Silent Rage (1982)

"Mayday! billy, send backup! all units report to the old blues bar, over!", 20 October 2017

I first saw Silent Rage while in college in the mid-80s. I think it ran on HBO/Cinemax every month. I must have seen it at least 6 times. It mixed two of my favorite movie genres – slashers and action. To me, the movie played like Michael Myers meets Chuck Norris. And I'm pretty sure that's what the filmmakers were going for. At the time, Chuck Norris had a pretty big following and slashers were all the rage. Why not mix the two?

Having not seen Silent Rage in about three decades, there's a lot I had forgotten. I was surprised at how many of the (now) predictable slasher clichés there are in this movie – a killer who can't be killed, a killer who seems capable of quietly materializing near his next victim, false scares followed almost immediately by the real thing, a good jump scare right before the final credits, conveniently placed weapons, and a good guy who acts as if all this is completely normal. Silent Rage has 'em all.

So, how does Silent Rage hold up? On the positive side of things there are some pretty decent fight scenes (the bar fight is especially enjoyable), a creepy killer, and Chuck Norris playing the whole thing as straight-faced as you can imagine. On the negative side, you've got copious amounts so filler (including the previously mentioned bar fight which has nothing to do with the rest of the film), a complete lack of logic, and Stephen Furst's off-putting comic relief. Overall, though, I still found Silent Rage entertaining. I think a bulk of the credit has to go to Brian Libby. His creepy John Kirby is as good and effective a killer as you'll find in any of the 80s slasher movies. It's a nice performance.

6/10