Take-charge Allen Shaw (a sturdy and likable performance by J.D. Rudometkin) and his more passive best friend Robert Cohen (a solid turn by Bertie Higgins) are a couple of lawyers who ride their motorcycles on the weekends. Allen and Robert find themselves neck deep in serious peril when they run afoul of vicious, but cunning psycho biker Ray (a deliciously wicked and credible portrayal by Robert Thorne) and Ray's totally unhinged drawling hick partner Billy "Bones" Eady (gleefully overplayed with eye-rolling hammy panache by Jay Wisell), who have abducted Allen and Robert's wives and force the pair to go through hell in order to get their spouses back. Director Julian Higgins, who also co-wrote the engrossing script with Larry Madill, relates the gripping story at a quick pace, builds a good amount of tension, puts a hopped-up kinetic style to genuinely exciting use, and delivers a handy helping of in-your-face gory'n'graphic violence and unflinching savagery (grisly highlights include one guy having both his hands hacked off with a hatchet and an especially juicy decapitation). Stunning brunette Jasmine Waltz burns up the screen as the foxy and enticing Cheri while Debra Hopkins bitches it up nicely as the snippy Susan. Thorne and Wisell make for entertainingly foul, nasty, and depraved villains. The last third provides plenty of riveting suspense and offers up a double of truly surprising downbeat twists. Ben Watkins' crisp cinematography gives the picture a cool slick look. The thrashing rock score likewise totally smokes. A fun flick.
Review of Poker Run
