This month at Cinema Runner, we are taking a look at the works of filmmaker William Lustig. Some of you might recognize his name as the director of cult horror classics like Maniac and the Maniac Cop trilogy. Some of you might be more familiar with his genre-centric boutique home video label, Blue Underground. Some of you might be hearing about him for the first time in this piece. No matter your entry point, I think we’re going to have some fun. We’ll cover the above-mentioned classics, of course, but today we’re going to take a look at one of his lesser known films. Today, we’re here to talk about 1989’s Hit List.
It seems that a rather nasty mob boss, Vic Luca (Rip Torn), might finally be going down for the count. A former associate of his, Frank DeSalvo (Leo Rossi), has decided to turn state’s evidence on his old pal. An FBI team, led by the ill-tempered Tom Mitchum (Charles Napier), has placed DeSalvo and his young son into protective custody.
Unfortunately for them, Luca has law enforcement connections and gets his hands on the safe house address. Luca sends shoe salesman/hitman Chris Caleek (Lance Henriksen) to enter the abode, kill the protection, and kidnap DeSalvo’s son so that he can blackmail him. Unfortunately for Luca, due to a curious quirk of fate, Caleek messes up big time.
You see, he accidentally enters the home of Jack Collins (Jan-Michael Vincent). Jack isn’t home at the time, but his pregnant wife, son, and best friend are. Caleek kills the friend, brutalizes the wife, and kidnaps the son. Now Jack’s best friend is dead, his wife has miscarried their unborn child, and his son in the hands of a mob hitman. To make matters worse, the Feds want him to keep quiet about it, because they want Luca to think he’s won. Jack isn’t having it.
My re-cap of the plot ends here. It’s a cut-and-dry affair, after all, albeit with a few interesting alterations. Long story short, Jack teams up with Frank to take down Luca. This results in an action film that feels pulled from the late ‘70s/early ‘80s era that happens to have a bit of a late ‘80s buddy duo going for it. Jan-Michael Vincent is our straight-laced, blue collar hero on a righteous mission. Leo Rossi becomes his morally-bankrupt, loveable scamp of a loudmouthed sidekick. It’s an odd pairing, but it works.
Even a cursory glance at production details will tell you that Vincent was already wallowing in his oft-publicized alcohol problems by then. Lustig knew what he was doing, however. Not only did he shoot with this “issue” in mind by utilizing a lot of master shots of Vincent, as well as stand-ins when possible, but he also filled out the rest of the cast with capable character actors. After all, if your lead is unreliable, it’s pretty easy to cover it up if his co-stars can chew scenery with the best of them.
Mind you Vincent isn’t bad in the film, but he’s the least interesting character within it. Napier and Torn add some welcome zest to their scenes, but the film mostly rests open the entirely game shoulders of Leo Rossi and Lance Henriksen. The former is operating at peak capacity with his “exploitation Joe Pesci” routine. Rossi is always a welcome face in B-movies, as far as I am concerned, and he does not disappoint here.
As for Henriksen? Well, I already told you that he’s a hitman who is also a shoe salesman. If that isn’t enough, the vanity plate on his car shows how highly he thinks of himself as an assassin. He also repeatedly tosses knockout punches at Jack’s kid. Lance is a knife-wielding, gun-toting, martial arts-utilizing badass contract killer and he is exactly as over-the-top in his performance as you’d hope he’d be.
Hit List feels like a film out of step with the action era in which it arrived. The late ‘80s were filled with musclebound heroes, pun-laced quips, and high-octane action. Hit List lacks most of these elements, instead opting for the more laid-back approach akin to the works of Millennium Films. If you made this today, it would probably star Liam Neeson as Jack Collins. So if you’re looking for a Joel Silver knock-off, you won’t find it here. Although Henriksen does score a particularly memorable demise. Still, if you’re willing to roll with something a bit more restrained, you might find a lot to enjoy.
Hit List is not essential viewing when looking at Lustig’s overall career. That said, there’s no denying that the lessons he learned from making it weren’t important going forward. For one, he ended up picking up Leo Rossi as a regular, working with him on a couple more pictures. More importantly, his flirtation with more traditional action filmmaking here clearly led to the impressive action on display in the still-spectacular Maniac Cop 2 only a year later.
Be sure to check back later this week to see what Lustig film we revisit next! Also, if you live anywhere near Columbus, Ohio, you should make a trip to Gateway Film Center this Saturday, May 20th. Their doing a double-feature of William Lustig’s Maniac Cop and Maniac Cop 2 on the big screen. If that weren’t enough (and it should be), Lustig himself will be in attendance. If you’re interested, grab some tickets while you still can!
