Schlock and Awful: Turning up the heat

John Liu was the New York Ninja in 1984, and thanks to the folks at Vinegar Syndrome, he is the New York Ninja today.
imdb.com

John Liu was the New York Ninja in 1984, and thanks to the folks at Vinegar Syndrome, he is the New York Ninja today.
Let’s get straight down to the nitty and the gritty:
“Raw Force,” aka “Kung Fu Cannibals” (1982) has got it all. It’s difficult to encapsulate the majesty, but here goes: There’s a Pacificisland with cannibal monks who only eat shapely young women. They trade jade for shapely young women with a fat German who’s named Speer and has the last toothbrush moustache in the world. Add the wacky crew and customers of a cut-rate ocean liner, zombie martial arts warriors, a heaping helping of gratuitous nekkidity, continuous mayhem and absolutely zero plot to get in the way of the story, stir briskly, and you’ve got “Raw Force.” With Cameron Mitchell as the grumpy ship captain and the immortal Vic Diaz as the main monk.
Here’s a real oddball entry. “New York Ninja,” (1984/2021), a sprightly tale of a kung fu vigilante and the brainchild of John Liu, was shot in 1984 and never made it to post-production. Decades later the people at Vinegar Syndrome, a purveyor of the finer things in dreck, got hold of the footage and managed to get it into screenable form, despite handicaps such as no audio, no script, and no idea what the hell it was about or who all these people were. The only reason it came to the attention of the Bad Cinema desk is that the world’s greatest kung fu female, Cynthia Rothrock, was hired to do voiceover work for one of the characters.
We’ll have a future edition of S&A devoted to Rothrock.
The result warrants more than one paragraph, a rarity in S&A. We’ve got multiple villains, many wearing silly masks. One main villain with a melty face from his habit of looking into a box full of plutonium. Group of kids who overwhelm both bad guys and cops with cuteness. Kung fu badminton net. Ninja vs. maitre d’ with rattail that he sucks on while fighting. Enough gratuitous nekkidity to be going on with. The worst martial arts displays this side of “Fungicide.” Only the faintest hint of plot to get in the way of the story. An outstanding effort all around.

“Sugar Hill” (1974) answers the question “What happens when the mob bumps off a lady’s boyfriend and she’s friends with voodoo people?” Answer: One by one the gang members are knocked off in uniquely hideous ways. Marki Bey does a pretty fair Pam Grier imitation. The zombies are the traditional, slow-moving type. In an unusual twist, the zombies are covered in cobwebs, which suggests they need to get out more. Severed chicken foot attack. Death by many many snakes. Death by quicksand. Zombie massage parlor. Zombie rhythm section. Perfunctory nekkidity we could have done without. Add completely blatant rip-offs of James Bond music and voila! It’s the poor man’s “Live and Let Die.”
Speaking of Pam Grier, one of her lesser-known efforts is “Sheba Baby” (1975), the stirring tale of a woman who takes revenge on the loan sharking hoods who destroyed her father’s legal loan sharking business. No gratuitous nekkidity, a grave flaw, but the car wash scene makes up for it. We’ve got a bad guy who looks like the young Al Sharpton dressed in carpet remnants. Lots of gunplay as opposed to kung fu. An extended fairground scene that gets filed under “Why yes we have permission to film here.” A fairly humdrum affair, all told.
Let’s wrap this up with “Red Star Rising” (1994), a Don “The Dragon” Wilson vehicle that also features the immortal Mako. This brings us to the Iron Law of Martial Arts Flicks: “If it has Mako, you must watch.” Japanese/American cop comes to LA to hunt bad guy. Cop endures many bad jokes about Japanese people. Bad guy specializes in a fatal kung fu move called the Death Touch. Plenty of mayhem and a touch of gratuitous nekkidity. Gnomic utterances, such as “Fate has pitted Thomas against this assassin” and “When day meets night only one can survive.” And, of course, the Death Touch, which isn’t as good as its counterpart in “Kill Bill” but it’ll do.
The HVRHS boys rejoice around Jackson McAvoy after he scored the game-winning goal against Shepaug with just two minutes left to play.
WASHINGTON — Housatonic Valley Regional High School’s boys varsity soccer team advanced to the Berkshire League tournament final after a 1-0 win over Shepaug Valley High School in the semifinal game on Friday, Oct. 24.
Jackson McAvoy scored the game-winning goal with just two minutes remaining.
The victory marked HVRHS boys soccer’s first victory over Shepaug since 2020.
“Finally,” said HVRHS Coach Adolfo Portillo after the game.
HVRHS will play top-ranked Nonnewaug High School in the BL final. Nonnewaug advanced to the title game by beating Northwestern Regional High School in penalty kicks (4-3) after a 2-2 draw in regulation time.
The championship game will be played at Nonnewaug beginning at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28.

Weatogue Stables has an opening: for a full time team member. Experienced and reliable please! Must be available weekends. Housing a possibility for the right candidate. Contact Bobbi at 860-307-8531.
Hector Pacay Service: House Remodeling, Landscaping, Lawn mowing, Garden mulch, Painting, Gutters, Pruning, Stump Grinding, Chipping, Tree work, Brush removal, Fence, Patio, Carpenter/decks, Masonry. Spring and Fall Cleanup. Commercial & Residential. Fully insured. 845-636-3212.
SNOW PLOWING: Be Ready! Local. Sharon/Millerton/Lakeville area. Call 518-567-8277.
PUBLISHER’S NOTICE: Equal Housing Opportunity. All real estate advertised in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1966 revised March 12, 1989 which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color religion, sex, handicap or familial status or national origin or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination. All residential property advertised in the State of Connecticut General Statutes 46a-64c which prohibit the making, printing or publishing or causing to be made, printed or published any notice, statement or advertisement with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, age, lawful source of income, familial status, physical or mental disability or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.

Students dressed in neon lined the soccer field for senior night under the lights on Thursday, Oct. 16. The game against Lakeview was the last in a series of competitions Thursday night in celebration of Homecoming 2025.
As homecoming week reaches its end and fall sports finish out the season, an air of school spirit and student participation seems to be on the rise across Housatonic Valley Regional High School.
But what can be attributed to this sudden peak of student interest? That’s largely due to SGA. Also known as the Student Government Association, SGA has dedicated itself to creating events to bring the entire student body together. This year, they decided to change some traditions.
Spirit week from Oct. 14-17 was unlike those of the previous years. From wearing Housatonic merch to Boomer vs Baby day, this year’s spirit week held a little friendly competition to see which grade could participate the most.
“I think that students are bored of the same old activities and events, so it’s good to switch things up even slightly to incentivize interest within students,” said SGA president and senior Mollie Ford. “Plus the point system is super beneficial because it gives students a reason to participate.”
The school spirit sentiment can be seen outside of just the school. Senior Simon Markow is known for his photography throughout the community, and has dedicated time to help Housy sports teams’ social media posts.
“Since I’ve started photography, I think school attendance [at sports games] has gone up,” Markow said. “I feel this year, students will be more aware of games and are more likely to be at the games.”
Whether it’s a pink-out volleyball game or an under the lights soccer match, it’s likely you’ll see some familiar faces.
Social media has played a large role in this over the years. Almost every student organization at Housatonic has an Instagram account, and it’s helped reach students more efficiently than a poster or email would.
“The increase of social media use, with the help from me but as well as the teams themselves has definitely increased student interest,” Markow said. “With Housy teams posting more about their upcoming games, and my help showing the cool goals, spikes, or touchdowns, it’s enlightened students to watch the games themselves.”
In a small school, promoting pride has proven to be a challenge. But this year’s senior class has made some adjustments in the hopes to change that.
“The SGA community has spent the last few years really focusing on student participation, because we think it’s the students who contribute to a better climate,” Ford said. While Housatonic’s student body may be small in size, it seems they certainly aren’t small in spirit.