Fleshburn (1984)

I love this movie so much

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Best movie of this year hands down!

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Cheapo film that manages some suspense. However, it's too uneven to fulfill the premise. Three men and a woman are left to die in the searing Arizona desert. Their crime is having institutionalized a crazed Navajo Vietnam vet. Now he wants revenge, and just as importantly, show that his "medicine" is stronger than the white man's.Though the acting is better than expected, the survival element comes and goes. The early part, where Sam shows how to get food, water, and keep cool by digging holes, amounts to an interesting survival manual. The trouble is many other logical precautions are implausibly lacking, like covering bare skin in the sun or seeking shade while talking. Then too, Sam seems to get stronger as the movie progresses, which makes little sense given the draining heat. That, plus a meandering narrative, doesn't help. Frankly, events appear to have been made up on the fly, maybe as the budget or conditions permitted. As a result, a finely adapted musical score is also largely wasted.Too bad, because at times the film shows genuine promise. But a basic lack of coherent narrative and thematic development undercuts that promise. For a more riveting tale of desert survival, catch Robert Ryan in Inferno (1953).

Though it's far from a classic, Fleshburn is also far from being a complete failure--in fact, it's a good example of what can be achieved by filmmakers with limited resources. Sonny Landham stars as Vietnam vet Calvin Duggai, a PTSD sufferer sent to a mental institution on the advice of four psychiatrists. Calvin escapes, kidnaps the four responsible for his confinement, and dumps them in the desert, where he hopes they will swiftly expire from exposure to the elements. He hasn't figured on the resourceful of Sam McKenzie (Dallas regular Steve Kanaly), who takes charge of the group and attempts to lead them to safety. Fleshburn benefits from a lean screenplay which catapults us immediately into the action as well as a surprisingly good score by Arthur Kempel, which avoids most of the clichéd cues rampant in films of the time and utilizes REAL instruments instead of drum machines and Casiotone rhythms. Landham, usually cast as either a heavy or a stud, is effectively malevolent as Duggai (check out his evil grin towards the end of the picture), Kanaly is quite good as the hero, and the film even has time for two gay characters who are neither aberrant nor evil. Overall, Fleshburn is a surprisingly good film that exceeded my (admittedly low) expectations.

This one of the most boring movies i have ever seen!. Nothing happens, until the final 15 to 20 minutes!, it's basically just people wandering around, screaming and arguing, there is hardly any action, just lots of boring dialog, with unlikable characters, and a pretty uninteresting main villain.I got this on a 8 horror movie 2 disc set. I don't really have anything more to say, about this, god awful film. The Direction is terrible!. George Gage, does a terrible job here, with a boring location, terrible camera work and most importantly the pace is extremely boring!. There is a tiny bit of blood, a few bloody gunshot wounds, bloody stabbing, gory bird attack. The Acting is not good at all. Sonny Landham, is bad here, he is uninteresting, and seemed bored, i like the guy, but his performance here was terrible. Steve Kanaly, is okay but nothing great as the main hero,and was the best of the lot. Karen Carlson, is annoying, here, and very unlikable.Same goes Macon McCalman Overall Avoid like the plague! BOMB out of 5

Sonny Landham portrays a confrontational Vietnam veteran who is wrongfully sent to an institution. He eventually escapes, Hell bent on revenge against those responsible for having him locked away. These folks are rounded up like cattle, bound and gagged, and left in the middle of the desert with no shoes or provisions. In the face of their quandary, they quarrel ceaselessly with one another, growing ever weaker in the elements as the crazed madman watches from the distance. Nothing to sing high praises about, but it manages to remain variably suspenseful and resourcefully appointed on an obviously skimpy per-diem. For such a picayune effort, it's not a complete toss-out, but it definitely could have benefited from a stronger denouement. Despite being a somewhat neutered thriller, FLESHBURN is still one of the more professional offerings from the bozos at Crown International Pictures...which, of course, isn't saying much. 4/10