Digging Up an 80's Action-Flick Treasure
Some gems sparkle brighter than others.
Hi everyone. I hope you’re all having a good 2026!
I’ve been busy with a number of things this year (both personally and professionally), so it’s been a while since I’ve written for the Daly Grind newsletter. I figured it was time to check in.
Those of you who’ve read my novels know that I have an affinity for the tough-guy action genre of decades’ past. I thought I’d share a recent story on that front — one that you’ll hopefully find entertaining.
I can’t remember what got us started on this, but a few months ago, my young-adult son and I started watching a bunch of macho-action movies from the 1980s — flicks I mostly remember from long ago, but ones he’d never seen. I’m not talking about particularly well done films like the “Die Hard” and the original “First Blood”, but rather very cheesy ones starring some of the biggest butt-kicking names of the era.
To give you an idea of what I’m talking about, we began with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Commando,” made our way across town to Sylvester Stallone’s “Cobra,” moseyed on over to “Tango & Cash” boulevard, and even dropped by Patrick Swayze (“Road House”) and Clint Eastwood’s (“The Dead Pool”) pads. There were other stops along the way, but between the trademark one-liners, heavy stunt-work, excessive pyrotechnics, poor character-choices, obligatory nudity, and over-the-top villains, the mentioned ones have been some of my son’s favorites so far (or at least the ones he’s laughed the hardest at).
I have to admit, even I’ve been taken back by how much sillier these films are now than how they seemed at the time (and also how many of them end with a fight-scene in a basement boiler-room, industrial warehouse, or nighttime shipyard).
One such scene that hilariously stands out is at the end of Commando, where Arnold Schwarzenegger compels a top bad guy into releasing his abducted daughter, and dropping his firearm… by instilling a sense of what seems like sexual pleasure in the dude:
By the way, that easily duped baddie was played by actor Vernon Wells, who some of you may remember having a much different look in The Road Warrior.
I actually met Mr. Wells several years ago at a one-and-done Comic Con event in Estes Park, Colorado. (He was extremely nice, and not at all turned on by anything I said.)
Anyway, in light of the recent passing of American film-icon, Chuck Norris, I figured it was time to bring him into the father/son film-screening fold. Norris, of course, starred in a long list of movies (mostly in the 80s), but I had only ever seen a handful.
The first one that came to mind was “The Delta Force,” but I remembered that movie being both a slow-burn and earnestly dramatic at times. And my son and I are more interested, at least on this viewing front, in raw action and unfettered machismo. I soon remembered 1982’s “Silent Rage,” a genre-bending flick I only saw once a very long time ago. I didn’t recall much about it, other than that the film’s physically large villain couldn’t speak, and for some reason had superhuman strength (which forced Mr. Norris to turn up his butt-kicking meter to at least a nine). The premise intrigued my son, so Silent Rage, it was.
And you know what? It blew the freakin’ roof off the house, delivering everything we possibly could have hoped for (and more).
We liked it so much (for all the wrong reasons) that I figured I’d share the story (and my impressions of it) with you all. I typically don’t like to spoil films, but if you haven’t seen it in the last 44 years, I’m guessing you weren’t planning to. Here it goes…
In a small Texas town, we’re introduced to a mentally ill fellow named John (insert your joke here). He’s being driven over the edge at home by his loud wife and children. He desperately calls his doctor, repeatedly telling him, “I’m losing it.” Whatever his doctor tells him doesn’t help, and John heads out to the shack in his backyard to retrieve an axe. It’s not to chop wood, mind you, but rather his wife (and some unidentified bald guy who I assume was his father-in-law).
The filmmakers didn’t pass on the opportunity to borrow some imagery from “The Shining”:
Truth be told, Silent Rage actually lifts a number of scenes from iconic horror films (more on this later).
Just before her demise, John’s wife screams out a window that she’s being attacked, begging a mailman outside to call the police.
Before long, Sheriff Dan (Chuck Norris) casually arrives on the scene wearing a big cowboy hat, tight jeans, and narrow eyes. Despite the chaotic nature of the report, neither he, nor the surprisingly large number of deputies he brought with him, seem to be in much of a hurry. In fact, the well-armed deputies decide to remain outside and interview neighbors, while Dan calmly strolls into the house alone.
Dan, at a snail’s pace, meanders expressionlessly through different rooms before almost being taken out by a stationary ironing board. After what feels like an eternity (long, continuous, uneventful camera-shots are common in the film), he comes across the bodies.
From out of nowhere, John attacks him. The two grapple in the master bedroom for a while, before John bails out of a window, and Dan chases after him on foot. The commotion alerts Dan’s deputies outside that there may, in fact, be more pressing matters than interviewing neighbors.
Here, we’re introduced to Dan’s bumbling comedic sidekick, Deputy Charlie (played by Stephen Furst, aka "Flounder" from Animal House), who almost shoots the sheriff instead of the fleeing suspect. (It’s okay because he offers an apologetic, wide-eyed shrug afterwards).
It’s clear almost from the onset that “Charlie” was modeled after Don Knotts from the Andy Griffith Show. However, Charlie makes Barney Fife look like Jason Bourne.
Dan continues his foot-pursuit into the nearby woods. Charlie and his other deputies don’t bother following (presumably having gone back to interviewing the neighbors). We get another fight, and Dan is able to display more of his martial arts mastery than back among comforters and nightstands in the bedroom. Things get a little hairy, but the sheriff comes out on top, knocking John silly with a piece of lumber. He handcuffs the culprit as we hear approaching police-sirens. Dan strong-arms John into a street filled with deputies and patrol cars (the geography is hard to understand). John is shoved into the back of one of cars.
There, the sheriff is met by Dr. Tom Halman from “the institute,” played by Ron Silver (who’s way too good of an actor to be in this film). Dr. Tom is only about 15 seconds into explaining that John is his mental patient, when John snaps his handcuffs apart and kicks the patrol car’s door off its hinges to escape. He manhandles three or four deputies before other deputies run in and fill him full of lead. John falls to the ground a bloody mess, but he’s miraculously still alive.
At this point, you may be wondering just how John got his superhuman strength and endurance. But that part of the story hasn’t even happened yet! As of now, John’s just a regular corn-fed dude (suggesting that handcuff and patrol-car manufacturers in the 80s may have sucked).
Anyway, John is rushed to “the institute” (a darkened room inside a hospital that looks suspiciously like a cafeteria kitchen) for an emergency operation by a team of surgeons (including Dr. Tom, who apparently holds multiple doctorates). They’re able to save John’s life, but not his brain. It’s toast.
Elsewhere in the hospital, a shirtless Sheriff Dan is faring much better. He receives a clean bill of health.
In the hallway, Dan runs into an old flame. Her name is Alison. The two haven’t seen each other in six years (despite living in the same small town that entire time, and him being the sheriff). Dan must not have met Alison’s family when they first dated, since it turns out that Dr. Tom is Alison’s brother.
The reunion between Dan and Alison begins with a stiff slap from Alison, but — thanks to Dan’s smug awkwardness — leads to the two hooking up later that night.
Meanwhile, Dr. Tom’s fellow surgeon and boss (who’s aiming for a Nobel Prize) decides to inject an experimental drug into John’s body (despite Dr. Tom’s protests) that enhances cellular strength and regeneration. Dan is told that John died on the operating table.
Since it takes a little time for John’s body to heal and strengthen beyond reason in a secret room at “the institute,” some action-filler is needed to keep the film interesting. This comes in the form of Sheriff Dan getting into a couple altercations with a random motorcycle gang, which he has to defeat single-handedly because his partner, Deputy Charlie, is hypnotized into paralysis by a biker-lady’s cleavage.
(No, I’m not joking).
The good news for Dan is that the motorcycle gang is polite enough to come at him one member at a time, rather than trying to overwhelm him.
The even better news is that Dan finishes his butt-kicking so early in the day that he has time to hook up again with Alison before nightfall — this time for a Naked Gun-style romantic montage, complete with music, that doesn’t get any less awkward (or shirtless) once the music stops and the two talk about their feelings for each other.
Seriously, watch this:
But when the sun goes down, the evil wakes up. John rises from the dead with freakish strength and accelerated healing power. He can’t speak, but apparently has enough brain activity left to pick up the White Pages and look up the residential address of the man he’s intent on killing (I guess due to his opposition of the experimental drug): Dr. Tom.
In fairness to John, Tom seems to be kind of asking for it. At home alone that night, he pulls an enormous beef summer sausage out of his fridge, cuts off a couple slices for a snack, and leaves the inexplicably machete-sized cutting knife out on the kitchen table (for John to snag on is inside the house).
Dr. Tom does, however, put up a pretty good fight. He even shoots John a few times, but seemingly forgets about that whole “accelerated healing power” thing. He turns his back on John’s fallen body, and pays the price. So does John’s wife, who returns home shortly after with a pizza. Alison almost gets offed as well, as it turns out she actually lives with her brother and his wife. She comes home to pack for her weekend getaway with Sheriff Dan, and finds her dead brother and sister-in-law twisted into home decor (ala Michael Meyers in “Halloween”). She runs outside into the arms of Dan, who arrived just in time. John runs off into the night, unseen by either.
Alison is pretty shaken up, so Dan takes her to “the institute” (aka John’s hangout) to get her checked out by medical professionals. (In fairness, Dan doesn’t know it was John who just killed her family, since John’s supposed to be dead). Dan assigns Deputy Charlie to protect Alison there, presumably counting on the hospital nurses’ cleavage being covered in scrubs. Dan drives off somewhere to search for the killer.
John, back at “the institute,” silently kills a whole bunch of the staff (including the Nobel Prize hopeful who gave him the injection). He also takes out Charlie (who hasn’t made any situation in the movie better) with a bionic bear-hug. Alison runs away.
On the road, Sheriff Dan checks in with dispatch and is told “alarms are going off all over the place at the institute.” (This would come as a big surprise to the remaining staffers at the institute, who haven’t heard a thing, and continue to be killed off by John as they perform their night-shift duties — ala Halloween 2). Dan flips a U-turn, and speeds back to “the institute.” There he discovers one body after another, including Charlie, who’s just barely hanging onto life.
In Sheriff Dan’s most dramatic scene in the film, he drops to the floor, removes his hat, and holds Charlie in a cheek-to-cheek embrace. While his deputy dies in his arms (a process that goes on for a while), Dan tells him “everything will be all right” (which, of course, it won’t).
Meanwhile, Alison (who Dan appears to have forgotten about entirely) is still trying to find her way out of the hospital. We’re even treated to a minute and a half scene of her deliberating whether or not she should go upstairs or downstairs.
We check back on Sheriff Dan who’s still on the floor with Charlie! Dan finally decides he should maybe try and save Alison. He slowly climbs to his feet (after laying Charlie’s head down gently on the floor), and power-walks through the hospital. Alison’s screams speed him up, and Dan shows up just in time to shoot John (a bunch of times) as he’s attacking Alison. The bullets send John crashing through a window, and he falls about five floors to the parking lot below.
Of course, it’s a false finish. He’s not dead. This leads to another chase, and a final outdoor confrontation between Sheriff Dan and John (in which Dan showcases some high-kicks he’d been saving for the finale). Dan ultimately finishes John off by tossing him into an old water-well. Despite the fall not being as far as the one from the hospital window earlier, Dan assures Alison that “it’s over.” The two leave (presumably for another hookup).
The film ends with a slow camera-pan down to the bottom of well, where John suddenly bursts from the water (just like Jason Voorhees at the end of the original Friday the 13th).
Like I said, the movie was awesome — a new father/son favorite. “Silent Rage” may not have been Mr. Norris’s proudest film-work, but we certainly appreciated it.
The Hullabaloo
I continue to have a lot fun co-hosting the Reagan Caucus Podcast. I dare say that since the beginning of the Iran War, we’ve been having better long-form discussions with insightful guests that what you’ll find on any of the major news networks.
I kid you not:
If you’re not following the podcast yet, you can do so on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts. I’d certainly appreciate it.
Random Thought
Arroyos del Sol Natural Area near my house has reopened with kind of a Looney Tunes vibe.
Obligatory Dog Shot
Skylight enthusiasts.
Catch Up on the Sean Coleman Thrillers
All of my Sean Coleman Thriller novels can be purchased through Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Books-A-Million, and wherever else books are sold.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading today’s Daly Grind.
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Take care. And I’ll talk to you soon!