Choke Canyon (1986)

Director:

Charles Bail

Writers:

Ovidio G. Assonitis (writer)
Alfonso Brescia (writer)

Release Date:

1 August 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A "cowboy"-scientist is fighting a corporation who wants to dump atomic waste on a piece of land he has leased.

Plot Keywords:

Canyon | Toxic Waste | Motor Home | Scientist | Utah

Cast

Stephen Collins	...	Dr. David Lowell
Janet Julian	...	Vanessa Pilgrim
Bo Svenson	...	Capt. Oliver Parkside
Lance Henriksen	...	Brook Alastair
Nicholas Pryor	...	John Pilgrim
Victoria Racimo	...	Rachel
Robert F. Hoy	...	Buck
Walter Robles	...	Jim
Kurt Woodruff	...	Crane
Mark Baer	...	Orrin
Michael Flynn	...	Governor
Sherry Sailer	...	Mrs. Pilgrim
Alan Gregory	...	Pilgrim's secretary
Michael Phenicie	...	Security guard #1 (as Michael Gates)
Marc Di Nunzio	...	Security guard #2

Also Known As:

On Dangerous Ground (UK)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Dead Horse Point State Park - State Highway 313, Moab, Utah, USA

Company:

Brouwersgracht Investments

Soundtrack:

Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)

Overlooked 80's action flick.

Stephen Collins has an interesting, quirky role to play here in the form of "cowboy physicist" David Lowell. Lowell is determined to see if his big idea can be proved: turning sound waves into safe, usable energy. He's timing his experiment to coincide with the latest visit from Halley's Comet. The trouble is, a big corporation named Pilgrim thinks the location he's using, the "Choke Canyon" of the title, is perfect for their purposes: disposing of their toxic waste. What they don't expect is for this character to turn Mr. Action Hero on them and become such a nuisance, but that's exactly what Lowell does.

"Choke Canyon" makes for pretty good escapist entertainment. You need not exercise your brain watching this one; it's just straightforward, energetic fun, combining sci-fi, action, and a Western in an enjoyably quick-paced way. Director Chuck Bail certainly has a way with action, having perfected his craft as a stuntman and stunt co-ordinator for a number of years and directed such previous films as "Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold" and "The Gumball Rally". So as you can expect, the stunts are expertly performed, particularly the aerial stunts. The scenery is wonderful and the cinematography & camera-work are very impressive. The film barely takes a breath and delivers solid thrills for a good 1.5 hours and change. And that music score by Sylvester Levay is simply incredible!

Collins is clearly enjoying playing his part, and it's refreshing to have a hero who's not 100% squeaky clean; he does what he has to do to gain the upper hand. (As he points out at the outset, he's a stubborn person.) The smoking hot Janet Julian plays an appealingly spunky female lead whose ideals are similar to his and helps him in his fight against Pilgrims' assortment of thugs. Bo Svenson plays the main thug, a dude named "The Captain" who's an amusingly formidable foe who does get embarrassed a few times on the way. Victoria Racimo is a little under-used as Lowells' colleague, but both Lance Henrikson and Nicholas Pryor are good as stereotyped nasty corporate villains.

One has to like a hero with a faithful horse and pet goat (!) that travel with him, and it's a good time to watch him take on his enemy. This may not be a particularly memorable B movie, but it's well made and quite watchable for the duration.

8/10