Ever watch a film on home video and ponder how the heck you never saw this when it originally came out? How can you not remember seeing the poster for it at the art house theater that smelt of espresso and clove cigarettes back in the ’80s? How come it wasn’t an employee pick at the Videodrome in the late ’80s? Why didn’t it air on USA’s Night Flight? Why isn’t Punk Vacation part of the dialogue about punk movies that includes Repo Man, Suburbia and Class of 1984? The answer appears to be that while Punk Vacation was made in the mid-’80s, it didn’t get released until the early ’90s by video company known for the dregs of VHS. It didn’t get much love from video stores. It could be considered a forgotten title except someone with a video distribution company remembered it in the 21st century. Vinegar Syndrome has reviving this obscure flick with a high def presentation that makes it feel like a grand premiere.
Tahachapi, California is a few hours east of Los Angeles. Nothing much seems to happen in this desert town. That changes fast when a pack of punk rockers ride in on their motorcycles. They’re not putting up with the small town ways. Punker Rob Garrison (Tommy in The Karate Kid) gets furious when a soda machine rips him off. Instead of merely calling the vending machine company, he and his pals end up killing the store owner and screwing up his daughter (Karen Renee). The local cop catches Garrison and locks him up. The punks should hit the road for Los Angeles, but leader Ramrod (Roxanne Rogers of 976-EVIL) won’t leave him behind. She’s a fierce punk with her white puffed up hair. There shall be no backing down until her man is rescued. The locals are not cooperative with her desire. Besides the entire town coming after them in an all out battle, Ramrod must contend with the dead shop owner’s eldest daughter (Fatal Beauty‘s Sandra Bogan) wanting a piece of her fauxhawk. The punks should have taken out vacation insurance since there’s going to be a severe chance of bloodshed.
It’s such a shame that this film didn’t come out in the mid-’80s when punk kids would have enjoyed renting it from the Video Bar to liven up a dull Thursday night. The punks in Punk Vacation look more realistic than the over the top versions presented on CHiPs or as background color in bigger budget movies. Even after all these years, the film is fun to watch based on the nostalgia for that simple time when hair dye, holding spray and a few rips made you the king of the punk scene. The film has a good gritty feel to it as the punks roam around abandoned ranches and desert frontier. Punk Vacation is the perfect film to watch when you start remembering your times hanging outside the Brewery while Black Flag played inside. Just don’t get too riled up and attack a soda machine.
The video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. The high definition transfer brings out the dirty nature of the high desert location. You really can appreciate Ramrod’s hair. The audio is DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track. The DVD version is a Digital 2.0 Stereo. Neither sound too amazing since it was a low budget production.
DVD of the movie.
Picture Gallery has dozens of production photos taken on the location. This is only on the Blu-ray.
Nomad Riders (82:15) is another feature film produced by Punk Vacation‘s Stephen Fusci. It’s another movie about motorcycles arriving in Tehachapi. However there’s no punks on them. Instead they’re ridden by outlaw bikers. They attack the locals and a revenge plot gets into high gear. There’s a fine synth score to make the action look sleeker. The film is only on the DVD since it was mastered off a 1″ videotape source.
Video Interview with Stephen Fusci (17:56) lets the producer and actor talk about both Nomad Riders and Punk Vacation. He talks an amazingly great amount of trash about AFI trained directors and their inability to work in indie film. Turns out Stanley Lewis is a fake name since the AFI grad who was hired to direct Punk Vacation couldn’t hack it. The quality of AFI directors has dropped since David Lynch finally graduated.
Video Interview with Steven Rowland (13:54) gives the stuntman time to elaborate on what he did for Punk Vacation with his pal Fusci. The two go back a long way. Turns out Clint Eastwood was making Pale Rider in the area at the same time so their was a fight for turf.
Punk Vacation is a classic tale of out of control youth that need to be hunted down and exterminated by the locals. The obscure film is goofy nostalgia trip to those punky times in the ’80s. The bonus of Nomad Riders turns this Blu-ray into a Stephen Fusci film festival.
Vinegar Syndrome presents Punk Vacation. Directed by: Stanley Lewis. Starring: Roxanne Rogers, Don Martin, Stephen Fiachi and Rob Garrison. Running Time: 93 minutes. Released: July 9, 2013. Available at Amazon.com.
