Under Oath

[Guest Zack Malibu]

OK, I'll admit my taste in movies ranges from the extremly good,mainstream stuff (Goodfellas, Usual Suspects) to the obscure,B-movie,where did you find this, Blockbuster clearance bin material (Test Tube Teens From The Year 2000, Street Knight), so imagine my joy when the local Wal Mart got in a TON of Roger Corman flicks, and priced them at $3 VHS and $4.44 on DVD!

 

Being a martial arts fan, I was able to snag the entire BLOODFIST series, and both BLACK BELT movies.  For sheer camp value, I grabbed BLACK SCORPION 1 and 2, and just for the hell of it, the first CARNOSAUR.  And this was just the VHS section.

 

I made my way over to the DVD's, and while they didn't have as much of a selection as the VHS, I managed to get LAST RESORT, a cheesy looking 80's comedy that boasted Charles Grodin, Phil Hartman and Jon Lovitz as stars.  Figuring anything with those 3 guys should be at least sorta funny, I got it.  I also found a movie I had never heard of, called UNDER OATH.  It's main star is Jack Scalia, who's best work was on DALLAS years ago, and was the star of a short lived series called POINTMAN.  Anyways, it had the whole "corrupt police dept." type of story, so I grabbed it, as I'm a fan of that type of  movie.  I finally got around to watching the movie, and all I can say is...I'm impressed.

 

You can't expect much from a Corman flick, as he's one of the reigning kings of low budget.  But this doesn't read like a Corman flick, has an interesting premise, and enough twists to keep you guessing who's on whose side.  Here's the basic premise, without any major spoilers:

 

Cops Nick Hollitt and Ray Ramirez are stuck with a pay freeze at work, and need a way to get some extra cash.  They decide to shake down a local arms dealer in hopes of a one time score.  During the shakedown, things don't go as planned, and the dealer is accidentally killed.  Hollitt and Ramirez are then put on the case to find the murderer(s), because as it turns out, they guy they just killed was an undercover fed.

 

The story goes on, with both men sinking in to paranoia and distrust, all the while trying to cover up any trace that may lead the case back to them.  I checked it out on IMDB.com, and there was only one comment for it, and to my surprise, Amazon.com listed it as not being released on DVD yet!  How I wound up with a copy, I don't know, but if you happen to see this movie and have the few extra bucks to spare, it really is worth a look for fans of gritty, police/crime thrillers.