I watched this movie after stumbling across it on late night cable.I'd never heard of Kathy Long.It was immediately obvious that she was not only a real athlete,but a real martial artist.She didn't look like the typical straight-to-video actress/model pretending to throw punches.She could obviously mop up the floor with Cynthia Rothrock.As far as the content of the movie goes,if you expected Citizen Cane,you were probably disappointed.I saw exactly what I expected from a low budget martial arts movie.There was lots of ass-kicking and other forms of gratuitous bloodletting.Kathy Long pulled it off.Actresses in Hollywood are a dime a dozen,but Kathy Long combines the good looks and martial arts skills that made Jean-Claud VanDamm a star.If her acting skills are lacking,take a good look at Arnold,Chuck Norris,and Dolph Lundrgren.
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trainerann28 July 2006
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krasnegar6 January 2006... that this piece of jiggle/ghost/biker/martial arts exploitation is primarily an uncredited remake of "Once Upon a Time in the West", with a little "High Plaions Drifter" thrown in for good measure.
The soundtrack even quotes Morricine's "Once Upon.." soundtrack.
Proving, once again, that it's not so much the material as the idiot (or genius) who films it.
I caught the last fifteen minutes on satellite some time ago, thought it seemed familiar, and managed to catch the last complete run on that cycle, and sure enough, it was.
If it wasn't so darned expensive -- it was intended for the rental market, not the consumer "seel through" market -- i'd buy a copy just to show to people who would be able to appreciate the sheer effrontery of the people who made this travesty.
And the thought Caesar had gall. -
tarbosh220003 August 2023In one of those dusty ol' western towns, a mysterious STRANGER rides in on her Harley. Known only as The Stranger (Long), she is looking for Angel (Divoff), the diabolical head of the local biker gang. Because Sheriff Gordon Cole (Pierpoint) is afraid of the bikers, they've slowly but surely proliferated in the small town. After noting that The Stranger looks exactly like the fiancee that was killed by the bikers, she then proceeds to get her own brand of personal revenge. If time allows, she'll also help some of the locals. But will the biker baddies - including Jonesy (Stewart) and Hawk (Trejo) - feel the wrath of some truly STRANGER things?
Kathy Long, from Rage and Honor (1992) and Under the Gun (1995), finally gets her own starring vehicle here, with The Stranger. People have said that it's a low-budget High Plains Drifter (1973) knockoff, but the Spaghetti Western-styled soundtrack would indicate that it's also influenced by the European Westerns that came decades before. It's also quite close in tone to Hell Riders (1984), or the type of thing that AIP was releasing at the time. You almost expect Rocky Patterson or Joe Estevez to pop up at any moment.
As for the cast that is here, Kathy Long is an appealing leading lady and this is clearly her moment in the sun. The Stranger clearly has no problem beating up the baddies. There actually should have been more of that. Ginger Lynn Allen was also a nice addition to the ensemble, and you know Nils Allen Stewart's character is evil because he has a threatening rattail. A young Danny Trejo rounds out the more familiar B-Movie names we all know and love.
The problem with the film is that the plot is so simple and minimalistic, it's hard to stretch that over 90 minutes or so. Without the addition of further plot twists or developments, or more action scenes, the energy really starts to flag around the halfway mark. Director Fritz Kiersch, known for his initial pair of 80's classics, Children of the Corn (1984) and Tuff Turf (1985), at first seems to be having fun with this small-scale film and its tough female lead. But perhaps he began to lose interest or something, because the second half lacks dynamism.
While it's certainly better than something like Lone Hero (2002), The Stranger doesn't seem to warrant its current status of "rare and sought-after movie". It's an easy fix: there should have been more concentration on Kathy Long beating up/killing people, perhaps in more locations than this one small Western town. What you do get of that is pretty great, But the film itself needed a shot in the arm after a certain point.
In the end, The Stranger is a worthwhile one-time watch, but we think that's about it. -
tedmonds22 July 2002A Biker version of High Plains Drifter, but the "ghost" is way more attractive than Clint Eastwood. Surprisingly well acted considering it is a B-Movie and one of the female leads is more well known for her pornographic sexual talents than her acting. Kathy Long looks hot in a black bustier.
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Plot sounded entertaining but the cast simply could not pull off a potentially entertaining script. If Kathy Long and Brian Bosworth ever appear together, that film possibly could rate worse that this C film! Terrible waste of time.
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pooh-2410 November 2001The storyline of this movie goes that a small town in the American southwest is ruled by a evil biker gang that has already killed the sheriff's finance and has pretty much made him unwilling to take on the gang himself.
Enter Soccer Mommy on a her motorcycle and also carrying a whip.She comes in and beats up all those mean biker dudes all by herself beating them up with no trouble at all.The movie suffers from the four p's,it is predictable, preposterous,phoney,and putrid.
The star,Kathy Long,is no beauty to look at.She seems like many of these female martial arts B-movie types who do movies like these,they look beat up and have next to no sex appeal to them.Not to mention her lack of acting skills which need no mentioning anyway.
The women of this film are made to be the heroes here,the star,the murdered finance of the sheriff(She was going to give the FBI pictures of the bikers doing their crimes but was killed before she could do it.),while the men of the film are made to be the villians of the film,the cowardly sheriff,the bikers.Hollywood liberal politics at work again.
Made for feminists and girly male types,who like to see men beaten up by a woman for the sake of it,The Stranger is an action film loaded with violence, short on common sense,and hardly entertaining.High Plains Drifter it is not.Leonard Part 7 it is. -
amadeuseisenberg3 January 2022Didn't know there was so much feminist cringe in the 90s, heh. They really abused the straight-to-video scene with bitter garbage like this. It is sad, as straight-to-video should be used as a haven for hidden gems, not as everyone's dumping ground for their own little twisted ideas. At least not too much money and resources were wasted, which I'm glad for. Rather use that for something that improves the world, instead of spreading feminist bitterness 🙂
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mkjrsh5 April 2004I hope the next time Kathy Long makes a film she can unclench that jaw - maybe it's from watching just a little too many Clint Eastwood movies. Visually she's cute, perky, toned and buff and, pugilistically speaking, even a bit more impressive than Cynthia Rothrock. She's got a lot of raw talent, and might have been more believable in a movie like "G. I. Jane" - you know, female overcoming the system, kicking male butt as well as the next guy, nitro-in-a- perfume-bottle-kind-of-thing.
This is not a bad film at all, and features a very surprising turn by Ginger Lynn in a dramatic role as a town local. Serious kudos to director Fritz Kiersch for coaxing a terrifically drawn performance ... from skin queen Ginger Lynn? Wow, way to go Ginger!
We've seen the storyline a million times, but the action is solid and the production value is terrific, which is a testament to the director and the producers. The "High Plains Drifter" impersonation must've driven the sound guys crazy, but overall this movie is pretty good thanks largely to Fritz Kiersch and the guys behind the camera. -
chris91911 December 2005Forget Diana Rigg, Cynthia Rothrock, Karen Sheperd, the two Lucindas (Dooling and Dickey) and even Jillian Kesner. Kathy Long is the toughest of them all, and this is her great film. She kills bad guy after bad guy in "The Stranger," most of them with her bare hands, and just looking at her swagger and those unbelievably powerful arms of hers, you know she could do absolutely anything she wanted with you in real life. ("Are you going to kill me or make love to me?" one man asks her. "I'll let you know," Kathy replies.) No wonder this film is selling for so much on EBay: for those susceptible to this kind of fantasy, it doesn't get much better than "The Stranger."
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198abv30 January 2002I saw the stranger some years ago in the Portuguese Television. Since then I did not forgot it Kathy Long plays a great role. Her personality.., her fighting background fits perfectly in the role she does play in this movie. Actually it`s not easy to find a female playing convincingly the role of a female fighter Usually they look fake. . they look like fashion models playing the role of fierce fighters Not with Kathy Long. She is perfect for the role she does play not the least because she was a great kickboxing fighter in real life and this fact does show on , in her movies. She is the real thing Great Movie
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guil1210 November 2001This bad movie at least has a gorgeous leading lady, Kathy Long, as the stranger. Long looks magnificent in her tight black leather jeans and flowing golden locks. She also strides a motorcycle pretty well. But she is given trite dialogue to deal with. Seeking a chief biker by the name of Angel for his wrong doings[namely rape] the ultimate happens in a deserted ghost town in a sort of B movie HIGH NOONish atmosphere. Where did they find such a place? I'm curious. It truly looked deserted. Add to this melodrama, a bunch of villains, in biker gear, looking more or less like Mr. Clean, and the townsfolk looking more like Mr. Peepers [old Wally Cox TV series of a mousy professor]and you can guess the rest. Our heroine wins the battle, hands down. Along the way she hops into bed with Sheriff Cole [a nice guy played simply by Eric Pierpoint in a helpless sort of way - but, hey, he tries] even getting knocked out with one punch by our gal Kathy to keep him from harm as the gang of villains approach the town [ala Frank Miller]. Andrew Divoff provided Angel with the proper tattoos and evil grimaces. It was Robin Lynn Heath as Cordet that missed the boat. This barefooted barbie doll babe runs around in almost a dress, looking like she needs a bath. She becomes increasingly annoying as the picture progresses. Can't understand the point of this role. And I don't think the actress did either. One expression "like duh" and blank stares. That was the limit of her performance. I do believe she finally took a bath. In the end the stranger leaves town waving goodbye to our sheriff and the barefooted ragmuffin and who cares. But still a pleasure to watch Kathy Long. Hope she gets more offers to show her stuff. A perfect replacement for Sheena, if anyone's listening. Directed by Fritz Kiersch with a deft touch. You could see some artistic attempts of his work if only he had a better scenario than writer Gregory Poirier offered him. I give it 3 out of ten rating. And the 3 goes to Miss Long for being born so gorgeous.