I think it can be agreed upon that B-Movies have a certain intangible quality that makes them appeal to people. Whether it’s a Bad Taste, Manos or a Killer Klowns From Outer Space, there’s just something about these “so bad they’re good” films that makes us giddy. For fans of the late Iranian director Jahangir Salehi (aka John S. Rad), his 2005 opus, Dangerous Men, is one of those films. I personally don’t see it, but others do. Drafthouse Films have taken it upon themselves to bring Rad’s infamous film to Blu-Ray. The results are done with loving care, but are as expected.

After the murder of her fiancé, Daniel (Kelay Miller), Mira (Melody Wiggins) sets out to rid Los Angeles of human scum by posing as a hooker to lure in the type of men who killed Daniel. While this is going on, Daniel’s brother, David (Michael Gradilone), a detective in the LA police department, sets out on his own to track down Mira, but is also pursuing “Black Pepper” (Bryan Jenkins), a biker whose father was the man responsible for Daniel’s death.

If that synopsis sounds complicated, believe me, it gets worse. As expected, Dangerous Men is a mess of a film. But that’s its appeal. That’s basically the same argument for every other cult B-Movie with an incoherent plot, bad acting and lame special effects. It’s an art unto itself. But I digress. You have to give credit to Rad for sticking with his creation and seeing it through to the end. All 26 years of it. It’s certainly a testament to the man and his vision to create a film, and is a quality that some younger filmmakers lack. Rad’s breed of filmmaker is a special one from a special place in time. You definitely don’t get that these days, which makes films like these so special.

Of course, the film is a joke. Being that it was shot over the course of two decades, there’s a marked change in quality as the film goes on, made all the worse with the B-Movie hallmark of choppy editing, bad ADR and nonsensical synth score that sounds like a porno when it’s off, and a bad Miami Vice ripoff when it’s on. Director Of Cinematography Peter Palian tries his best to keep things together, even if the film’s central theme of exploitation and revenge involves the camera being a little more leery than anyone should be comfortable with when watching a film. He has his work cut out for him, as halfway through the film, we suddenly (and inexplicably) switch to David as our lead, complete with clothing and hairstyle changes. This is quality filmmaking, folks.

As far as the characters go, it’s about as you’d expect. Paper-thin, with mind-boggling dialogue, suspect acting and delivery (including one instance of an actor blatantly reading lines from behind a desk). There are few surprises with what you’d expect to see in a film like this. It seems as though every man Mira encounters wants to rape her, so it becomes a hilarious joke that she ends up killing every guy she meets. In a moment of hilarity, Mira hides her knife in between her buttcheeks before getting her revenge on the biker who killed Daniel at the start of the film. From there, she essentially becomes a serial killer, but since she’s killing potential rapists, I guess that’s…okay?? The one guy she didn’t kill was left naked and robbed of his truck, so what better thing to do than to go dancing through the forest in the buff. For ten minutes. David’s story doesn’t fare much better, as Black Pepper is about as threatening as you can get with a guy with curly blonde hair and a personal bellydancer in tow. The epic fight scene with David and Black Pepper is the apotheosis of B-Movie fight scenes, however, so the Kung-Fu punch sounds and bad choreography makes it all worthwhile.

So yeah, Dangerous Men is one of those B-Movie films that will have its audience. Those who get it will love it, and those who don’t will shake their heads. It’s stupid trash that is rife for riffing, and has little redeeming quality outside of an excuse to get drunk and laugh at the screen. Is it art? Most definitely. Is it good art? That’s open to interpretation. But as I always say, that’s the beauty of the medium. Fans of Samurai Cop and Furious will be right at home with this one.

Video/Audio:

Presented in 1080p, 1.85:1 AVC-encoded widescreen, given that the film had taken over two decades to film and complete, there’s obviously some variance in quality. Still, the image is surprisingly clean and free of any major print damage. There are some minor flaws, such as some video noise and dirt, but kudos to Drafthouse for restraining themselves from doing any colour correction. There’s just a certain charm for seeing varying consistencies in colour in a bad movie, and given the film’s history, it’s almost a necessity.

As for the audio, the disc gets a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono track. Again, Drafthouse retains the cheesiness of the bad choices by Rad in order to maintain the film’s B-Movie quality. Dialogue is frequently muffled, background and ambient noises are often cut off, gunshots have no impact to them, and the synth score (composed by Rad) has to be heard to be believed.

Supplements:

First up is an Audio Commentary with Bryan Connolly and Zack Carlson. Connolly and Carlson co-authored the book “Destroy All Movies!!! The Complete Guide to Punks on Film” (which seemingly covers every film that had a punk in it), and serve as the MST3K-lite crew for the film. Mixed in with the mockery, the duo obviously share a fondness for the film, and share a few tidbits about its origins.

More information on the film is covered in “That’s So John Rad”. Tim Skousen and Jeremy Coon, two fans who saw the film during its original 2005 run, spend the half-hour doc in search of others who have also seen the film. Along the way, they meet with Rad’s daughter (who tells a story about the time he pulled a gun on her for talking to a boy), and Rad’s grandkids. It’s expectedly goofy, but does unearth more information on the makings-of the film.

Also included is an Interview with Peter Palian, who was the Director of Cinematography for Dangerous Men. Palian was on board for the 26 years that the film was in production, and shares his experience of working with Rad. Incidentally, Palian was also the Director of Cinematography for another infamous B-Movie classic, Samurai Cop.

Rounding up the on-disc extras is a 2006 episode from a Local Access TV Show, which has John Rad making an appearance for about five minutes, and a selection of trailers for Dangerous Men and others.

Included in the package is a DVD copy of the film, as well as a card for a digital copy, and a 16-page booklet featuring a 2005 interview with John Rad for L.A. Weekly. As an added bonus, the case also features a reversible cover featuring alternate cover art.

While it’s hardly a masterpiece, fans of horrible cinema will certainly enjoy the goodies that Drafthouse Films have put together for this one.

Dangerous Men is available now in a Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Pack.