Review: The Evil That Men Do

Charles Bronson is a former assassin living a peaceful life in the Cayman Islands, when he’s visited by an old acquaintance (Jose Ferrer!) with a job offer. An old friend of Bronson’s has been killed, supposedly a victim of a quasi-Nazi torturer known as The Doctor (Joseph Maher), AKA British-accented Dr. Clement Molloch. This ‘Doctor’ is a real piece of work, teaching his sadistic torturing trade to all manner of foreign generals and corrupt leaders, particularly in South America. He’s even blackmailed the slimy U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala (John Glover, natch), where The Doctor is currently operating unsanctioned. Bronson is retired, but meeting the dead man’s widow (Theresa Saldana), he realises that it’s an assignment he simply must take up and he agrees to go to Guatemala to rub ‘The Doctor’ out. He and Saldana head for Guatemala posing as a couple, with Rene Enriquez as Bronson’s local contact. Raymond St. Jacques plays a rather brutal thug on the payroll of ‘The Doctor’, whilst Antoinette Bower plays the lesbian sister of ‘The Doctor’, as unrepentantly evil as her brother.

 

Cannon apparently took a pass on this 1984 Charles Bronson vehicle directed by Cannon regular J. Lee Thompson (who used to direct legit films like the original – and best – “Cape Fear”), which is weird given it’s seemingly right up their cheesy exploitation alley. Scripted by R. Lance Hill (“Road House”, “Out for Justice”) and John Crowther (Italian-made cheapies like “Covert Action” and “Hands of Steel”), from the former’s novel, apparently Crowther greatly reworked the original material. Whoever is responsible, it’s a little bit of an upgrade from the usual shit Bronson and Thompson were making for Cannon throughout the 80s, though don’t begin to mistake that for a recommendation.

 

Like the Bronson serial killer pic “10 to Midnight”, this is just a mild upgrade from the “Death Wish” sequel vigilante fare Bronson was otherwise churning out. This time instead of going after rapists or a serial killer, Bronson is tackling a pseudo-Nazi scientist/torturer played by the guy from “The Dog” episode of “Seinfeld”, Scottish-born character player Joseph Maher. Maher’s creepy character and performance are the best thing here, and sadly he’s not in the film nearly enough, after making quite a strong early impression. He’s immediately creepy and sinister, and you can’t wait for him to get his just desserts in the nastiest way possible. Such a shame that he spends the bulk of the middle of the film off-screen. An ever-so-slightly invested Bronson and dour Saldana are the main show here and whilst both are serviceable (She’s a better actress than Bronson’s wife Jill Ireland ever was), they can’t provide the same exploitation movie/low-rent Bond villain fun Maher offers up. You do however get an early showcase of John Glover being a sleazy, spineless douchebag, and we all know he’s good fun at being that kind of thing. You wish the film had a lot more of him, too. Jose Ferrer seems far too good to be appearing in this kind of thing, but he’s still solid in his virtual walk-on. The late Raymond St. Jacques makes for a fairly imposing henchman, despite sporting an earring and skivvy (He’s supposedly a kinky swinger, so perhaps that explains the earring and skivvy, I dunno).

 

For a cheapjack exploitation film with quite a sorry reputation with critics, this one…wasn’t boring. I’m guessing most of this film’s poor reputation is due to the nasty torture scenes, but there’s not enough of them (nor are they explicit enough) to warrant much of a fuss from me. The guy is what he is, and you kinda have to show what it is that he does: Torture. That said, with torture, 80s Bronson, and cock-fighting scenes, I suppose it adds up to something that might offend the easily offended.

 

Bronson’s introduction into the film is absolutely stock, featuring an immediately wasted Joe Seneca as a Cayman Islands native  However, his grim, humourless approach kinda works for his character who has a very grim job to do. And at least Maher’s ‘Doctor’ is a genuinely evil sadist, an unrepentant villain worthy of Bronson’s brand of ‘justice’. Or at least he’s nasty enough for me not to complain much. Josef Mengele was clearly the chief inspiration here, even though this ‘Doctor’ is actually not a Nazi or even really a White Supremacist. He’s a sadistic torturer who sells his skills to the highest bidder, wherever in the world they might be, whatever their political cause/bent may be. Look out for a gloriously unnecessary bit of juvenility where Bronson grabs a big Great Khali-looking guy by the nuts and twists the fuck out of them. That poor man will never have any kids.

 

So it sounds like I kinda enjoyed the film, yet it’s not getting a recommendation. Why? Well, like I said, it needed a lot more screen time for the villains. Also, Thompson was as much a slumming, lazy director at this point as Bronson was as an actor. Don’t get me wrong, he was a technically proficient journeyman who could be relied upon to get the job done satisfactorily and on time for producers etc, which is nothing to overlook. However, he doesn’t really give the film any real energy or excitement, perhaps partly because he was hired on at pretty much the last minute when the original director proved an ill-fit. Also damaging is the predictable and formulaic plotting. It’s the usual Bronson formula, just a little better than usual and enough little tweaks to stop it from being another “Death Wish” sequel. However, the lack of Maher was probably the biggest issue for me. You really need more screen time for your villain’s presence to truly have an impact.

 

Formulaic 80s-era Bronson trash, only slightly better than some. Bronson has made a lot of shit, and this is…better than shit. So I’m not surprised it has an IMDb rating of over 6. It needed more screen time for the villains, and it’s far too predictable and formulaic to really draw you in. Still, I didn’t mind it for the low-grade trash that it is even if I did wonder how the rather esteemed Jose Ferrer was wrangled into appearing in something like this. It’s also interesting that Bronson’s beloved wife Jill Ireland is an EP but doesn’t appear in the film. Perhaps she (or her husband) baulked at the idea of her playing the nasty lesbian sister.

 

Rating: C+