Why I’m Watching So Many 80s and 90s Action Movies

The other day, I finished watching Death Warrant and my wife turned to me and said, “You sure are watching a lot of martial movies lately.” She wasn’t wrong, it seems exclusively that’s all I’ve watched the past few weeks. I’ve attempted to watch other things, but I just keep finding myself drawn back to simple action films. I was aware of this, and I shared with her what I think was the reasoning.

Some of the first films I remember seeing were action films. My dad wasn’t the type of person to rent me Disney films, so I grew up watching cartoons like The Real Ghostbusters on TV. When it came to renting movies, he watched action and since the martial art film industry was blowing up in the late 80s, I found myself obsessed. Sure, I rented what few kids’ martial movies existed, but for the most part, I sat up watching Kickboxer and Bloodsport with my dad. He’d tell me when to close my eyes, which of course, I’d peek through my fingers to see the violence.

I didn’t realize this wasn’t normal until my fifth or sixth birthday party. We had rented Kickboxer, and I wanted to show my guests the great fight scenes. So, I popped in the tape and began playing the fight scene until my dad rushed in and hit stop. That day he had to explain to me how other parents didn’t let their kids see those films. I was so embarrassed.

There was something about those movies that shaped the way I saw things. I believe a lot of my interest in Buddhism and Eastern Philosophy originated from watching those films, however, inaccurate their portrayals may have been. I was introduced to a world that was nothing like the one I lived in, and I loved it.

As I grew older, the movie industry evolved, and so did my tastes. I left behind those revenge/tournament films and focused on more elevated storytelling and horror. I loved the isolation that horror fandom offered in the late 90s/early 2000s. The genre was still somewhat taboo, and not openly celebrated. However, the dedicated core audience still supported the icons of horror though various projects like Masters of Horror or a wide variety of DVD features on the Anchor Bay releases.

Over the past twenty years, horror fandom has changed. Those forgotten filmmakers are now celebrated and charge $120 a signature. Various projects from movies on Shudder to music creation or crowd funded features are some of the ways the horror community continues to grow. We now see major horror conventions throughout the year and those forgotten, tiny films and sequels are given glorious releases by Scream Factory or Arrow and celebrated on things like Joe Bob’s Last Drive In or In Search of Darkness.

But as I’ve taken a deep dive into the world of action films from the same time period, I’ve found the fandom to be more similar to that of horror from twenty years ago. A ton of these films were never given Blu-ray releases, and some not even DVD. They are near impossible to find on streaming, and their filmmakers are not celebrated in the same way as the horror icons are. They haven’t become household names, and despite putting passion and money into a niche genre, many of these creators are aging out/passing away without the recognition and appreciation their art deserves.

I’ve found a few blogs such as City on Fire, The Action Elite, and Bulletproof Action. Also, YouTube VikingSamurai does an excellent job interviewing many of these action filmmakers, but it’s so strange to see this once hugely successful genre being reduced to a footnote in film history.

So, there is appeal in discovering new and forgotten work, but I think one of the driving forces behind my rewatch (outside of nostalgia) is the use of practical effects and non-aggravating storytelling. I don’t have to worry about being taken out of the film by some horrible CGI, nor do I have to worry about the scriptwriter plugging in a certain character of a certain race/age/sex/orientation to meet a checklist goal. There are basically no politics at play, nor any major social conversations. These films are just simple in that, “This person was done wrong, so they must find their inner courage/strength to make things right.”

And that is what keeps bringing me back to these action films. I can truly relax and watch them. They are isolated from the current world and stupidity and exist in sort of a bubble. I also don’t have to worry about plugging a title in reddit and being irritated by the self-professed experts, because there is no karma to gain from these films. They are so off-the-radar, no one cares, and that just makes exploring this genre even more fun.

It’s also nice to just change things up. It was clear that I’ve been in a rut lately, and shifting gears to discover something new is always a great way to find something to occupy my time. I’m able to learn something new, instead of just re-reading or re-listening to the same tired stories over and over again.

So, yes, I’ve been watching a lot of old martial art films lately, and I’m having a blast doing so.