![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Vice-Squad-PIC.jpg?resize=620%2C348&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\r\n<\/p>\r\n
Vice Squad <\/strong>(1982)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 AVCO Embassy Pictures\/Action-Thriller\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 97 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (pervasive language, sexual references, strong violence, nudity, sex, drugs, general sleaziness)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Gary Sherman\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Sandy Howard, Kenneth Peters and Robert Vincent O\u2019Neill\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Joe Renzetti\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: John Alcott\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: January 22, 1982 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Starring: Season Hubley, Gary Swanson, Wings Hauser, Pepe Serna, Beverly Todd, Joseph DiGiroloma, Maurice Emanuel, Wayne Hackett, Nina Blackwood, Sudana Bobatoon, Linda Lei, Kelly Piper, Kristoffer Anders, Joseph Barocini, Fred Berry, Tom Brent, Grand Bush, Marilyn Coleman, Michael Ensign, Hugo Stanger, Stack Pierce, Richard Wetzel, Lyla Graham, Ark Wong.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: $13.2M (US)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0Rating: <\/strong>****\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0Talk about sleaze, Vice Squad<\/strong> absolutely swims in it and nearly drowns too. Filmed on location on L.A.\u2019s Sunset Strip, the opening prologue states, \u201cThe motion picture you are about to see has been produced with the cooperation of law enforcement authorities. Though a work of fiction, it is a composite of events that have actually taken place on the streets of Hollywood.\u201d It seems realistic to me. From the moment I first saw the trailer (before Sharky\u2019s Machine), I knew I\u2019d love it. It looked cool to my 14YO eyes. Naturally, it was number one on my parents\u2019 OMDB (Over My Dead Body) list. I didn\u2019t see it until summer \u201984 when it showed on Cinemax. Just as I thought, it was GREAT!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0The main story centers on Princess (Hubley, Hardcore), a seasoned prostitute planning to leave the life and begin anew with her young daughter in San Diego. First, she has unfinished business with vice cop Tom Walsh (Swanson, The Guardian) concerning a drug bust that could land her in jail for a few years if he doesn\u2019t clear her record. He needs her to help him nail Ramrod (Hauser, Deadly Force), a violent pimp with a penchant for beating and slashing his girls with a \u201cpimp stick\u201d- i.e. a folded-up wire hanger. His most recent victim is Princess\u2019 friend Ginger (MTV\u2019s Nina Blackwood), a drug addict who dies shortly after the beating. With her assistance, Walsh makes a successful arrest. Unfortunately, Ramrod escapes en route to the police station with one goal in mind- to find and kill Princess. Walsh and his squad spend the entire night trying to locate either one of them before Ramrod can get to Princess.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0Would I be exaggerating if I called Vice Squad<\/strong> the king of sleazy exploitation movies? I don\u2019t think so. The lurid thriller, directed by Gary Sherman (Dead & Buried), wallows in sleaze and filth. It shows an ugly side of life most people don\u2019t even want to think about it. Sherman never tries to sugarcoat it either. His vision is raw and real. He takes us inside the chaotic police station crowded with pimps, hookers, perverts and addicts. One underage girl is shown to be going through withdrawal. At times, Vice Squad <\/strong>takes on a documentary-like feel. In one scene, Walsh fills a young vice cop (Emanuel, Drum) in on the sexual terminology- e.g. \u201cgolden shower\u201d- he\u2019ll come across on the job. At the same time, it\u2019s every bit an action-thriller with chases, shootouts and a psychopath cutting a bloody swath through nighttime L.A. as he seeks his prey.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0As Ramrod, Hauser is evil personified. Dressed as a cowboy, he gives pimping a bad name. He thinks nothing of beating girls to a pulp or cutting the balls off another pimp for information. He\u2019s a real sicko! Hauser is AWESOME! He doesn\u2019t just tear up the scenery; he chews it up and spits it out too. He\u2019s as scary (if not scarier) as any given masked homicidal maniac in any given slasher flick. Hubley is very good as Princess, an intelligent woman and single mother who only turned to prostitution after falling on hard times. She\u2019s gotten good at code-switching, shifting between conservative mother and tough, street smart hooker. Hubley is believable in the role precisely because she\u2019s not a Hollywood superstar (although she should have been). She keeps it real in degrading scenes like when she fights an unsatisfied client who wants a refund. Right before that, look at her expressionless face as they have sex. It\u2019s a business transaction NOT an act of love. It reminds me of Jane Fonda in Klute. Swanson effectively plays a hardened detective who\u2019s seen and heard it all. He thinks the Strip is a cesspool filled with human garbage. He\u2019s like an 80s version of a tough 40s gumshoe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0The cinematography by John Alcott (Fort Apache the Bronx) is a definite highlight of Vice Squad<\/strong>. He beautifully captures the essence of the dirty, neon-lit streets of the Strip at night with its dive bars, dark alleys, crummy hotels and colorful characters- e.g. flashy pimps, sassy hookers, crazy street people, junkies, angry cops, etc.\u00a0 Sherman keeps things moving along nicely with a fair amount of suspense and violent action. The song used in the opening and end credits \u201cNeon Slime\u201d is sung by Hauser, formerly the lead singer of psychedelic folk rock band Vision of Sunshine. It perfectly sets the vulgar, OTT tone of the movie.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0I LOVE Vice Squad<\/strong>! I know, it\u2019s sick and it dwells on human degradation. I get that. I think it\u2019s a fun movie, custom made for grungy urban grindhouse theaters. It also has a sense of humor. Two of Walsh\u2019s men, Mendez (Serna, Scarface) and Kowalski (DiGiroloma), aren\u2019t exactly model cops. They get their asses kicked by an elderly Asian man in one scene. It\u2019s a good way to balance out the constant threat of Ramrod hunting for his prey. The bottom line is that Vice Squad<\/strong> is GREAT! It\u2019s violent, exciting, thrilling and surprisingly well made with its lurid color scheme. It\u2019s pure 80s cinematic goodness; it wouldn\u2019t get made today.<\/p>\r\n Vice Squad (1982)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 AVCO Embassy Pictures\/Action-Thriller\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 97 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (pervasive language, sexual references, strong violence, nudity, sex, drugs, general sleaziness)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Gary Sherman\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Sandy Howard, Kenneth Peters and Robert Vincent O\u2019Neill\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Joe Renzetti\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: John Alcott\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: January 22, 1982 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Starring: Season Hubley, Gary Swanson, Wings Hauser, Pepe Serna, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":868,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kick-ass-actioners"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Vice-Squad-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8555,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210\/revisions\/8555"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Vice-Squad-POSTER.jpg?resize=620%2C938&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"