It's an unwritten but commonly known fact among exploitation fanatics that, next to tons of blood and uncompromising violence, action/thriller movies from The Philippines also provide a lot of laughter! These films are often so incredibly incompetent in terms of scripting, editing and acting that they are ideal to watch late at night with a group of friends and many beers. The plots of these mini-budgeted flicks are straightforward but senseless, there are usually one or two washed up Hollywood stars involved and there's always plenty of sleaze & bloodshed, but it's never shocking or disturbing. Cirio H. Santiago is The Philippines' most legendary inept director, but also Eddie Romero made his share of crazy popcorn flicks, and this "Sudden Death" is a masterwork in its own secluded domain. The opening sequence, taking place even before the title credits, is the best part of the film. Unknown assailants brutally enter the garden party of a happy American family and slaughter everyone in sight, including a few young children. The father, Ed Neilson, narrowly survives and it turns out he's an American businessman living in The Philippines. Neilson's fellow board members and shareholders clearly didn't like his some of his business decisions. The man seeks the help of Duke Smith (Robert Conrad), a retired CIA turned mercenary, but Smith refuses and prefers to go out drinking and visiting prostitutes with his buddies. Only when poor Neilson is the victim of yet another savage attack, Smith feels ashamed and investigates what's going on. That is just really stupid of Smith, of course. If he had accepted the job when Ed Neilson first came to him, begging for help, he probably would have been well paid for it! Now he risks his life for nothing because his "client" is already dead! Anyway, the filthy rich bastards are familiar with Smith's bad-ass reputation and thus hire a notorious (and eccentric) hired killer by the name of Dominic Aldo (Don Stroud) to protect themselves against Smith's wrath. "Sudden Death" is, simply put, a tasty 70s exploitation cocktail! Robert Conrad and his black buddy shoot and bare-knuckle-fight their way through a seemingly endless army of hysterically overacting Philippine extras and ad-lib the stupidest and most misplaced comical one-liners. There isn't any tension or character development whatsoever, the dialogues are abysmal and, near the end, even the whole synchronization process goes bonkers. Two sequences are memorable and worth mentioning, however, namely an uncomfortable moment involving a perverted Western bastard and his underage, local toy-boy and the surprisingly downbeat end shot, which comes more or less unexpected.
7 Reviews
Don't F With Robert Conrad
zardoz-1324 June 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Robert Conrad looks just as fit as he ever did in "The Wild, Wild West" in director Eddie Romero's "Sudden Death." Basically, murder and revenge lay at the heart of this contemporary melodrama about a man whose family is massacred on an island paradise. Miraculously, the father of the family, John Shaw (John Ashley of "Young Dillinger") convinces a former U.S. government agent who participated in the incursion in Cuba to step in to help him. Initially, Duke (Robert Conrad of "Wrong Is Right") is reluctant, because he lives like a beach bum with his daughter and his girlfriend. Nevertheless, Duke's best friend on the island, Buffalo (contacts one of Duke's closest friends stateside, Wyatt Spain (Felton Perry of "Magnum Force"), to come to the island and back him up. A cabal of conspirators is responsible for the death of the family at the outset of the action. Like one other commentator has observed, the opening scene where a peaceful family, husband, wife, and sons are gunned down, is reminiscent of Sergio Leone's "Once Upon A Time in the West." After Duke decides that he wants to step in and change the fortune of the villains, the villains hire a Mafia executioner, Dominic Digaldo (Don Stroud of "Joe Kidd"), to terminate Duke with extreme prejudice. The violence is frank and brutal, and the ending is a complete surprise. Thayer David plays a lusty homosexual who sleeps with young boys. Essentially, "Sudden Death" would be just another bloody revenge thriller if it weren't for its unconventional action. You've never heard Robert Conrad curse until you see "Sudden Death." The fight between Duke and Dominic is short and sweet. Director Eddie Romero doesn't let anything bog down this nuts and bolts actioneer, and Robert Conrad is fascinating to watch as the hero. He doesn't pull his shots when he is facing another man. "Sudden Death" deserved the R-rating that it received for all its blood and violence.
A terrific cast of familiar faces, funktastic music and 70's style to spare
tarbosh220009 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Somewhere in the Philippines, a cabal of evil businessmen intends to plunder the local sugar population. Bands of local mercenaries are fighting back, and when "good businessman" Ed Neilson's (Metcalfe) family is slaughtered, he turns to his buddy Duke Smith (Conrad), an ex-Special Ops CIA agent, to find out who committed the atrocity. Smith then calls friend/associate Wyatt Spain (Perry) and they link up with local contact Buffalo Tinker (Ventura). Yes, Buffalo Tinker is involved. The three men then proceed to blast around the Philippines busting heads and attempting to get answers. But our heroes face fierce resistance in the forms of John Shaw (Ashley) and his goon Dominic Aldo (Stroud). Who will come out alive, and who will face...SUDDEN DEATH?
Not to be confused with Sudden Death (1985) or Sudden Death (1995), this, the first of the Sudden Deaths (it seems that about every decade or so a movie comes out called Sudden Death), is well worth seeking out. If you're a fan of 70's drive-in style actioners, complete with large-collared, loud-patterned shirts, gigantic cars, and un-PC dialogue, this is a fine exemplar of that. Underlining the 70's vibe is the pacing and even the downbeat ending, which is the sort of thing that era specialized in and that you don't see today.
On a more uplifting note, quite literally, is the fantastic score by the great Johnny Pate. His opening song is tremendous and his music is uniformly fine throughout. Two of his other scores include Shaft in Africa and the little-seen Brother on the Run AKA Black Force 2 (both 1973). Whenever we see his name pop up in the credits, it's a rare treat. As of this writing, there is no CD or vinyl release for the Sudden Death score, but that needs to happen.
It was fantastic to see Robert Conrad in the role of head badass. Freed from the constraints of television, he can swear and beat up baddies with the best of 'em. He and Felton Perry make a winning team. We thought Perry was very likable here and he gets a lot of great lines. Who better than them to unravel the corporate intrigue and get into some barfights and warehouse fights along the way? While both men are charismatic, only Robert Conrad is man enough to wear tight pink shorts and a necklace and still come off as 100% man.
The legendary John Ashley is very cool here, and his voice is a joy to listen to. He'd be perfect for a 70's radio DJ: it's easy to hear him saying such things as "And now, next up in the hit parade, The Doobie Brothers with China Grove..." or some such thing. No wonder he was chosen to do the opening narration for The A-Team. In fact, there is a certain A-Team vibe going on here, but, rather than be sanitized for TV, it's melded into the Philippine action style we all know and love, with additional hints of The Retrievers (1982) or The G. I. Executioner (1971) (though rest assured it's far better than the latter).
A terrific cast of familiar faces, funktastic music and 70's style to spare - and it all wraps up in a scant 82 minutes! There's a lot to love with Sudden Death. Released on VHS on the classic Media label, this is a recommended film and in dire need of a restored.
Not to be confused with Sudden Death (1985) or Sudden Death (1995), this, the first of the Sudden Deaths (it seems that about every decade or so a movie comes out called Sudden Death), is well worth seeking out. If you're a fan of 70's drive-in style actioners, complete with large-collared, loud-patterned shirts, gigantic cars, and un-PC dialogue, this is a fine exemplar of that. Underlining the 70's vibe is the pacing and even the downbeat ending, which is the sort of thing that era specialized in and that you don't see today.
On a more uplifting note, quite literally, is the fantastic score by the great Johnny Pate. His opening song is tremendous and his music is uniformly fine throughout. Two of his other scores include Shaft in Africa and the little-seen Brother on the Run AKA Black Force 2 (both 1973). Whenever we see his name pop up in the credits, it's a rare treat. As of this writing, there is no CD or vinyl release for the Sudden Death score, but that needs to happen.
It was fantastic to see Robert Conrad in the role of head badass. Freed from the constraints of television, he can swear and beat up baddies with the best of 'em. He and Felton Perry make a winning team. We thought Perry was very likable here and he gets a lot of great lines. Who better than them to unravel the corporate intrigue and get into some barfights and warehouse fights along the way? While both men are charismatic, only Robert Conrad is man enough to wear tight pink shorts and a necklace and still come off as 100% man.
The legendary John Ashley is very cool here, and his voice is a joy to listen to. He'd be perfect for a 70's radio DJ: it's easy to hear him saying such things as "And now, next up in the hit parade, The Doobie Brothers with China Grove..." or some such thing. No wonder he was chosen to do the opening narration for The A-Team. In fact, there is a certain A-Team vibe going on here, but, rather than be sanitized for TV, it's melded into the Philippine action style we all know and love, with additional hints of The Retrievers (1982) or The G. I. Executioner (1971) (though rest assured it's far better than the latter).
A terrific cast of familiar faces, funktastic music and 70's style to spare - and it all wraps up in a scant 82 minutes! There's a lot to love with Sudden Death. Released on VHS on the classic Media label, this is a recommended film and in dire need of a restored.
Lousy Trash...
Falconeer13 February 2017
Although made in 1977, this turgid mess of a film has the look and feel of a cheap, Golan Globus or Cannon movie from the cheesy 80's. We get a tired revenge tale, that is mind-numbingly boring and convoluted, and it seems like whoever made this thing was aware of that..so they added a lot of cheap, bloody violence in an effort to keep up interest. The look of "Sudden Death" is ugly and amateurish as well, and time has not been kind to this deservedly forgotten drivel. But I must give it credit for featuring the absolute WORST acting i have EVER seen in a movie before, and that includes the indie Blaxploitation movie "The Man From Harlem," which is honestly a MUCH better film than this one. At least that movie is fun to watch. Everyone involved in this mess looked absolutely mortified to be in it. I don't usually trash movies, but when i saw all the people actually PRAISING this crap, i had to even out the scales a bit. If you want to see a GOOD revenge thriller, skip "Sudden Death" and search out "Get Carter" starring Michael Caine; trust me, your brain will thank you for it...
Better than expected
Leofwine_draca30 September 2022
No, SUDDEN DEATH isn't the Van Damme flick about terrorists taking over an ice hockey match, but rather an extremely obscure thriller shot in the Philippines by veteran director Eddie Romero - the man behind the MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND trilogy, no less! This actually turns out to be one of his best pictures, with a good mixture of action sequences, plotting, and thrills. It begins with a shocking massacre and moves on from there with regular bursts of action in the form of shoot-outs and even a little martial arts. Some of the familiar faces featured include Don Stroud, TV star Robert Conrad, Vic Diaz and ROBOCOP's Felton Perry. John Ashley makes his final film appearance.
Great hard-boiled action in 70's style!
Risto_H29 June 2004
I found this film on VHS tape yesterday from a flea market. I had never heard of this before. I watched it today and liked it very much! The film is located in the Philippines, which I found very interesting. Usually these kind of movies take place in the east coast (New York) or west coast (San Francisco or Los Angeles) in the USA. This film is a rare exception of this.
The movie begins with some gangsters killing a family, a scene which reminds me of similar scene in Once Upon A Time In The West. The father of the family survives. After a while two long-time friends got to fight against the bad guys in many ways and several different places. The story is very confusing, mainly because the characters got very little introducing. But that's not so important in action movies...
The fighting and shooting scenes are very cool with a lot of shot-gun action and slow-motion camera. The actors are good, the dialogue is wonderfully explicit, editing works fine and the scenes are set up almost perfectly. I really enjoyed this and recommend it to anyone interested of good old action, instead of wire tricks and computer effects in modern actionfilms. The music made a great atmosphere with all those wah-wah guitar and minimoog sounds.
The movie begins with some gangsters killing a family, a scene which reminds me of similar scene in Once Upon A Time In The West. The father of the family survives. After a while two long-time friends got to fight against the bad guys in many ways and several different places. The story is very confusing, mainly because the characters got very little introducing. But that's not so important in action movies...
The fighting and shooting scenes are very cool with a lot of shot-gun action and slow-motion camera. The actors are good, the dialogue is wonderfully explicit, editing works fine and the scenes are set up almost perfectly. I really enjoyed this and recommend it to anyone interested of good old action, instead of wire tricks and computer effects in modern actionfilms. The music made a great atmosphere with all those wah-wah guitar and minimoog sounds.
An awesomely brutal & exciting 70's Filipino action winner
Woodyanders10 March 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Some movies bowl you over with an unusually complex and gripping story. Other movies knock you flat on your keister because they are exceptionally well made. Still other films grab you by the scruff of the neck and squeeze until you're gasping for air due to a seriously smoking cast. This terrifically twisty and twisted 70's conspiracy action thriller scores strongly in all three areas, taking the viewer on the kind of wonderfully wicked descent into total nihilism and anti-heroism which could have only been done in a raw, skull-shredding, no-holds-barred in-your-face fashion back in the glorious 70's. Yep, this one's the authentic gnarly article -- and pretty brutal, too.
The always great Robert Conrad rules the day as a gruff, rough'n'tumble soldier of fortune who, assisted by his groovy soul bro partner Felton Perry, winds up knee deep in some heavy, highly illegal and extremely convoluted big business s**t when he decides to investigate a series of murders committed by a shady group of greedy, immoral, anything-for-the-money millionaires who include a disgusting, overweight homosexual pedophile and John Ashley (who also co-produced the film) as an untrustworthy undercover government agent. Conrad, Perry and Ashley all turn in top-notch work, but the guy who easily makes off with the entire picture is consummate celluloid creepo specialist Don Stroud, who gives a sterling performance as a ruthless, long-haired, ice cold professional hit-man who's first seen tossing a cat into the air, has an old score to settle with Conrad, and desperately longs to make a pile of cash so he can successfully bury his embarrassing past as a dirt poor slob kid from the slums.
Director Eddie Romero really lets 'er rip with this fast-paced, darkly amoral, and frequently very violent tale which starts out nasty (a family are graphically blown away while frolicking in a pool!) and gets even nastier as the whole intricate story unfolds, concluding with a devastatingly grim surprise ending that hits the unsuspecting viewer with all the ferocity of a sucker punch to the solar plexus. Further enhanced by Johnny Pate's brassy, funky, wah-wah guitar driven score, uniformly cool'n'cruel characters, a fiercely protracted knock-down, drag-out barroom brawl, several unflinchingly vicious chopsocky fights (Conrad hits countless guys in the groin and engages in an intensely cooking climactic slow motion martial arts face-off with Stroud), splashy, generously squibbed gun shots, and a nice cameo by an uncredited Vic Diaz as a carnival barker, "Sudden Death" hits hard and takes no prisoners, thereby rating highly as a definite must-see 70's Filipino exploitation gem.
The always great Robert Conrad rules the day as a gruff, rough'n'tumble soldier of fortune who, assisted by his groovy soul bro partner Felton Perry, winds up knee deep in some heavy, highly illegal and extremely convoluted big business s**t when he decides to investigate a series of murders committed by a shady group of greedy, immoral, anything-for-the-money millionaires who include a disgusting, overweight homosexual pedophile and John Ashley (who also co-produced the film) as an untrustworthy undercover government agent. Conrad, Perry and Ashley all turn in top-notch work, but the guy who easily makes off with the entire picture is consummate celluloid creepo specialist Don Stroud, who gives a sterling performance as a ruthless, long-haired, ice cold professional hit-man who's first seen tossing a cat into the air, has an old score to settle with Conrad, and desperately longs to make a pile of cash so he can successfully bury his embarrassing past as a dirt poor slob kid from the slums.
Director Eddie Romero really lets 'er rip with this fast-paced, darkly amoral, and frequently very violent tale which starts out nasty (a family are graphically blown away while frolicking in a pool!) and gets even nastier as the whole intricate story unfolds, concluding with a devastatingly grim surprise ending that hits the unsuspecting viewer with all the ferocity of a sucker punch to the solar plexus. Further enhanced by Johnny Pate's brassy, funky, wah-wah guitar driven score, uniformly cool'n'cruel characters, a fiercely protracted knock-down, drag-out barroom brawl, several unflinchingly vicious chopsocky fights (Conrad hits countless guys in the groin and engages in an intensely cooking climactic slow motion martial arts face-off with Stroud), splashy, generously squibbed gun shots, and a nice cameo by an uncredited Vic Diaz as a carnival barker, "Sudden Death" hits hard and takes no prisoners, thereby rating highly as a definite must-see 70's Filipino exploitation gem.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
