Movie

Bloodfist IV: Die Trying (1992)

This 1990s action flick stars Don “The Dragon” Wilson, a B-movie regular who often headlined mid-budget productions. Several of his films featured female villains, though most were forgettable. The henchwomen were usually defeated easily with little screen time, so this entry in the Bloodfist series is a welcome exception.

The plots of the six entries are mostly unconnected. This one has Wilson’s character, a repo man called Danny, pursued by criminals after he repossesses a car containing a box of Easter chocolates. The villains really want their property back, so they show up at Danny’s office and massacre his colleagues. No, these guys aren’t worried about snacks, but want the nuclear triggers hidden inside.

Various people take an interest in Danny, including the police, the FBI, and two shady CIA agents with their own agenda. The storyline then becomes confusing with the various groups working against each other, and many people impersonating someone else.

Villainess

Lisa (Cat Sassoon)

One of those charades involves a woman masquerading as a babysitter. Danny thinks she’s harmless until he discovers the body of the real babysitter in a closet. This leads to the first fight sequence between Wilson and Sassoon. The martial artist villainess switches between kicks and uses improvised weapons. Eventually, the two fighters wrestle over a hot electrical hob, which burns Lisa’s wrist, and Danny knocks her out.

Then the police show up and assume Danny is the bad guy. Lisa takes advantage and kicks the gun out of his hands. He’s able to escape with an acrobatic dive through a window before the woman takes out the shell-shocked cops with lethally accurate headshots. As introductions go, it’s impressive.

Disappointingly, Lisa vanishes after that encounter, and most of the middle act revolves around Danny’s attempts to evade the authorities and track down the bad guys. Several B-movie stars appear, including James Tolkan (Mr Strickland from Back to the Future) and Gary Daniels.

When Lisa returns, she’s dressed in a suitably evil black outfit and smokes a cigarette. Cat Sassoon comes across as menacing, so it’s unfortunate the actress died at a young age. Lisa shows her ruthlessness after two henchmen recover the wrong box of chocolates. Instead of her fists, the villainess uses a switchblade to cut the throats of the lackeys with one swipe.

After that double execution, it’s the restaurant finale. Lisa tries to kill a woman Danny’s working with, but her burn marks give her away, and the villainess gets sprayed with mace before she can strike. After Danny destroys the triggers (which really annoys the bad guys), he encounters Lisa for the last time. In a one-sided affair, she pummels him with kicks, including a rather painful one to the crotch!

Promising, until Danny turns the tables and knocks Lisa out in bland and unimpressive fashion. A disappointing end, but Lisa’s screen presence and the babysitter fight land her a ranking spot.

Honourable Mentions: Bloodfist Series

Bloodfist VI: Ground Zero (1995) – Tori (Cat Sassoon)

Cat played another villainess in the series: a traitor officer working with terrorists to steal – you guessed it – nuclear weapons. Don Wilson’s character is a military courier who must stop them. Viewers hoping for a repeat of Cat’s impressive displays in IV will be disappointed. No martial arts, which is a waste, but this woman is ruthless and trigger-happy.

After Wilson thins the terrorist ranks, Tori gains the upper hand by equipping night vision goggles and shooting a power relay. This plunges the underground bunker into deep red as emergency lights come on. A clever tactic, but it makes the action scenes difficult to follow until Wilson outsmarts the henchwoman by blinding her. Once again, he knocks Cat’s character out with a single punch, and it’s not even on screen.

Moving Target (2000) – Kate (Lisa Duane)

Bloodfist IV was remade and set in Ireland, with all the picturesque scenery that implies. This could be called a copy, with identical situations and dialogue to the original. Many elements are familiar: an overweight detective, a CIA agent duo, and a staff room massacre. Wilson is a tourist caught up in events when he purchases a six-pack of beer. Want to guess what’s hidden inside?

The bad guys aren’t as memorable, with an unknown replacing Gary Daniels and the redhead Kate instead of Lisa. She’s an inferior martial artist, and only impresses in the double execution by knife scene. Yes, that’s repeated here too. Her opening fight – in disguise as a hotel maid – is over in a minute with barely any combat. Her final encounter with Wilson is not much better, and we get a single knockout blow even tamer than Lisa’s.