User Reviews

Let it be said that I love good B Movies. Doc Savage, The Phantom, Buckaroo Banzai. I think this is where that movie belongs. This isn't Grade A material. Could it be described as an existentialist Pulp Fiction? There's enough shooting, and it gets strange in a time-shifting, SciFi way.

I thoroughly enjoyed it as a B Movie. I saw the premier at the 1999 San Diego ComiCon, and as I said, enjoyed it thoroughly.

Basic Story: shifty detective type (Lens Savage, presumably from the Ozarks) is hired to recover a coin, the ownership of which bestows the ownership of Hong Kong. Turns out the guy who hires him is is evil in more than a mental sense. The coin is also much more than it seems (surprise surprise). Filmed entirely on location in San Diego, CA and Hell with amusing fight sequences, very good martial arts, and no rubber mask villains (as far as I can recall).

Soundtrack was excellent (I presume it was done by San Diego talent) as was sound quality. Absolutely flawless copy for a premier. I only wished the producer/director had stuck around for Q&A: they showed the film, he took his applause, and scooted.

The best endorsement I can give it is that I would be perfectly happy to add it to my collection and even show it to some people now and again.

One minor spoiler: if the film seems too short and the plot unfulfilled when the credits appear, keep your butt in your seat. It goes on.

=========== Possible plot spoilers ahead! ===========

Ozark Savage is a fun movie with enough originality to set it apart from others. Where else can you have a guy who finds a mystical coin giving him full control of Hong Kong, then gets sent to Hell to face Satan? Getting brought back to life through a nuclear blast and getting shot are bad enough for the guy. If that wasn't enough, imagine waking up locked onto a giant metal ball! And that's only a small portion of what happens in the movie.

I doubt the budget on Ozark Savage was very much at all, however it looks quite good considering. The magical coin and the supernatural elements make the plot very enjoyable, even if the budget wasn't quite large enough to convey it's full potential at times. The style of John Woo, Quentin Tarantino, and even John Carpenter is often evident throughout the movie. The actor who plays Lens Ozark nailed the part to where it's both hilarious and serious at the same time. Let's face it...the guy doesn't really look tough, but his acting method makes it seem so for this movie.

Ozark Savage is a definite gem of low budget filmmaking. It's surely far from perfect, but very few movies really are perfect. If you can luckily find it to watch...then do yourself a favor and watch it!