Siege

Siege (1983)

Runtime: 84 minutes

Directed by: Paul Donovan/Maura O'Connell

Starring: A bunch of random Canadians, the actor who played Hollis in My Bloody Valentine being the only one I recognized

From: Salter Street Films International

If you ever wanted to see an incredibly low-budget version of Assault on Precinct 13... truthfully, I first heard of this film years ago yet despite a nice HD print (courtesy of Severin) being available on Shudder for months now, it was just yesterday that I finally took the plunge... a plunge which should have been taken far sooner. That is despite the horrifying realization that hardly anything needed to be changed in a theoretical remake if one were to ever happen.

What I mean is, the villains are... right-wing extremists, complete with a stockpile of weapons, a proclamation of “we say things everyone else is afraid to!” and offensive opinions of homosexuals. During a police strike in Halifax, Nova Scotia (the film uses an actual newscast of an actual strike in the city that happened in '81) that group of A-holes goes into a gay bar to be vile trolls. Things escalate so the group's leader goes lethal, but one person escapes and runs into a random apartment complex. Thus, a group of friends-TWO of whom are blind-protect this stranger from the brutes. They have the sort of weapons you see in militias, but what a stroke of luck that our heroes are able to create hilarious makeshift weapons and at homes execute a lethal version of Home Alone in dispatching these fascist A-holes. 

For a movie of its time, the attitude towards homosexuals was surprisingly sympathetic. No one was a caricature. Of course the acting wasn't always great and there are some absurdities. Be that as it may, I still had a lot of fun with this grimy and gritty picture where the violence had a brutal impact, the barren streets of Halifax were rather haunting and the apartment was as seedy as expected. As silly as it may be at times and as dopey as some character decisions are, overall Siege greatly entertained me due to the characters, the visceral nature of the film, the synth score and the cast including both a random actor who I'll describe as PSYCHOTIC WILLIE AAMES and the guy who played Hollis in My Bloody Valentine-Keith Knight.

Incidentally, this is also known as a few other titles. Self Defense is rather obvious but I can't quite figure out why in West Germany it was... New York 1991. I have no explanation.