Do you like James Bond? How about ‘80s ninja flicks? Old school GI Joe cartoons? Have I got the movie for you! Worth Keeter’s Unmasking the Idol from 1986 incorporates all those elements and more into a low-budget blender for an insanely entertaining 90-minute actioner that’s more inventive than many of its big-budget brethren. I blind-bought the blu ray from the fine folks at Vinegar Syndrome based on the trailer alone and I am thoroughly satisfied. Hell, I just watched it yesterday and I’m ready to screen it again!
Our hero is Jax… Duncan Jax (Louis Dula, credited as “Ian Hunter”), is the most dangerous ninja on the face of the planet. After a thrilling opening that involves jumping off a high rise into a pool leads to an unexpected escape method, we are treated to a Bond-esque theme song. Soon, Jax will bed an Asian beauty named, you guessed it, China (Shakti Chen). Then, we jet off to Jax’s super high-tech lair where he has a hot tub party. For real. It’s here that we meet his partner/pet ninja baboon Boon. Awesome! This being the ‘80s, a real baboon is used and this dude will eventually kill ninjas by throwing stars, hurling sticks of dynamite, and planting a bomb. If that’s not enough to entice you, there’s also an army of eeeeevil ninjas led by the nefarious Scarlet Leader who speaks through a robotic-sounding voice box, an execution via piranha pool, helicopters, hot air balloons, bazookas, a submarine, gold bricks, and plenty of high flying kicks to faces.
The script was written by Phil Behrens and based on a story he co-wrote with Robert P Eaton. Behrens lifts whole sequences from much more famous movies and pleasingly weaves them all together for a surprisingly coherent, if ridiculous, romp. The characters are all pretty comic book-y and there are plenty of amazingly cheesy one-liners. In case it’s not clear, I mean all that as a compliment. The story is easy to follow with just a few wrinkles to keep us on our toes. There are plenty of clichés, but Keeter and company hit them so hard and with so much enthusiasm that it really doesn’t take away from the experience at all.
Look, I’m not searching out something like Unmasking the Idol for Oscar-caliber performances. That being said, the actors all seem well aware of the type of movie they’re in and they all seem to be having fun. The vast majority of performers aren’t wooden even while going pretty broad. Dula easily keeps our attention though he hams it up a little. I also really enjoyed Ron Campbell as the blustery Goldtooth, William Hicks as the self-serving Whale, and former pro wrestler Dan Spivey as the hulking henchman Bullets.
The production design for this flick is amazing. From Jax’s futuristic home to Whale’s fortress to the submarine set, this film looks amazing. The piece de resistance, though, is Scarlett Leader’s throne room. Here we get an imposing but immaculate tomb-ish-looking room complete with a flaming skull motif, an elaborate water feature that leads into a pool filled with bloodthirsty piranhas, and a bevy of lounging alligators. DP Steven Shaw shoots the hell out of all of this so we can clearly see that all of this is gorgeous and real. Fights and action sequences are expertly staged with exciting as-hell stunts. All told, what is captured on screen looks amazing and far beyond the film’s purported $1M budget.
As a brief aside, I watched the nearly feature-length retrospective included on Vinegar Syndrome’s disc and it was fascinating. I had never heard of North Carolina-based EO Studios, but I will be looking into more of their offerings. If you enjoy this movie and you have an interest in low-budget filmmaking, I encourage you to give that bonus feature a watch.
There are so many more amazing aspects to Worth Keeter’s Unmasking the Idol that I didn’t mention. So if this all sounds like gold to you, let me assure you that it’s even better than you think. Apparently, there was a sequel made immediately after this one was released called Order of the Black Eagle and I sincerely hope VinSyn releases a disc for that, as well. In any case, this is low-budget indie action filmmaking par excellence. It’s top-shelf cheese but not in a so bad it’s good way, as it is much too polished and competently staged for that. This is a movie begging to be rediscovered by cult film fans. Highly recommended for fans of American Ninja, Danger, Diabolik, and Action USA.
Michael Cavender