A group of military veterans face-off against blood thirsty drug dealers in VFW.
Directed by Joe Begos (Bliss, The Mind’s Eye), VFW is a bloody romp of over-the-top violence and cheeky practical effects. As Fred sets up at his local VFW to celebrate his birthday, a twist brings him and his war buddies together with a young girl pursued by a violent gang.
It’s up to them to defend their post once more and maybe, for the last time.
VFW delivers a grindhouse tale with a modern feel. Starring a prolific cast and set in a dystopian society where the new drug, Hype’s taken over the city.
The movie brings together Stephen Lang (Don’t Breathe, Avatar), William Sadler (Bill & Ted, Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight), Fred Williamson (From Dusk till Dawn), David Patrick Kelly (Twin Peaks), Martin Kove (Rambo, Karate Kid), and George Wendt (Cheers).
Like with most grindhouse films, the story is simple and immediately throws you into a chaotic world. VFW takes no time and holds no punches in showing you (in gory fashion) just how little life costs in this world.
Our story starts with Boz (Travis Hammer), a spiked-jacket-wearing drug lord who learns from his henchmen that someone’s moved into his territory. Deciding to skip town, he tricks one fiend in killing themselves in pursuit of his drug.
Little did he realize, that fiends’ sister, Lizard (Sierra McCormick), would take revenge by stealing his remaining product and running to a local VFW. There, she runs into Fred and his friends and the rest is a nonstop violent massacre.
When you put on a grindhouse movie, you hope for one thing: violent and excessive death scenes. VFW delivers on that, tenfold. The film hits all the right marks: Head explosions, impalements, and brutal stabbings.
It’s hard to keep track of the body count since every other scene includes some form of a bloody end. Everything was done with practical effects, giving the film just the right look.
There’s little-to-no CGI used here and it shows. A young soldier obliterates one of the fiends skull into tiny fragments with just his knee and you can’t help but feel vindicated.
It’s that explosive visual that makes these films as immersive as they are.
With an extremely high body count, the meat of the story gets nonsensical. It’s a staple of grindhouse films. The film switched off between semi-serious and extremely silly, and in doing so, VFW had a few jarring scenes.
There’s one scene in particular where Lizard has a tense interaction with Fred that’s supposed to motivate him, but I was just left wondering why her speech would matter at all.
A Vietnam veteran wouldn’t need a random strangers words to motivate him back to victory.
Despite the great cast, there wasn’t much of a back story to work with. One is a loudmouth, another is a car salesmen, one a stoner, and everyone drinks like no tomorrow.
The antagonists were equally as thin. The villains were generic, run of the mill bad guys.
Fred and his team were able to make quick work of them nearly every time they tried invading. VFW didn’t need unpredictability as long as the death scenes were vibrant and horrendous.
A real sense of foreboding comes with the score and color design. Steve Moore’s original score really slams home the retro aesthetic. It’s easy to hear the John Carpenter influence throughout the film.
Moments of heavy metal were thrown in but it was minimal enough to not overshadow the synth work. The dark use of red and purple was a common theme throughout each scene.
Characters and locations bathed in neon red helped add to the hellish scenarios.
VFW did its duty in delivering a brutal tale of what happens when you test a veterans code and honor. The quick run time lets you easily digest this without feeling bloated.
If you’re in the mood for some bloody gore, this one is right for you. VFW is available on VOD everywhere.
