Savage Instinct

January. 01,1989      R
Rating:
4.3
Trailer Synopsis Cast

A young widow on a trip to the backwoods stumbles upon the operation of a gang of drug smugglers. They attempt to kill her in order to keep their operation a secret, but she turns out to be more resourceful than they thought, and starts to turn the tables on them.

Sean P. Donahue as  Terk

Reviews

Beystiman
1989/01/01

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

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BallWubba
1989/01/02

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

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Mathilde the Guild
1989/01/03

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

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Deanna
1989/01/04

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

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Comeuppance Reviews
1989/01/05

Susan Morris (Sweaney) is a mild-mannered woman whose husband was recently killed in a car accident. Seeking to fulfill their dream of having a nice house out in the country, she attempts to move to rural Loma County, California. But while driving out to the property, Susan and real estate agent Cecil (Ringuette) run afoul of a sinister gang of drug dealers. Led by the hulking brute Mongo (Brian Oldfield in what is criminally his only screen role to date), the gang of baddies seeks to make one last big score before disbanding their criminal enterprise. But since Susan has stumbled upon it, they must kill her. So they chase her all over the woods, but Susan decides she's had enough of her Mongo-based ordeal and decides to fight back. It's now time for revenge, Susan Morris style! What follows you must see! Ridiculous. Silly. Funny. Enjoyable. There are some words for you. But all these words - and so many more I'm leaving out - perfectly describe the wonderful Savage Instinct. You will have a smile on your face for most of this movie's running time (provided you have an inkling of a sense of humor - some people out there don't, it seems). Everything from the clothing choices of the goons, to the acting, to the effects, to the plot points and pretty much everything is totally winning, and the icing on the cake are some priceless bits of dialogue, none of which we'll spoil for you here. This movie is just a great take on the revenge movie, showing it can be done in a less-than-serious fashion. Take Mongo and his illegal barn of drugs. He looks like a cross between Richard Moll and Jesse Ventura. And when he really gets mad, he has some special headgear that will inspire some major fear.Troma released this movie as They Call Me Macho Woman, and then AIP re-released it as Savage Instinct. Judging by the box art and typeface font, they certainly weren't trying to capitalize on Basic Instinct. No sirree. But I'll take this movie any day of the week. Debra Sweaney deserves the fame Sharon Stone has. Life's not fair I tell ya. (It should be noted that the woman on the box is not Sweaney, but a cover model that has nothing whatsoever to do with the movie). But Savage Instinct is just further proof that writer/producer/director Patrick Donahue is an underrated genius. His first movie, Kill Squad (1982) is a Comeuppance Reviews favorite and is totally great. Savage Instinct is his second movie - although there was a nine year gap in between them. These two titles as your first two movies is impressive, but it seems his output after that is hard to get ahold of. We just want to tell the world we're fans of his work, at least his first two films. His son Sean has been involved in his father's work from the beginning, as well as many other productions (including Omega Cop, 1990) - but here, as Terk, the guy with the open-necked ballerina-like shirt and the classic Rachel Bolan-style earring-connected-to-nose-ring-by-a-chain, he really shines.Savage Instinct represents the goofier end of the action/revenge movie. We recommend it.For more action insanity, drop by: www.comeuppancereviews.com

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HumanoidOfFlesh
1989/01/06

The main character of "They Call Me Macho Woman" is Susan Morris(Deborah Sweaney),a nubile young woman,who is being stalked by Mongo "Unicorn",big bad drug lord and his cohorts of merciless criminals.But Susan ain't gonna become easy victim.It's not in her style.After visiting some kind of tool shed and sleeping there she arms herself with instruments of steel and begins to kill gang members one by one.Hilariously funny action flick with bad acting and hysterical death scenes.There are a couple of really dumb scenes that made my jaw wide open.There is also a lot of running through the woods and a bit of gore.If you like non-stop action with hatches,blades and axes give this funny Troma release a chance.7 nine inch nails out of 10.

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tigermilk87
1989/01/07

I rate my movies based on the enjoyability factor; I don't care if it's low budget, poorly produced, poorly acted, etc. As long as it provides entertainment, I'm happy. That said, this movie is so shockingly pointless and stupid, that it's quickly become one of my favorite movies. It's SOOOO funny! This woman seriously runs across a crowd of drug dealers, stepping on their shoulders and heads; she battles an Asian (who knows Karate, of course) and when she stabs him with her foot-knife (doesn't make sense, you just have to see it), he actually falls and says, "you have disgraced me" or something like that. Hilarious, hilarious, hilarious!

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wogboy-3
1989/01/08

If you like really shocking movies this is for you. The acting is the worst I've ever seen and the story line goes no-where. If you come across this film in your video shop don't even consider borrowing it. The chick on the front cover isn't even the one in the movie.I gave this movie 1/10 only because I couldn't vote 0. Avoid it at all costs.

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