Death Promise

Director - Robert Warmflash 

Starring - Charles Bonet (Way of the Black Dragon, Fists of Bruce Lee), Speedy Leacock, and Bill Louie (Bruce vs. Bill, The Old Master)

Release Date - 1977

Genre - Action/Crime

Tagline - "Filthy rich landlords get away with murder.  It's time they pay for it"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     It's not often that Vinegar Syndrome releases a movie that I've heard about.  A good portion of their releases are films that I'm just hearing about when they make their monthly announcements.  However, there is, on occasion, a movie they release that I've seen floating around in the different movie groups on social media.  1977's exploitation flick Death Promise is one of those rare occasions.  I've seen this one pop up several times in various movie groups and I've always been curious about it.  Exploitation flicks has become an obsession of my over the years and it was this kind of film that inspired me to start writing reviews.  This release was included in the March release package so it only made sense to finally check it out after viewing Last Gasp.  

     The film follows a martial arts master and his best friend who live in an apartment building.  The tenets of the building are being harrased by the landlords to move in order to turn the building into something else.  When the landlord's hired goons accidentally kill his father the pair go on a bloody rampage killing all the big wigs that had a hand in his father's death.

     Death Promise is not the best exploitation or martial arts film to come out of the 70s but you can't deny how much cheesy fun it is.  I loved the acting, the story, and the action.  It does try a little too hard at times but I appreciate the effort it delivers.  The acting in this one is fun.  The characters are generic for an exploitation and martial arts film but they work very well with the story.  The action and fight scenes are really fun and the characters really do give the roles their best efforts.  With that being said, no one is winning any awards.  The characters may be memorable but they are far from perfect.  The story for this one is a blend of revenge, martial arts, crime, and a little blaxploitation brought together to make one highly entertaining yet cheesy experience.  I really enjoyed the story and the pacing.  The action scenes does a great job at holding the viewer's attention while moving the story right along.  Also, there is some cheesy aspects of the story that adds some unintentional humor which only adds to the fun.  I think most people love exploitation films because they were done so cheaply with no quality control.  Finally, the film has some deaths with a little blood but don't expect to see a lot of it or gore.  The film's focus is on the fight sequences and story.  Overall, Death Promise is another fantastic release from a fantastic company.  It's exploitation at it's finest and cult movie fans will really appreciate the type of movie this one is.  I highly recommend checking this one out.