Silent Rage

1982 "Science created him. Now Chuck Norris must destroy him."
5.4| 1h43m| R| en| More Info
Released: 02 April 1982 Released
Producted By: Columbia Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
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A mentally ill man in a small Texas town goes on a killing rampage and is fatally wounded by police. When doctors use an experimental serum to bring him back to life, the killer develops superhuman strength and the town sheriff must pursue him.

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Director

Michael Miller

Production Companies

Columbia Pictures

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Silent Rage Audience Reviews

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews
Seraherrera The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity
Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.
Aryana Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.
Leofwine_draca Chuck Norris meets THE TERMINATOR on HALLOWEEN – that's the best summation I can think of to get across this film's tone, plot, and mood. The easiest thing for me to do is to split the focus of the film equally into those three sections. First of all, you get a blond Chuck Norris at the very pinnacle of his career; he's in his prime here, physically, and his good ol' boy sheriff is a wooden joy to behold. Of course, Chuck Norris wouldn't be around if he didn't have any ass to kick, and he's in his element when he brawls with a gang of bikers in a bar. Additionally, I don't think the film will be spoiled if I tell you it all boils down to a barnstorming battle between our moustachioed hero and the evil serial killer, and it's a real corker. Expect hard knuckle punches and roundhouse kicks all, well, round when Chuck gets into it.As for the TERMINATOR influence – well, it's possibly more of a Lovecraft influence, as a trio of dopey docs get some of that serum from RE-ANIMATOR and use it to bring a bag guy back from the brink. Basically, the chap is pumped full of chemicals which make his body immune to damage, which we see thanks to some cool special effects of knife wounds on his chest healing themselves straight away. The result is an unstoppable killer that just keeps coming back for more, even when he gets set on fire in an exploding car, or pumped full of lead from Chuck's revolver.Finally, HALLOWEEN is a massive inspiration for the stalk-and-slash sequences that populate this movie, and if you're going to copy, you might as well copy from the best! Cue lots of spooky atmosphere as young heroines find themselves stalked through dark houses by a lurking psychopath (all enhanced by a cool syntho score) and some excellent tracking shots that put us behind the eyes of the killer! The opening shot, displaying a man driven to madness by a mundane world, finally taking an axe to a family of innocents, has some great low-budget camera-work that really makes it special.SILENT RAGE has its moments of cheese, which is the norm for a Chuck Norris outing. Stephen Furst, as the deputy, is a total buffoon, and his attempts at humour are very poor indeed. On the plus side, the reliable Ron Silver lends a hand as a doctor struggling with his conscience, whilst it's great to see the Phantom of the Paradise himself, William Finley, make another film appearance – this time as a nerdy doc who you'll end up loving. Brian Libby's outrageous gurning killer is a good 'un, so kudos to the guy for making his freak so memorable; however, it's all left to Chuck Norris to tie up the loose ends, and he does so with relish. Special mention has to go to Toni Kalem's screaming heroine, a good example of her type – and she certainly isn't shy when it comes to losing her clothing
zardoz-13 "Jackson County Jail" director Michael Miller's "Silent Rage" qualifies as an adequate but unexceptional melodrama that pits karate champ Chuck Norris against an indestructible Michael Myers type villain of "Halloween" infamy who repeatedly defies death. Indeed, the reviewer at DVD Talk summarized Norris' tenth feature "as Walker Texas Ranger meets Frankenstein." This description accurately encapsulates this formulaic but fast-moving thriller that incorporates elements of the classic Mary Shelley novel with Chuck Jones' Wiley E. Coyote. Mad scientist Dr. Philip Spires (Stephen Keats of "Black Sunday"), who has no qualms about his research or the collateral damage it causes, has been experimenting with a patient's ability to heal himself in the literal blink of an eye. Tall, lanky John Kirby (Brian Libby of "The Shawshank Redemption") isn't feeling too well when he awakens one morning to a house filled with noisy children and an equally noisy mother who banishes them from the house and sequesters them to the backyard. Kirby talks to his physician on the phone and explains his predicament, but he can get no relief. Finally, he seizes an ax and kills both the father and the mother of the children. By the time that he has killed the mother, the local authorities have arrived. County Sheriff Dan Stevens (Chuck Norris) confronts Kirby and they clash briefly before Kirby escapes Stevens. Sadly for Kirby, he doesn't get very far before several sheriffs gun him down in a barrage of gunfire. At the local hospital, Dr. Spires experiments with Kirby and makes it possible for the young man to seal his own wounds up within seconds of receiving either a knife-point slash or a bullet. Meanwhile, Dr. Spires refuses to release the body for the coroner to examine. Dr. Spires' colleague Dr. Tom Halman (Ron Silver of "Reversal of Fortune") wants Spires to stop trying to make Kirby so indestructible. Mind you, after Kirby breaks out of the institute, he searches for Dr. Halman and kills him. Aside from some rowdy bikers in a bar, our hero spends the better part of his time hunting down this psycho. At one point, Dr. Halman shows a colleague how advanced Kirby's body is to infection.Miller and "Good Guys Wear Black" scenarist Joseph Fraley keep things fairly basic in this shallow showdown. After the opening scene where Stevens and Kirby tangle, the action settles down and everything becomes routine until our hero confronts the indestructible Kirby again. Like Michael Myers, John Kirby is a man of few words. The only time that he talks is during the opening scene. Afterward, he embarks on a murderous rampage but remains mum. As Steven's rookie deputy Charlie, Stephen Furst provides the comic relief until he runs afoul of Kirby in the hospital showdown. Charlie's childhood story about freezing a pup doesn't play too well for laughs. Between his bouts with John Kirby, Sheriff Stevens takes on a biker gang single-handedly in a bar and whips them to a pulp. Stevens rekindles romantic relationship with Dr. Halman's sister Alison (Toni Kalem of "Sister Act") after he runs into her at the hospital while awaiting Kirby's death certificate. Some nudity is involved in their intimate scenes. Predictably, she is stalked by Kirby when he escapes from the hospital after he kills Dr. Spires as well as other hospital personnel."Silent Rage" is a lowest common denominator actioneer with essentially four sets. Aside from the biker bar scene, everything here focuses on Kirby and the medical geniuses who made him. This villain survives more than you'd expect considering the circumstances. Although Stevens kicks him around in the last scene and plunges him down into a well miles from nowhere, the villain pops up briefly before the end credits roll. The cast is strong, and Miller never wears out his welcome.
videorama-759-859391 One of the better Chuck Norris movies, and there's not many. Here, a spin is put on the story which a loved. There's a psychopathic killer out there. He's shot down and killed. Three gifted specialists, do the unthinkable, when injecting the corpse with a serum that brings the nutter back to life, so red haired Chuck, sporting that moustache, has his work cut out for him, as the indestructible psychopathic force, escapes the medical facility. Silent Rage is really good and compact movie making that I like, thanks to it's story. Furst's performance is appealing as Chuck's overweight and bumbling partner, and also that of a younger Ron Silver who opened Pandoras's box, conducting an experiment that should of never happened. We have a nice little romantic montage too, and again, Chuck does what he does best, and it isn't acting. One set up scene of action in a bar, I liked, with Chuck kicking some redneck bikers's asses, another memorable Chuckie moment. With these films about indestructible forces, The Night Stalker, another one to springs to mind, you really want to believe the unbelievable, where even for the hero, we're uncertain, where the fight has never been stronger, as the odds almost seem unbeatable or with a small survival rate. These films, I really find exciting and this is just another example.
Scarecrow-88 Hipointe County, Texas Sheriff Dan Stevens(Chuck Norris)has the unenviable task of dealing with a seemingly unstoppable killing machine, whose cellular structure has been altered by geneticists, conducting experiments on healing disease and other ailments which destroy the human body.You know, I thought the use of hand-held camera works exceptionally well at the opening where we first follow mentally unbalanced John Kirby(Brian Libby)from his bedroom(..where we can tell his sanity's on the brink)throughout the two story house for which he's staying, as he moves about, answering the phone with his doctor, as he slowly turns homicidal. Attacking two with an ax, we later follow Stevens as he enters the house looking for the killer. It then moves outside and we see both Kirby and Stevens exit the upstairs window where the action ends with the nutcase handcuffed after much resistance. We see here, once he's subdued, just how ridiculously powerful Kirby is, as he snaps loose his handcuffs and kicks out the cop car door! This is where the police unload a round of bullets which drop this joker. It's quite a set-up, to say the least! Here's where one questions the credibility of the plot that develops..scientist Dr. Phillip Spires(Steven Keats)is so determined and desperate to see if his formula Mitogen 35 works, he's willing to revive whoever it takes to see it successful, and this decision(to up the dosage behind his surgeon, behavioral scientist, Dr. Tom Halman's back despite his demanding pleas to let Kirby die because of his mental instability)will obviously come back to haunt him. We have to ask ourselves this..why would Spires inject such a serum in the powerful hulking frame of a homicidal maniac?! I mean, it isn't like another test subject wouldn't eventually show up on his slab, certainly not as dangerous a behemoth as this guinea pig! Well, we know why..it's because the film's intent is to provide Chuck Norris with a formidable opponent. One thing's for certain, Libby was hired for his build and presence, not acting ability. He's essentially a Michael Myers clone, an emotionless, indestructible force..the perfect adversary for Chuck to grapple with.Solid cast in this movie. Ron Silver as Halman, the only decent scientist of the film, who warns Spires against conducting his experiment on Kirby, and his desire to kill the monster costs him(..and his darling wife)their lives. William Finley shows up as a scientist taking orders from Spires(..who himself follows the Frankenstein mold of cold mad scientist who cares more for the reward than the lives which would be lost at the hands of Kirby. Stephen Furst is the comedy relief of the film, as bumbling, child-like, amiable, and impressionable deputy Charlie, Stevens' partner and buddy. Furst even has a Travis Bickle moment in front of a mirror..he's a lovable doofus whose fate is rather sad and adds extra motivation for Chuck to go after the villain. Toni Kalem is Chuck's love interest(..and Halman's sister)Alison, soon running for her life with Kirby in pursuit throughout the genetics hospital located in Stevens' county.Credibility is further tested when even injected sulfuric acid into his blood stream, multiple gun shot wounds, a flight out a window, being set on fire, and tossed down a well have no resounding effect on Kirby! Many associate Silent Rage with the slasher genre since it has certain traits relatable to those kinds of movies prevalent at the time of release, such as the use of POV camera as the killer hunts down Allison, a hefty body count, and way Kirby systematically executes the victims. I thought this was strikingly lit and to reiterate, there's some fine hand-held which allows us to follow characters moving down halls, up stairs, and around rooms. Since, the movie is more about Kirby annihilating folks, Chuck only really has one major sequence to show his martial arts skills, and that's during an entertaining bar fight with a large number of loathsome biker scum. The other two are hand-to-hand combats with Kirby. Interesting decision to shoot the final showdown without musical accompaniment..I know some who like this decision, and those that didn't(..I'm rather torn on this, there are times I like it this way, other times, I'm not so sure).