Crack House (1989) User Reviews

A decent anti-drug exploitation flick.

[Hey_Sweden · 6/10 · 26 July 2015]

Rick Morales (Gregg Thomsen) and his girlfriend Melissa (Cher Butler) are two inner city kids who have the potential to escape their grim surroundings. But he blows it when he impulsively goes gunning for revenge, after his cousin is shot dead. While he's in prison, she hooks up with the charismatic B.T. (Clyde Jones), who gets her hooked on drugs. Eventually, Rick gets word of the sorry state she's in - among other things, she is acquired as "collateral" by powerful drug kingpin Steadman (Jim Brown) - and works out a deal with police detective Lt. Johnson (Richard Roundtree) to get out of prison so he can dig up some dirt on Steadman.

The script, by Blake Schaefer, is very routine, and the direction, by Michael Fischa, is largely uninspired. Still, there's something to savour about these trashy "message" potboiler features, this one produced by the almighty Cannon Group. It does create a reasonably seedy and depressing atmosphere, due largely to some good location filming. This is a world that chews up many a young person and spits them back out, and there are characters, predictably, who don't make out too well. The violence is effective, as are the moments of sex and T & A.

Bad ass dudes Roundtree and Brown are worth watching. Roundtree doesn't exactly have to stretch himself a whole lot, but he's still cool. Brown is subtly powerful as the head bad guy. Anthony Geary of 'General Hospital' fame is cast as the well meaning teacher. Future film director F. Gary Gray ("Friday", "The Negotiator", "Law Abiding Citizen") has a tiny part as one of many gang members. Lovely Angel Tompkins does fairly well in a change of pace de-glamorized character role as Melissas' alcoholic mother. Thomsen and especially Butler are good as the kids at the centre of the story.

There's nothing special about this one, but it does entertain.

Six out of 10.

Quite Brutal in Nature

[Uriah43 · 5/10 · 30 June 2014]

"Rick Morales" (Gregg Thomsen) is a high school senior who has quit his neighborhood gang and wants out of the slums. "Melissa" (Cher Butler) is his girlfriend who also wants out and has dreams of pursuing a life in the fashion industry. Unfortunately, when Rick's cousin "Jesus" (Louis Rivera) gets killed in a drive-by shooting Rick seeks revenge and rejoins his former gang. During the attack on the rival gang he is subsequently arrested for attempted murder and put in jail awaiting trial. This leaves Melissa with no one to turn to and she is now forced to fend for herself. In no time she gets involved with a local pusher named "B.T." (Clyde Jones) who she thinks will protect her from members of Rick's old gang. Instead B.T. gets her hooked on crack cocaine and her life spirals into a living hell not long afterward as she soon becomes nothing more than a sexual commodity to him and others in the drug chain. Now, rather than reveal the rest of the story and risk spoiling the film for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this a film that is raw,sleazy and graphic. I liked the fact that Jim Brown (as "Steadman") and Richard Roundtree ("Lt. Johnson") both appeared in this movie along with the performance of Cher Butler who played her role brilliantly. I also liked the presence of Heidi Thomas ("Annie") who lent some nice scenery to an otherwise ugly atmosphere. In any case, as I stated earlier this film is quite brutal in nature and may not appeal to everyone so viewer discretion is advised. All things considered I rate the film as average.

Crack House

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 8 September 2022]

There was a whole day of director Michael Fischa's movies on the site a few years ago. He specializes in the kind of movies that video rental did best: quick, cheap and fun. Good examples of his kind of movies include Death Spa and My Mom's a Werewolf.

The big names are Richard Roundtree, who plays Johnson, a gang task force police officer, and Jim Brown as a drug dealer named Steadman. However, the real stars of the story are Rick (Greg Gomez Thomsen) and Melissa (Cheryl Kay).

Rick wants to leave Los Pochos and head off to the Air Force while Melissa has fashion design dreams. One night, Rick borrows his cousin Jesus' Chevy Nova to take Melissa on a date, but as soon as he gets the keys, The Grays pull a drive-by. Rick forgets his future and heads off for revenge and ends up getting arrested.

Rick refuses to see her; he's a criminal now and she needs a better life. She doesn't find it with Big Time (Clyde Risley Jones), who may save her from an assault but has no problem using her to pay his debts with Steadman and turning her into a crack whore. So Rick gets a plan along with Johnson. He'll infiltrate the gang, turn over the evidence and rescue his girl. And hey - as soon as I saw Anthony Geary playing a teacher, I knew from Penitentiary III that he had to be on the side of wrongdoers.

Seeing as how this brings back exploitation stars Roundtree and Brown, it should do the same for at least one female cast member, as Angel Tompkins from The Teacher and The Bees is in this. There's also an appearance - her only acting role actually - by Playboy Playmate of the Month for August 1985 Cher Butler.

It's got a great title - that's part of the selling of this movie, you see a film called Crackhouse on the shelf and gotta see it - and the cops get a battering ram in the conclusion. That's pretty much all we needed in 1989.

"G for life!"

[ManBehindTheMask63 · 5 November 2011]

Pretty sleazy exploitation flick from Cannon that has decent production values and above average action scenes. "Crackhouse" is pretty brutal and the violence is quite gritty.

Ex-Playmate of the month Cheryl Butler (credited as Cheryl Kay here) shows off her assets but also turns in a rather haunting performance. She played a strung out junkie very convincingly. The rest of the acting is typical 80's cheese and Richard Roundtree plays his usual useless cop role. "Crackhouse" is pretty brutal and the violence is quite gritty.

The best part about "Crackhouse" is that is features Jim Brown as a sleazy drug dealer who keeps women locked up in his crack house. After Brown has his way with the girls he tosses them over to his fellow drug dealers so they can perform gang rapes. Brown even tells a lady she "smells like sh*t" and that she needs to wash her a**hole. Pretty entertaining stuff.

The dialog is also amusing. During a fight with a drug dealer who strung his lady out on crack, hero Rick screams "Fu*k you, fu*ker!" before smashing the guy's head through a van window. Then he blows up the guys van and walks away (without looking at the explosion of course).

Luke from General Hospital pops up as a school teacher who happens to also be the biggest drug supplier in town (?) and forces a student to strip for a crack rock.

Check the film out if you like 80's exploitation or Cannon Films. It's entertaining and well made.

Absolutely hideous!

[bronzesrv · 1/10 · 6 November 2018]

I watch this as a teen and again in my twenties, even then I was shocked the Jim Brown would stoop so low! But his history and abuse of women in real life is almost as bad as it is in this movie. Yes a lot of people saw this movie as humorous and funny... In reality it was none of those things. It was brutal towards women, yes know it's a movie but just stating my opinion, this is not something that any young person should see. But if you do see it, hopefully it'll teach you to say no to drugs for REAL! And stay away from people that deal drugs and especially human traffickers! I read one of the reviewer said she saw it at age 9, and it scared her for life. I certainly can see how she came to that conclusion.

Revenge of the 80's: Anti-Drug exploitation classics.

[Captain_Couth · 7/10 · 3 February 2005]

Crack House (1989) was one of the few film during the 80's that falls into this genre. What's supposed to be an anti-drug film turns out to be nothing more than some white-exploitation exercise in depravity. There's nothing wrong with that however. The video presentation even has an anti-drug message from one of the stars of the show Richard "turncoat" Roundtree,

The movie follows two young lovers in high school. One of them is a quasi tough guy and the other is his girl. One of them get's turned out by a mutual friend whilst the other is given a trip to the slam and is later on given a chance to get back at his ex-friends. Jim Brown appears as the movie's "Mister Big", he's one bad dude who still can punk-out anybody and is a very sadistic guy who likes to smack his hoes and beat the tar out of those who try to defy his word. Luke from General Hospital makes a guest star spot as well.

If you like hard edge sleaze then this movie's for you. Sadly, Hollywood doesn't make these any more and when they do, it's neither exploitative nor entertaining.

Recommended for sleaze fans.

Funniest thing ever...

[tlongo · 7/10 · 1 October 2005]

I saw this movie for the first time when Quentin Tarantino showed it to a bunch of us at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin. He prefaced it with how freaking awesome he thought he was and how funny it was and in the context of his explanation, it was HILARIOUS. I can see how it would be damaging to some audiences, and the subject is not funny at all, but there are at least three lines in the film that had me laughing so hard I thought I'd pee. They don't come until after the halfway point, but when they do, oh God...you will die. Oh and Jim Brown is brilliant. He's not in a lot of the movie, but when he's there, you know whose movie it is. Naturally, the best line in the movie (and the funniest) is his; you'll know it when you hear it.

The Crack House offers a compelling mix of grindhouse and blaxploitation vibes, making it a worthwhile watch for fans of these genres

[kevin_robbins · 6/10 · 27 March 2024]

I recently viewed The Crack House (1989) on Tubi. The plot revolves around two young lovers whose lives take a dark turn when the male protagonist incurs a debt to a dangerous drug lord, resulting in him offering up his girlfriend as collateral. As the drug lord exerts his control over the young woman, her ex-boyfriend, currently incarcerated, learns of her plight and vows to do whatever it takes to rescue her.

Directed by Michael Fischa (known for Rice Girl), the film features a cast including Jim Brown (from The Running Man), Anthony Geary (from VHF), Richard Roundtree (famous for Shaft), Cher Butler, Angel Tompkins (known for The Teacher), and Gregg Thomsen (from Soultaker).

Despite its limitations, I found myself unexpectedly drawn to this film. It exudes a gritty, low-budget charm reminiscent of a blend between Snowfall and the video game Double Dragon. The gripping opening bathtub scene sets the tone effectively, while the acting, though inconsistent at times, is anchored by a standout performance from Jim Brown as the menacing drug dealer. His interactions with the female characters, though uncomfortable, underscore the film's gritty realism. The meticulously chosen sets and lively fight sequences add to the film's appeal, culminating in a satisfying conclusion.

In summary, The Crack House offers a compelling mix of grindhouse and blaxploitation vibes, making it a worthwhile watch for fans of these genres. I would give it a rating of 6.5/10 and strongly recommend it to those seeking an edgy cinematic experience.

This film is a crackup

[premont · 9/10 · 25 February 2006]

This film essentially contains all the elements of a great 70's exploitation film, except it was done in the late 80's for the direct to video market.

You have a young couple in love, but the whole world around them is involved either in crack dealing or gang violence. When the boyfriend goes to jail, the girlfriend ends up vulnerable to all the criminals, who are everyone in this movie except for the cops. First she gets hooked on crack by a dealer and then because he owes drug lord Jim Brown money, she becomes Brown's property. Then she's basically enslaved in a military style crack house that the movie is named for.

As if this isn't enough reason to see this movie, you also have Anthony Geary playing a seemingly conservative school guidance counselor, but he's really a major crack dealer. In a sleazy yet hilarious scene, he demands sexual favors from the heroine because she has no money for a fix. In an earlier scene it was established that he is her counselor. That scene and another where Jim Brown forces her to take a scalding hot shower because she stinks are hysterical. Lead actress Cheryl Kay was really good in this film. Tarantino, bring her back.

It's not surprising to me that someone mentioned in another review that Tarantino is a major fan of this. It has just the right blend of comedy, action, sex, romance, and yes a central message to stay away from drugs. Jim Brown's villainous turn here deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as another great 80's B villain, Wings Hauser in Vice Squad. Sometimes I think there should be a b movie Oscars where performances like this could be acknowledged. In the meantime let's hope that the modern straight to DVD filmmakers learn learn to use this same type of tongue in cheek humor.

About Crackhouse

[mekaatnu · 5 October 2007]

This film may have been funny in parts but overall it was wrong!I had the misfortune of seeing around age 9.It was supposed to be about a girlfriend and boyfriend that tried to escape slum life but were confronted with the harsh realities of street life-particularly gangs and drugs. I had no idea what I was getting into; and was not looking forward to it. It scarred me for life! They would have been better of just making a straight "hood" or"porno" film anyway. This subject matter here was too serious to be trivialized for sexual kicks.Also, it was bad enough that the girls were drug addicts but they were also sex slaves.Yet another topic that is far from a joke.Other films at least show female drug addicts with some agency and choice about the levels they are willing to stoop to.This film did not even do that.I also did not like the fact that the main villains were mostly black. I am not saying you do not have black men that are this cold.But people seethe black villains all the time.Law Abiding, honest, compassionate black men DO exist. You did have a Latino and White villain; but for the most part,the black men are the villains once again. Anyway, I am not one to think that all films with serious themes should never be funny or entertaining;But this was nothing but a freaky porno film masquerading as an anti-drug message film. Like school on Sunday, just nothing classy about it ;but then again this film obviously made no pretense of going for that. Fine, but this film was a trip!I can't think of any films similar to this one off the top of my head. I have stumbled across films where they have used prison films as sex exploitation films but they did not always disgust me the way this film did. In summary, this film was a hot straight to DVD mess!It gets your attention, but then again car wrecks have the sinking ability to do that too.