Shriek Show / Anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1) / Color / 1 disc / 93 minutes

A pair of dirtbags steal a cache of cocaine and head for the border, leaving a trail of bodies behind them in the long, savage trip that is COPKILLERS.

You won’t find high art in this grimy 1973 masterpiece of low-budget trash cinema. The story is about as linear and predictable as it gets, but it’s a heck of a lot of fun too.

Filmed on location in the blistering ruin of the Arizona landscape outside Tucson, COPKILLERS is a surprisingly accessible little film, considering it was cheaply made by a crackerjack unit of pornographers. It reeks of filth, heat, and dirty flesh. It’s a bloody, depraved “buddy flick,” and you’ll want to take a shower after watching it.

Director Walter R. Cichy made COPKILLERS a year before he was assistant producer on another camp-classic — the wannabe hardcore, FLESH GORDON. Interestingly, both films star drive-in savante and occasional porn man Jason Williams in the leading role.

Ray (Played with menace by Williams) and Alex (Bill Osco, who also shared billing as a producer and writer) head south of the border to pick up five kilos of coke with intentions of riding it back into the states and delivering it to a hippy in the Arizona desert. The scheme ends up in the pooper when the duo have to shoot their way out of a police blockade, killing four men, and amassing a large quantity of weapons from the fallen officers in the process.

In one of the film’s best, and consequently, most mean-spirited sequences, Ray and Alex hijack an ice cream truck and torment its mild-mannered driver for several miles before lobbing him onto the side of the highway. Further down the road Ray and Alex manage to blast a motorcycle cop with a shotgun, kill a gas station attendant, kidnap the lovely innocent bystander Karen (Diane Keller), kill her boyfriend and steal his car. In a bizarre twist, Ray forces Karen to read aloud passages from her naughty romance novel, all the while threatening rape. “David reached beneath the sheets for the pale quivering flesh beside him …”

Alex develops a soft spot for their hostage and romances her with lines of cocaine. “Seeing as how I’m a poor dope dealer,” he says. “We (snort with) a $1 bill instead of a $100.” Meanwhile, Ray arranges a meeting with their guru drug-dealer, who will reportedly give them $100,000 for the cocaine they are delivering — if the plan doesn’t go to hell.

COPKILLERS doesn’t break any new ground, but what’s not to like about it? It’s solid, competent storytelling with plenty of guns, gals and drugs to keep things interesting. Plus, it features a great soundtrack with a hokey lite-rock theme song that’s probably far too happy for the grim narrative that follows it.

Williams isn’t a bad actor at all. Osco is though and it shows in nearly every scene. Williams brings a visceral, frightening quality to his method, using primal grunts and contorted facial expressions in an effort to hold back volcanic anger; Osco is about on the level of a community theater actor, but he gives it a fair shot. Their characters are dependent on each other: Ray is the alpha male who needs to abuse Alex to validate his self. Alex is weak and needs Ray’s leadership. The dynamic ultimately causes their relationship to implode.

Special effects, compliments of Rick Baker (AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON), are better than average, mainly consisting of thrashing bodies, pulsing streams of blood and random geysers of gore. Convincing practical effects combined with a copious amount of shaky handheld camera movement provides a sensation of realism typically reserved for documentary work.

The Arizona landscape, craggy and hot under a clear sky, becomes its own character. Joshua trees stand like sentinels in the distance. Rutted roads flanked by desiccated tumbleweed offer dust, misery and no hope of escape. It’s the perfect setting for the film’s nihilistic ending.

Shriek Show offers up a decent presentation. As seen in some of the frame grabs here, the print is grimy and scratchy. That only adds to the character of the film in my opinion. Sure, I’ve been known to rant about “fake damage” applied to films, but this doesn’t count. COPKILLERS is a film that was made and sold to drive-ins and grind houses. All things considered, this is a fine anamorphic print, and Shriek Show should be commended for offering it.

Bonus features are scant, but the disc does contain an insightful interview and audio commentary with actor Jason Williams, the original trailer, and an image gallery. Also included are trailers for THE BEING, GRIZZLY, DEAD RIOT and SYNDICATE SADISTS.

Overall COPKILLERS is a solid, enjoyable effort. Three stars!

Check out the excellent trailer for this film below: