Tenement

1985 "A bloodbath in the Bronx!"
5.5| 1h34m| en
Details

A drug-dealing band of violent street thugs terrorize the tenants of a South Bronx apartment building.

Director

Producted By

Laurel Films

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Reviews

GamerTab That was an excellent one.
HottWwjdIam There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.
Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.
Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Indyrod I have to admit, this is a real favorite of mine in the graphic extreme bloody genre of semi-revenge thrillers. (is that even a genre?) Oh well, I saw this back in the day, and what I remember is the x-rating it got, and I don't believe it was ever edited to get any other rating. I watched it a 2nd time last night, and listened to the interesting commentary by director Roberta Findlay. She doesn't understand why it got an x-rating at all, but believe me, this was very strong stuff back in 1985. Basicially a gang of drugged out baddies get kicked out of their basement dwelling and arrested, and soon come back to kill everybody left in the tenement. This has some great stuff in it, some really zonked out homicidal gang members, and some residents that decide to put up a fight. And it is has some pretty decent production value, and the main goodies, extreme graphic violence and a high abundance of blood. This is a good eighties nasty, which deserves a place in your sleeze collection.
The_Void Tenement may clearly be a very cheap production, but this is excellently masked by the thoroughly mean exploitative style. The film is along the same lines as urban exploitation such as Assault on Precinct 13 and The Warriors and is similar in style to both also; although the film actually reminded me a lot of the Lamberto Bava trash classic "Demons", also released in 1985, as the main focal point of the film is on a disorganised group of people trapped in a claustrophobic building and facing off against a group of ravenous thugs. The central setting is a run down block of flats in a poor area of The Bronx. The flats come under attack from a violent street gang and naturally the residents call the cops and get them hauled off to the station. The gang doesn't take lightly to this, however, and after being released a short while later; they decide to take revenge by returning to the flats and trapping the residents inside. The gang hold the residents to ransom with brute force, but things take a turn for the unexpected when the locals turn the tables...Despite obviously being made on a budget, director Roberta Findlay clearly put aside enough of it to ensure that the film features plenty of gory kill scenes. The violence is not constant though it is gratuitous when featured and I'm sure that will delight anyone with a mind to see this film. The style of it verges on post apocalyptic and the costumes worn by the central gang reflect this. The block of flats at the centre of the film provides an excellent location for the film to take place and the director does a good job of enforcing the central situation on the audience and ensuring that the claustrophobia comes across as well as possible. The plot doesn't contain a lot of surprises and it's always obvious where it's going, so it's a good job that getting there is a lot of fun to watch. You can be sure that there's going to be another kill scene just around the corner and the film is pulled off with a pitch black sense of humour which bodes well with the unpleasant goings-on and atmosphere. Overall, this is a cheap and cheerful eighties gore-fest and I'm sure that it will please anyone lucky enough to track it down. Recommended.
movieman_kev This is without a doubt director Roberta Findlay crowning achievement and one of the true essential of 1980's 'urban warfare' movies. This film is proudly a B-movie, wearing it's bloody blackened heart on it's gore drenched sleeve. And I truly wouldn't have it any other way. Featuring mostly unknowns although some would later find success in varying degrees, Karen Russell (from "Vice Academy" and "Hell High"), Dan Snow (Yup, old Ciger Face himself from the Toxic Avenger movies) and Paul Calderon, who would go on to do bit parts in many great movies. This is a nasty one, broom handles where they have NO right being, sadistic violence, and general depravity combine to make a potent concoction. I loved every second of it. And the theme song by 'The Kool Crew' is great.Eye Candy: Corinne Château and Karen Russell get topless My Grade: A-DVD Extras: Commentary by Roberta Findlay; Interview with Findlay; Photo gallery; radio spot; Original Trailer; and Trailers for "Blood Sisters" (with nudity), "Blood Feast 2", "Duck the Carbine high massacre", and "New Barbarians"
Mndz999 I am a great fan of this movie. The first time I saw it (I was 18yoa) I was blown away !!!. The actors of course are not going to win any academy awards for their performances here, but the intensity and brutal violence of this flick cannot be denied. I was a punker kid growing up in L.A. so it reminds me of youth. There are many scenes in this movie that will forever be engraved in my mind, like when "Chaco" and the rest of the gang smoke PCP in the junk yard and in a drug rage vow "to take their building back!!" Brings tears to my eyes(sigh)......... The gang even kills a blind man's seeing eye dog, isn't that just too classy!!!??? Well, you got to see this movie. I'ts one of my favorites. Hail Chaco !!!P.S. "Dead Boys can't fly" is another winner.