Michael Dudikoff is released from prison after killing a man who had murdered his wife. He embarks on a trip to a rural area inhabited by rednecks, armed with his super weapon—a sniper shotgun. After a short while, he finds himself in conflict with the local rednecks. Then, one day, his daughter pays him a visit, and chaos ensues when something happens to her.
“Blastfighter” is an Italian exploitation movie that heavily borrows from “First Blood” (1982) and Deliverance (1972). The creepy banjo player is also in this movie playing his creepy banjo!
I rented many of these Italian exploitation movies on VHS in the 80s, and I remember enjoying quite a few of them. My excuse is that I was young and foolish at the time.
“Blastfighter” is an entertaining movie because it’s so bad, and the editing is laughable. The entire movie is absurd, but it gains charm when the protagonist is harassed by the town’s rednecks, who all seem to share a single brain cell. In that regard, they behave like the stereotypical American. Ouch!
The protagonist bears a resemblance to Michael Dudikoff and Sean William Scott. He and the town have a history, and the man running the town is the brother of one of the many rednecks who harass him. They are sort of friends, but the big brother will protect his stupid little brother if the protagonist tries to take him out.
If someone walks into the room while you’re watching “Blastfighter,” you’ll likely feel embarrassed about being caught enjoying this endearingly terrible movie. I found myself laughing several times due to its awful dubbing, bad dialogue, and shoddy editing. I particularly loved the rednecks who collectively share a single brain cell; it’s akin to watching Bugs Bunny being pursued by an entire town of Elmer Fudds.
The most disappointing aspect of the movie is that the protagonist doesn’t use his super sniper shotgun until the final 10 minutes. This weapon is so absurdly powerful and magical that it can turn night into day when looking through its scope and has a zoom feature controller resembling a calculator watch.
If you’re a fan of bad movies that are so nonsensical you can’t look away, thanks to the characters’ absurd behavior and terrible dialogue, then “Blastfighter” is definitely worth a watch. It’s quite astonishing that it’s more charming and entertaining than many modern movies, which says something about the state of filmmaking these days.