‘Action U.S.A.’ Trailer: The Explosive, Long Lost 1980s Film Is Finally Available
If you’ve seen and enjoyed ridiculous B-movies in the vein ofHard Ticket to Hawaii, it’s imperative that you putAction U.S.A.on your radar.
In 1989, stuntmanJohn Stewartmade his directorial debut with his own outrageous, over-the-top piece of high-octane filmmaking, full of insane practical stunts and without a speck of CGI in sight. The movie languished in obscurity…until now. Check out the trailer below.
Action U.S.A. Trailer
Action U.S.A.made its debut at this year’s virtual Fantastic Fest, who describes it like this:
Since it’s not exactly clear from the trailer what the plot is, let’s break it down. When the mob murders her boyfriend (Rod Shaft), a woman (Barri Murphy) has to be transported to federal headquarters by a reluctant FBI agent (Gregory Scott Cummins). But the journey won’t be easy, and they’re challenged at every turn by baddies played byWilliam Smith,Cameron Mitchell,Ross Hagen, and more, putting them through a gauntlet of bullets and blood as they desperately try to stay alive. It’s 89 minutes of total action movie excess, and a window into the mind of an ambitious madman behind the camera. It reminds me of similarly bonkers movies likeMiami ConnectionandDangerous Men, films that were unearthed and given new life by Drafthouse Films, the distribution arm of Alamo Drafthouse. (If any of this sounds interesting to you, make sure to watch both of those movies as well – they’re really fun.)
The best part? You can watchAction U.S.A.right now. The movie isavailable to rentfor $9.99 exclusively on Alamo on Demand, and will be accessible on that platform until midnight onOctober 12,2020.
Alamo Drafthouse, the theater chain associated with Fantastic Fest, is embroiled in a scandal that has dismantled the company’s reputation as one of the coolest theater chains in the country. Allegations ofsexual harassment,unsafe work environments, and a boy’s club culture have been lobbied at Drafthouse, and those reports paint a picture of a company in desperate need of systemic change. John Stewart, the director ofAction U.S.A., had nothing to do with any of that, so we don’t think he should be punished for having his movie featured on an Alamo-related platform. We’ll continue to monitor this situation and decide whether to cover Drafthouse-related news stories on a case by case basis.
