Silent Rage (1982)

A sheriff tries to stop the killing spree of a mute maniacal murderer who, as the result of years of medical experimentation, has the ability to self-heal.

Director:

Michael Miller

Writer:

Joseph Fraley

Stars:

Chuck Norris, Ron Silver, Steven Keats

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chuck Norris	...	Sheriff Dan Stevens
Ron Silver	...	Dr. Tom Halman
Steven Keats	...	Dr. Philip Spires
Toni Kalem	...	Alison Halman
William Finley	...	Dr. Paul Vaughn
Brian Libby	...	John Kirby
Stephen Furst	...	Charlie
Stephanie Dunnam	...	Nancy Halman
Joyce Ingle	...	Mrs. Sims
Jay De Plano	...	Biker Leader (as Jay DePland)
Lillette Zoe Raley	...	Tatooed Biker Mama
Mike Johnson	...	Biker at Cafe
Linda Tatum	...	Biker Mama at Bar
Kathleen Lee	...	Biker Mama at Bar (as Kathy Lee)
Desmond Dhooge	...	Jimmy the Guard

Storyline

Dan Stevens is the sheriff of a small Texas town who checks out a disturbance which turns to murder. The killer is still in the house and he tries to kill Dan, but Dan stops him and arrests him. The killer attempts to flee, but is shot and killed and is taken to a medical institute. Three doctors, led by Dr. Philip Spires, operate on the killer and using a formula the doctors made, they bring him back to life. If that's not bad enough, the formula also made the killer indestructible. Dr. Tom Halman tries to stop the killer, but he and his wife are killed. After the two remaining doctors are killed, the killer goes after Dr. Halman's sister Alison, and it's up to Sheriff Dan Stevens to stop him.

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Plot Keywords:

doctor | sheriff | small town | murder | hospital | 

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Taglines:

He's an indestructible man fused with powers beyond comprehension. An unstoppable terror who in one final showdown, will push Chuck Norris to his limits. And beyond.

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Genres:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 April 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das stumme Ungeheuer

Filming Locations:

Dallas, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Topkick Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min (video)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some movie posters for the film featured a long blurb that read: "Science created him. Now Chuck Norris must destroy him. He's an indestructible man fused with powers beyond comprehension. An unstoppable terror who in one final showdown, will push Chuck Norris to his limits. And beyond".

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Goofs

When Charlie does the U-turn to go back to the bar, the road has obviously been wet down so the truck could skid.

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Quotes

Biker Leader: Me and my boys chew up towns like this.
Sheriff Dan Stevens: Is that so?
Biker Leader: Oh yeah!
Sheriff Dan Stevens: Then that tells me something. You've never been through this town before!
Biker Leader: What makes you so damn sure of that?
Sheriff Dan Stevens: Because this little town would ruin those pretty white teeth of yours.

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Connections

Referenced in Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape (2010)

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Soundtracks

It's the Time for Love
Music and Lyrics by Morgan Stoddard
Performed by Katey Sagal (as Katie Sagal)

User Reviews

Chuck faces the bogeyman.

A young, unstable man hacks to death the lady and man he lives with, and Texan Sheriff Dan Stevens comes face to face with the killer, to only see him gunned down by his men after he tries to escape when captured. At the hospital, he's pronounced dead, but secretly he's used in an experiment by some surgeons working on a formula to help the body genetically heal in quick succession. They thought they could control him and this development would bring them success, but now this homicidal murderer is an unstoppable killing machine and Sheriff Stevens and his rookie Deputy are on the trail.

Norris' fans might dig it, but others might find this cheap-jack b-film a boring chore. I thought it was fair. Anyhow who's the man, Chuck's the man. Not much of an actor though, but we know. He gets by with that golden blonde hair and legendary chop-suey who-ha…. And not forgetting that distinguishable fuzz above the lip. The premise is like an over-extended episode of "Walker, Texas Ranger" meets John Carpenter's "Halloween (1977)". Actually a lot scenes and filming techniques closely resemble "Halloween" and even its first sequel, but the main difference it's headed by Norrissssssss. The far-fetched concept isn't bad with slasher tones, a lady in peril get-up and a mad scientist theme, but it throws so much in that there seems to be too much useless filler (like the corny romance sequences, biker trouble (nice work in the bar Chuck, but we already know how good you are), scientific moral dilemmas and non-effective comic humour) interrupting what could've been more fun. Silly it is to begin with, but do we want to see Norris romancing, or kicking ass? These redundant acts only slowed it up and got in the way on the main story. What outweighs the film is the weakly lacking script with many clumsy dialogues. Norris even gets time to share some heart-warming advice. Director Michael Millar starts off pretty slowly, but in the second half demonstrates well-shot camera placement and steady pockets of poignant tension. The atmospheric synthesizer score seemed to work. Chuck gets his hands dirty with some gusty scuffles involving the super-human killing machine, like the modest, if unspectacular showdown with him using his jump-kicks (in slow-motion of course) and sudden close-ups to show that focuses on his face. Norris' chimes in with a stoic performance, but goes gusty when the action calls. Brian Libby's menacingly towering figure is effective. Ron Silver sticks out as the humane doctor, while William Finley goes all-smarmy as deceitfully mad doctor looking for that Nobel Prize award. Stephen Furst as the overweight, downright clueless deputy was there for the laughs, but where were they. Toni Kalem looks all-sweet as Norris old flame.