I first became interested in Joe Begos back in 2016 after watching his Almost Human and The Mind’s Eye (both of which he wrote and directed). I knew he would soon be making bigger films and in 2019 he released two pictures. I have yet to see Bliss, the first of the duo to be released, but last night I checked out VFW. Stacked with fan-favorite actors and unapologetically violent, this cult flavored action throwback is drenched in grue and atmosphere.
Stephen Lang, who was likely born gruff and grizzled, plays Fred Parras, a Vietnam combat veteran and current bartender at a slightly rundown VFW post (“VFW” standing for “veterans of foreign wars,” of course). It being his birthday, his best friends and fellow long in the tooth vets have gathered at the bar to celebrate and give him a good ribbing. The group includes the jokey Walter (William Sadler), ladies’ man Abe (Fred Williamson), the petulant Lou (Martin Kove), stoner Doug (David Patrick Kelly), and the even-tempered Z (George Wendt). Before the old friends can move their party over to a strip club, they are joined by Shawn (Tom Williamson), a young soldier who has just arrived home from Iraq. Meanwhile, across the street in an abandoned building that’s teeming with manic junkies hooked on a new street drug known as “Hype,” a kingpin named Boz (Travis Hammer) has just discovered he’s been ripped off by Lizard (Sierra McCormick). The young girl flees into the bar with a virtual army of unhinged addicts and ruthless henchmen on her tail. The evening soon erupts into an orgy of violence as the elderly vets are forced to defend themselves against Boz, his minions, and a horde of mindless Hypers.
It’s a blast seeing such a collection of old school fan favorite tough guys on screen at the same time. Lang is clearly the lead and does a nice job of carrying the film with Sadler and Kove also receiving a decent amount of dramatic responsibility. The younger members of the cast do fine work, though they’re not nearly as engaging as their elders. In previous efforts, Begos always worked with his own script. However, this screenplay was written by Max Brallier and Matthew McArdle. Some of the dialog goes a little over the top, but the film isn’t overly concerned with realism, instead lovingly embracing a neo-grindhouse aesthetic. In any case, Begos directs the hell out of this thing, keying in on crowd-pleasing character moments, spectacular gore, and kinetic action sequences. The production design is excellent with the abandoned building set invoking an almost post-apocalyptic wasteland feel and the bar looking appropriately rundown and dingy. Costumes are well done, playing up the divide between the old blue-collar vets and the young flashy punks. As I mentioned, Begos doesn’t shy away from presenting graphic violence. Blood splatters across the screen from gunshot wounds, hacked-off limbs, and various impalements. That being said, there seems to have been a conscious choice to keep the visuals dimly lit. The vast majority of the film takes place at night in a bar where the power has been cut. I never had any trouble following the action, which is a testament to Mike Testin’s cinematography, but this is a dark looking flick. Steve Moore’s score enhances the midnight movie vibe, seeming to pay respects to the musical efforts of John Carpenter.
Joe Begos’ VFW capitalizes on its intriguing premise of old combat vets vs ruthless young punks and doesn’t overstay its welcome at 92 minutes. If I could nitpick anything, I’d say I wish the picture was just a little brighter (though I’m sure the upcoming 4K UHD will look better than the screener I watched) and that the dialog was slightly more polished. Really, those are pretty minor complaints, though, as the overall effort left me grinning. This is a film made for cult film fans and it absolutely embraces that approach. Highly recommended for fans of the original Assault on Precinct 13, Judgement Night, and Green Room.
Michael Cavender