood at the movies. I couldn’t resist. I loved seeing movies at Eric’s Place. It was one of the last theaters to semi-regularly show double features. I was so bummed when they closed down in summer ’92. Thankfully, I have good memories to hold onto and True Blood is one of them.
