The ’80s were good for slasher movies. One could argue that it was the cinematic age of such films as each studio tried to mimic the success of John Carpenter’s Halloween that came out in 1978. Columbia Pictures was no exception and released Silent Rage (1982) starring the martial arts champion Chuck Norris.
The film, now streaming free on Roku Channel stars the black belt stuntman during his rise to fame as a cinematic action force. Norris had already made his mark in low-budget drive-in theater fodder such as Breaker! Breaker! (1977), Good Guys Wear Black (1978), and The Octagon (1980).
In 1982 Norris released Silent Rage in which he plays a sheriff Dan Stevens who goes up against an unstoppable killer in a jumpsuit who never speaks. Obviously this is a loose rip-off of Carpenter’s classic with the addition of some pretty glorious martial arts stunts.
But don’t call it a copycat slasher to director Michael Miller’s face. He says it was never his intention. “I’m not a fan of those. When I read [the script], I thought that it was Frankenstein. That’s what I was heading towards. We’ll have the mad scientists bringing this guy back to life. Chuck will have to try to apprehend him.”
The public might have another opinion though. The plot, although technically science fiction, follows the slasher trope almost beat for beat. A man named John Kirby who has some mental health issues kills the owners of the house in which he is living. Sheriff Stevens arrives on scene and in a bit that is strangely familiar to Laurie Strode’s final confrontation (slo-mo second-story window stunt) with Michael Myers in Halloween, manages to subdue the maniac with several gunshots to his chest.
Nearly dead, Kirby is injected with an experimental serum developed by a team of scientists that will allow his cells to regenerate making him invulnerable. Kirby, dressed in a greyish jumpsuit then goes on a killing spree throughout the Texas town with the Sheriff on his tail.
The similarities to Halloween don’t stop there. Kirby, in silhouette even looks like Michael Myers from a distance. Even though he doesn’t wear a mask his facial features resemble Myers’ in an uncanny valley way.
Even the music as good as it is by Peter Bernstein and Mark Goldenberg seems Carpenteresque with fast tempo electro beats and non-complicated orchestrations.
As for the movie itself, it’s pretty great. Who doesn’t want to see an alternate universe where Dr. Loomis drop-kicks an entire barroom of customers, or the legendary Ron Silver gets chased around a house like Laurie Strode with a beard? It’s the kitschiest of ideas but there’s never a dull moment.
And you can’t go wrong with a Chuck Norris B-movie. He takes it all so seriously with his dramatic facial expressions and exquisite jiu-jitsu action movies with punctuated ADR sound effects. It’s not as great as Halloween, but it’s an excellent dupe.
The only problem is the film, like Halloween, sets us up for a sequel, but sadly we never got one.
Silent Rage is the perfect party movie for anyone who likes their slashers mixed with a little sci-fi. It might make a great double feature if you pair it with Leigh Whannell’s Upgrade.
