tenebrae70
I first rented this out under the title Siege back in the 80s. This film needs an official release desperately. Cannot believe that it hasn't been done already. Siege motors along at a fast pace, no lulls, just scene upon scene of intense cat n mouse between a gang of murderous thugs n a group of people (in what looks like the most rundown n scuzziest building ever) who take in a survivor from the gangs previous assault. Shade of Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13 n a cheeky wink towards Escape From New York, the gang take on more than they bargain for when the ever resourceful victims strike back. Solid acting all round n a sucker punch of a twist at the end. This is a must see..! Classic grindhouse..!
t_atzmueller
Like most people, I ran across this film with the wrong expectations. In Germany, "Self Defense" was marketed under the name "New York 1991", possibly due to the fact that most Germans had no idea where Nova Scotia was in the first place, but certainly with the intention of buying into the near-future-thriller-fad of the time ("Escape from New York", "Class of 1984"). This is what I expected but this isn't what I got: So, it's the near future: the police-force in some big city is on strike and posses of self-appointed vigilantes roam the streets. Presumably as it would happen in our modern times, their first target is a gay club, where they off the patrons executioner style. One person is able to escape and finds refuge in a household consisting of handicapped residents and lovable weirdos, who become the next target of the vigilantes. The supposed "victims" must now kill or be killed.Despite having been filmed on a shoestring budget, the film has more atmosphere than your average Hollywood thriller. That's partly due to the claustrophobic settings, decaying buildings and dark alleyways but mainly it's the chemistry between the actors that makes this film so enjoyable.Special credit should go to Doug Lennox, who plays Cabe, the ice-cold leader of the vigilantes. His stern, chiselled features can give you the creeps, spelling out mayhem and doom for all crossing his path. Once seen, never forgotten – at least, when I saw him as bartender in "X-Men" ("are you gonna order something or will you stick with water?"), I found myself muttering, "hey, that's Cabe! Long time no see, you vicious b***rd").The killing of various characters – be they good guys or bad guys – is generally rather harsh and imaginative. By imaginative, I don't mean "Saw"-imaginative or overly gory but rather often painfully realistic. Indeed, not only does the realistic approach makes us feel for the good guys even more but by showing destruction of human life in such cold, realistic fashion, doesn't glorify death, unlike your typical Sly n' Arnie actioners.Highly recommendable for fans of hard action who have no need for big names or big explosions and a small classic in it's own right.
BA_Harrison
A gritty little early-80s exploitation film from Canada, Siege captures the look and feel of similar movies of the day (Assault on Precinct 13, The Warriors, Death Wish 3), but ultimately fails to capitalise on its interesting premise.The movie opens with news reports of a police strike in Halifax, Nova Scotia. A gang of right-wing extremists take advantage of the lack of law enforcement by launching an attack on the members of a down-town gay bar, which results in the massacre of all but one of the bar's clientèle. The sole survivor, Daniel, escapes but is pursued by the gang, until he manages to find refuge with some friendly people in a tenement block. What follows is a night of terror, as the killers attempt to break into the building and finish their job.This low budget action thriller starts off promisingly with the brutal slayings in the bar, but, due to a handful of ridiculous plot turns and some pretty poor acting, it quickly loses any credibility it might have had. And when it is revealed that one of the good guys is a survivalist who not only has his apartment linked to his neighbours' by a handy secret passage, but also has access to a range of weaponry, the film takes a step too far into the realms of unbelievability and is unable to claw its way back.Despite a couple of nifty scenes in which the ingenious heroes set traps for the bad guys, and one or two gruesome deaths (an arrow through the neck is the gory highlight; the silly home-made rocket launcher the most ludicrous), Siege only manages to be an average entry in the urban survivalist sub-genre.
kampenhans
This is a Canadian movie originally called "Siege", very much in the tradition of John Carpenter's "Assault on Precinct 13." The story is about a police strike in Halifax, Nova Scotia, which paves the way for violence to break loose in the city . When a gay bar is attacked by a group of thugs, one gets away and escapes to an intstitute for disabled young people. This house then comes under the siege of the gang and they must use all their imagination to survive this night. The movie is obviously low budget, but as so often happens, that's just good for the creativity and tone of the film. In Europe, the movie was retitled "Night Warriors", and made it look like this was another Mad Max/Escape From New York clone. But it's just a clever little thriller.
AD
