Enforcer from Death Row (1976) Dinero Productions/Action RT: 88 minutes Rated R (violence, language, nudity, sexual content, rape) Director: Marshall M. Borden and Efren C. Pinon Screenplay: Jerry O. Tirazona and Leo Fong Music: Tito Sotto Cinematography: Frank Harris and Frank Johnson Release date: February 1978 (US) Cast: Leo Fong, Darnell Garcia, Lotis Key, Ann Farber, B.T. Anderson, George Estregan, Charlie Davao, Cameron Mitchell, John Hammond, James Lew, Mariwin Roberts. Box Office: N/A
Rating: *
If you think the 1985 comedy Clue is the first movie with multiple endings, you’re wrong. It’s the first MAJOR theatrical release with different endings, three to be exact (the tagline, “Whodunit depends on where you see it”). Now I don’t know if the Filipino actioner Enforcer from Death Row is the very first movie with more than one ending but it predates Clue by nearly a decade. The ending on my DVD copy is different from the version posted on YouTube. Let’s call them V1 and V2 (V for version) respectively. All I’ll say about it for now is that Cameron Mitchell is NOT in the DVD version (simply entitled Enforcer) even though he’s listed in the credits. I knew something was off which is why I looked deeper into Enforcer from Death Row in the first place.
I can say that Enforcer from Death Row isn’t the only exploitation movie to be released under different titles. It’s also known as Ninja Assassins, Ninja Nightmare and Death Row Killer. It makes me wonder how many people have been suckered into watching this God-awful action flick more than once. It stinks under any title, that’s the movie’s one constant.
I should warn you I don’t know what actors played what roles in Enforcer from Death Row. This information isn’t given in the end credits. The only cast members I’m familiar with are Mitchell and martial artist Leo Fong (Killpoint). I can’t find a lot of information on the others. I think I’ve narrowed down who co-stars Darnell Garcia and Lotis Key play, but don’t hold me to it.
Fong plays T.L. Young, a Death Row inmate about to be executed for a murder he didn’t commit. He’s approached by an agent of the World Organization of Peace with a unique offer. They’ll arrange for his death to be faked in exchange for his help finding out who’s killing all their agents in Manila. With most of the world thinking him dead, Young heads to Manila where he finds out the killings were the work of a criminal organization headed by a guy named Spencer, a vicious bugger with a team of ninjas at his disposal. He has in his possession a deadly chemical weapon that he plans to use for his own personal gain. It’s Young’s job to stop him. This means punching, chopping and kicking his way through the organization.
I have a number of questions about Enforcer from Death Row. Number one, did the makers ever stop and consider what the initials for World Organization of Peace spell (sans the “of”)? Surely I can’t be the only one who notices this. Two, how does Spencer stay in business when he kills all his clients, potential or otherwise? You’d think it would get around he has a predilection for referring clients to snake pits, rats and barrels of acid. Three, did the female scientist (Lotis Key?) working for Spencer really think she wouldn’t get caught helping her brother escape after he pisses off the big boss? And why would she accept a phone call from him later knowing that somebody is probably listening? Four, since when do ninjas use guns? Last but certainly not least, what becomes of Spencer in V2? Whereas his fate is clear in V1, he simply vanishes from the story in V2.
As near as I can tell, the V2 ending is NOT the original one. Look at the way it abruptly cuts in the middle of a fight scene to henchman Prego (Darnell Garcia?) talking on a pay phone. He apparently escaped from the burning lab (with severe facial scarring) and wants revenge against Young. I won’t say exactly what goes down but Mitchell shows up briefly as a big government honcho who wants to recruit Young for future missions. In any event, I prefer this ending only because of Mitchell, a great overactor.
Mitchell is the second good thing about Enforcer from Death Row. The first is the cool title. It’s an ideal grindhouse title. The third (and last) is Fong. The guy can’t act. He’s so wooden; he belongs in a lumber yard. But boy can he fight! The former Methodist minister from Arkansas trained in many styles and ultimately developed his own, Wei Kuen Do. In his case, skills make up for lack of talent. The rest of the movie is horrible. It’s badly acted, poorly written, sloppily edited and flatly directed. It feels like two or three lame movies thrown together to make one truly bad one. Plot lines, like the guy who hires Spencer to hit a dozen different human targets, are introduced only to go nowhere. There’s a completely unnecessary rape scene. Worst of all, it’s not terribly exciting. The action scenes lack zip, zing and vigor. I stop short of calling it boring only because its utter badness makes it semi-watchable.
I look at it this way. Enforcer from Death Row is an exploitation movie. Exploitation movies hold a special place in heart. They held that place even before I knew what an exploitation movie was. So even if they’re bad, they’re still pretty cool. Enforcer from Death Row is most definitely a bad movie, but I’m not sorry I watched it. Exploitation lovers get it, right?
