SILENT RAGE (1982)

Director: Michael Miller

Writers: Joseph Fraley, Edward Di Lorenzo (uncredited)

Producer: Anthony B. Unger

Cast: Chuck Norris, Brian Libby, Ron Silver, Steven Keats, Toni Kalem, Stephen Furst, William Finley, Stephanie Dunnam, Joyce Ingle, Jay DePland, Lillette Zoe Raley, Mike Johnson, Desmond Dhooge, Kathy Lee, Linda Tatum, Joe Farago, Paula Selzer, John Barrett, Sonny Jones, Sandy Lang, Eddie Galt, David Unger, Russel Higgenbotham, James Bodean (uncredited)

When psychiatric outpatient John Kirby (Brian Libby) murders two people, Sheriff Dan Stevens (Chuck Norris) subdues him and takes him into custody. Kirby soon breaks free and is shot by the police. The dying man’s psychiatrist, Dr. Thomas Halman (Ron Silver), rushes Kirby to his medical institute. With emergency surgery failing to save Kirby’s life, Halman’s fellow physician and boss, Dr. Phillip Spires (Steven Keats), tries his experimental serum. Kirby’s vital signs return and his wounds miraculously heal. Unfortunately, the still dangerously deranged John Kirby is now practically indestructible.

The Flashback Fanatic movie review

This is a movie that shouldn’t work for me. Most movies that mix genres are not satisfying because they are needlessly busy concoctions and each genre being mixed into the cinematic mess becomes diluted and can’t deliver the buzz that a single genre can. Silent Rage is an action/horror/sci-fi hybrid that succeeds because of its simplicity.

The entire story takes place over the course of just a few days. The menace and the hero are established in the very first scene. Then we see how, thanks to mad science, the menace becomes even more formidable while the hero gets an opportunity to demonstrate more of his ass-kicking prowess. Eventually, the menace goes on a murder spree that the sheriff hero must stop. All of this is building up to a rematch between the opponents from the film’s opening scene.

Of course, the exploitation hook for this movie at the time was what would happen if Chuck Norris took on Michael Myers; the most famous martial arts hero of the day vs. a mute, unkillable maniac. The sci-fi angle that justifies the villain’s awesome durability makes this thing play out like a more satisfying retread of Indestructible Man (1956).

All of the characters are presented quite simply and effectively. Aside from the clash between doctors about ethical considerations regarding the use of experimental techniques on a dying patient, there is no moralizing or character development here. This is a series of horror and action situations that are all creating anticipation for that final battle.

Chuck Norris is his usual reserved self. He actually seems a bit more relaxed this time around until he needs to start hitting and shooting people. Until the final showdown, his character of Sheriff Dan Stevens is just marking time in his little town by beating up bikers or rekindling a romance with an ex-girlfriend (Toni Kalem). He also gets to be an all too patient mentor to his new deputy (Stephen Furst).

Ron Silver’s Dr. Tom Halman is the character that raises the ethical questions about medical experimentation and whether someone as dangerous as his patient should be allowed to live. He may be feeling guilty for not having anticipated John Kirby’s homicidal potential. In one of the film’s longest scenes, we spend quite a bit of time at Halman’s home. We get a sense of the doctor’s life with his wife (Stephanie Dunnam) before the horror of the story begins to take over.

Steven Keats is the ambitious and amoral Dr. Spires. He strikes just the right notes of obsession and frustration. I love it when he has an angry, profanity-laced shouting match with his employee, Dr. Halman, or when he guzzles booze in his office to wind down from the stress of his experiment getting way out of hand. It is little touches like these that are memorable because they make a character register with us without needing to provide any sort of backstory.

The embodiment of this film’s silent rage is Brian Libby as John Kirby. After he calls Dr. Halman for help in the first scene, he devolves into a mute and murderous animal. I can hardly blame the poor guy for “losin’ it.” In the film’s opening continuous shot of nearly four minutes, we experience the claustrophobic and irritating environment John Kirby has had to tolerate. Apparently, he is renting a room in a household full of noisy kids being screeched at constantly by their busybody, motor-mouthed mother (Joyce Ingle). No wonder Kirby seems positively triumphant when he starts swinging that axe. Libby’s odd body language and wild-eyed expressions combine with his physicality to create an always interesting and formidable menace in John Kirby.

Director Michael Miller manages to stage both his horror and action scenes effectively. He is not afraid to use long takes to just show people mingling and reacting to one another. His long takes can also help set the scene or set us up for a surprise.

According to director Miller, Chuck Norris seemed a little ambivalent about the finished film. Perhaps Norris thought it was too much of a departure from what he thought his fans would be looking for in one of his movies. Silent Rage may be a bit of an anomaly in action star Chuck Norris’ filmography, but it is probably my favorite. It manages to mix its horror and action with the occasional dash of humor to fine effect. Despite its sci-fi menace, this flick still comes across far more believably than the contrived and cartoonish stunt shows most action movies have become since the late '80s.

This film never seemed to get much respect in its day. Most wrote off Silent Rage as a crass attempt to use its rising action star to get some of that slasher film audience attention. Well, they’re right! Frankly, I’m as surprised as anyone that it manages to be very entertaining. If you can’t decide whether you’re in the mood for bashing or slashing, pop open a cold one and pop Silent Rage into the player.