EitoMan I am a 40+ year fan & connoisseur of exploitation movies. Call them whatever you like...schlock, trash-cinema, psychotronic films...it doesn't matter. I've literally watched thousands of these type movies, including nearly every notorious Italian cannibal film as well as plenty of rape-revenge flicks. Savage Streets is the rare exception in that I found it so genuinely distasteful that I regret watching it.In many superficial ways, Savage Streets is a typical 80s violent gang-action film. It's got some decent talent in front of the camera and a lead (Linda Blair) with a recognizable name. It's shot well enough for the B-movie that it is. But behind all the artifice of a generic violent movie, the screenwriter/director went out of his way to absolutely revel in sexual assault.Sexual assault was, unfortunately, a major trope in countless 70s & 80s exploitation films. It was not uncommon in major studio productions either. I've seen it plenty of times, and I admit, I don't like it. Generally speaking, most of these genre films use rape to amp up the sleaze and provide the protagonist some motivation. Personally, I think this was both distasteful and lazy...but hey, that's just me.Savage Streets, takes things to a different level. The rape scene is extremely drawn out, very cruel, and perpetrated against a character that is portrayed as very sheltered, vulnerable, and disabled (mute). And it's not even just a rape scene--it's a gang rape...and it goes on forever.Besides the rape, the film is replete with other instances of violence specifically targeted towards women including sexual assault and murder (of a pregnant woman). This is all done in service of setting up the "revenge" element of the movie.When I say that the "revenge" element is weak, I'm not lying. Whereas the rape scene was played out graphically, the ONE SCENE with Linda Blair getting "revenge" is shockingly tame (given that this is an exploitation film) and also brief. The film is very unbalanced in that the "revenge" seems a half-hearted afterthought that is only included in order to justify the gratuitous graphic depiction of violence towards women.I'm not Puritan by any stretch. I've watched plenty of sick stuff. But Savage Streets seems to really revel in glorifying violence towards women in a way that crosses a big boundary (for me). It doesn't do it because it's taboo, it really comes across as the writer/director really being a twisted person.

chribren "Savage Streets" is a Grindhouse/Action movie from 1984, directed by Danny Steinmann.Basic plot: A group of tough girls, lead by Brenda (Linda Blair), are walking out in slutty-looking clothes at night, when Brenda's deaf-and-mute sister Heather gets hit by a car driven by the Scars (a gang of bad boys). Heather is okay, but the other girls get mad at the boys.In one fine school day, Heather gets gang raped by the Scars, and badly hurt. Later on one of the boys throws Brenda's best friend Francine off a bridge and kill her. And Brenda is soon to get to know the truth.This film is no doubt one of the best Grindhouse action movies of the 80s I've seen. The film really seems to have taken inspirations from some other revenge-flicks like Eastwood-, Bronson, or Pam Grier-movies of the 70s, the film is just a little bit more brutal. Here Linda Blair really kicks ass as the girl gang leader Brenda, especially during the climatic revenge sequence. The soundtrack is somewhat cool as well. But the gang rape scene is somewhat graphic and might be disturbing to some viewer. Oh, let's not forget there are several scenes of full female nudity as well.The Danish DVD version I have is completely uncut and runs for 93 full minutes. Thankfully I was in Copenhagen on vacation and bought this film. Recommended if you like Grindhouse action movies with revenge as the theme on the film. I give this film a well deserved 10/10.An another Grindhouse classic from the 80s to be honorable mentioned includes Mark Lester's "Class of 1984".

ObscureCinema101 As part of my "revenge-movie-catch-up," I knew that I HAD to see SAVAGE STREETS. Not only did this have glowing reviews from exploitation fans, but it looked totally amazing as well! Brenda is the toughest girl in her high school who usually goes out with her posse and her sweet, deaf younger sister for some fun. One night, they decide to get back at a gang called the Scars (whom have been hassling them) by jacking their car and then filling it with garbage. The Scars respond by gang-raping Brenda's sister and throwing her pregnant and bride-to-be best friend off a bridge. Brenda decides it's time to adopt the principle of "an eye for an eye," loads up her crossbow, and goes out for some payback.SAVAGE STREETS is classic exploitation at its finest. It has the standard formula (first hour is building on characters, last half hour is payback) and does it very well. This was during Linda Blair's "exploitation days," where it seemed this Oscar-nominated actress would take just about any role as long as the pay was good. I think she did a great job with the role, which surprised me because of how innocent she usually looks (one of my complaints about HELL NIGHT (1981) was that she looked "too Cherubian"). John Vernon makes an appearance as the tough as nails and completely AWESOME principal and spews the classic line about what the gang should do with an iceberg. The actors who play the gang are all over-the-top, but they do come across as despicable people and that's really all that matters.However, my problem here is my problem with most revenge movies: they just wait too long to get to the payback (and awesome) part. But trust me; considering how great that last half hour was, the wait was worth it. A lot of people complain about how a lot of that hour is high school drama where the boyfriend of the head cheerleader keeps hitting on Brenda, but I thought that was all really entertaining (the head cheerleader is just as despicable as the gang members, in my opinion).It's no surprise this was directed by Danny Steinmann, a porn director, because of the abundance of female nudity in it. It was completely unnecessary, yet thankfully, it doesn't really make the film drag like in other movies (THE INVISIBLE MANIAC). The film also features Marcia Karr in a role before she played Rhonda in the phenomenal KILLER WORKOUT (1987) as one of Brenda's friends, as well as everyone's favorite eighties scream queen, Linnea Quigley, as Heather.Even the soundtrack to this movie kicks all sorts of butt, with loads of classic eighties tunes, including the unforgettable "Justice for One." The protagonists are all likable and I really didn't want any of them to die, and as previously stated, the antagonists were all very unlikable and just itching to get an arrow through the throat.SAVAGE STREETS isn't perfect (it skims the surface of being that, though), but there's no arguing that this is a great exploitation movie. Loaded with over-the-top violence, gratuitous nudity, entertaining characters (John Vernon, baby!), likable characters, good suspense, a fast pace, and a great soundtrack. Yes sir, they just don't make 'em like they used to.Essential viewing for everyone.

TheExpatriate700 A brutal street gang, the Scars, is terrorizing the neighborhood, drug dealing, raping, and killing. Now they must answer to Linda Blair-and her crossbow! Savage Streets represents one of the more feminist offerings in the vigilante action genre. Blair's character, Brenda, is the leader of a "good" street gang that finds itself confronted with the above mentioned Scars. After a series of brutal incidents, including her sister's rape and a murder, Brenda has no choice but to exterminate the Scars.The film is at its best when it focuses on the street action and revenge elements. The violence at some points is genuinely brutal-particularly the rape scene-and Blair's character uses some genuinely grisly methods for revenge. Although Blair won a Golden Raspberry for her role in this film, she actually does a reasonably good job, demonstrating a sadistic amusement at dispatching her victims.The film's main flaw is a tendency to spend too much time on the high school lives of Blair and her friends, including a tiresome subplot about Blair's blonde upper class rival. When people rent a movie called Savage Streets, they want vigilante action, not a Porky's retread.Furthermore, aside from Blair and Linnea Quigley, most of the acting is pretty bad. Blair's friends come across as racial and ethnic stereotypes, while the Scars are depicted with an unintentional-and hilarious-homosexual overtone. Aside from the fact that they dress like escapees from a leather bar, their dialogue seems rife with gay double entendres.Nevertheless, if you fast forward through the high school low points, you'll get a decent genre action film.