Ever since people were able to post videos on the internet; trailers for not quite yet real movies have been streaming away. Some of them were part of fundraising efforts to make the real film. Others were spoofs of Hollywood blockbusters. Quite a few were original ideas so outrageous that you can’t imagine a feature film version could come close to the magic contained in 2 minutes or less. Race War got its start winning a trailer competition sponsored by the Alamo Drafthouse (home of the bottomless bowl of popcorn). There were probably a few people laughing who thought Race War: The Remake (as it was called at the time) would never become a feature film. Sure there wasn’t going to be a major Hollywood Studio ready to sink $200 million into Race War to make it the next Star Wars movie. Filmmaker Tom Martino didn’t need $200 million to make his dream come true. He might have only needed $200 and a few pals to make his feature film dream. The bigger question is if he could keep up the outrageous tone of the trailer with another 90 minutes of screen time. Can Race War make you root for crack dealers?
Baking Soda (Howard Calvert) and G.E.D. (Jamelle Kent) are the hottest crack dealers in their neighborhood. They control the rock trade and everyone whose a crackhead is pleading for a fix. They cruise around in a busted up car making their appointed rounds. This day seems a bit different as G.E.D. decided to hard quit his therapist. His problems aren’t cured. There appears to be an outside organization eager to claim Baking Soda’s empire. But he’s completely oblivious to it. Instead, his alien refuge pal Kreecha (a guy wearing a Creature From the Black Lagoon mask) drops by their rather trashed pad for a full blown party. The trio go beyond wasted that night. The next day things are going wrong as none of their normal customers need their rocks. That’s when Baking Soda realizes there’s a conspiracy against him. Him, G.E.D. and Kreecha need to reclaim their streets. He’s willing to rip the tongues out of people to get them to talk. But will that be good enough against the outsiders?
Race War keeps the outrageousness and the outrage flowing through the entire film. Director Tom Martino makes us root for the crack dealers and their alien pal against the evil(er) forces that want to take over the hood. Making this cheering for the normal bad guys easier is the hilarious chemistry between Howard Calvert and Jamelle Kent. They’re partying on the screen when they strike back. Calvert is especially effective when he goes into full badass mode. The movie is full of great nonsense such as a handpuppet that runs one of the nightclubs. There’s even strange bad guys who use gallon milk jugs as their face. It’s like a kid’s crafts project gone wild. The gore effects are bloody and nasty without being that realistic. There’s even musical numbers including a song about a crackhead wanting a discount from Baking Soda. He ain’t getting it. Race War was originally released in 2012 and hasn’t aged a day. Its craziness still clicking away. The outrageousness remains freshly bizarre in its low budget glory. Race War proves that a crazy trailer can become an outlandish outlaw feature film.
Video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. They film was shot on video with that lo-fi feel. The money is spent on the outrageous action more than lighting which is cool. The Audio is Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. The sound isn’t bad as you can hear the plot and the comically repeated soundtrack cues.
Audio Commentary features writer-director Tom Martino and his pal Joe is recorded in 2022. The movie was originally called Race War: The Remake. He thought it was cute to call it a remake in 2012 since there were lots of remakes. The “original” was the trailer that won an award at Alamo Drafthouse. He points out the opening is his tribute to Rudy Ray Moore’s Human Tornado. He made the film in Houston, Texas. They tie this film into his other movies Cheeseballs and Fisted that are also out from Wild Eye Raw Extreme.
Gore Reel & Behind the Scenes (8:42) lets us see how the blood flowed on the set. There were second takes.
Gag Reel (9:28) as all the bloopers. It is a hard thing for the actors to keep from busting up in quite a few scenes. The behind the camera crew also seem eager to laugh. Turns out the Da Black Kreecha mask isn’t so great for seeing through.
Race War Trailer (1:16) has a lot of people getting blasted away.
Trailers include Cheeseballs, Fisted, Jurassic Exorcist 2 and Full Metal Sasquatch.
Wild Eye Raw & Extreme presents Race War. Directed by Tom Martino. Screenplay by Tom Martino. Starring Howard Calvert, Jamelle Kent, Danny McCarty, Tom Martino and Matt Rogers. Running Time: 95 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: July 15, 2025.
