Review of The Warriors (1979) by Victor T — 16 May 2016

When it comes to B movies, most of them are straightforward and forgettable, but some of them have managed to go beyond that and earn a cult following as years go by, and a perfect example of this is statement is "The Warriors".

New York City is filled with gangs, each having its own characteristics based upon the area they come from. The Warriors is a gang from Coney Island, this gang is summoned in a meeting of all the important gangs of the city, by order of the leader of the most powerful gang of them all, The Riffs. In this meeting, a shooting starts thus stranding this clan outside of their territory and this begins a journey where The Warriors need to return to their home.

When someone describes a film as a B movie mixup of "West Side Story" meets "A Clockwork Orange", you immediately have my attention as I am always interested in B movies that became cult classics and I adore "A Clockwork Orange", and back when I saw "The Warriors" for the first time I was surprised it wasn't the movie I expected but I wasn't disappointed either. "The Warriors" has everything that´s mandatory for a B movie: Deadpan acting, cheap looking costumes, a forced and laughable romance, a nonsensical story, characters that are so forgettable that you don't even know their names, dialog that can be awkward or laughable at times, and action that shows were the budget was spent. With all that being said, you could be wondering how this film achieved that cult following, and the answer is director Walter Hill. He perfectly creates a world that´s so creative and fun that you don't mind that the characters are dull and the story is nonsense, you just want to see what will be the next obstacle The Warriors will face as they are shot with such style. The synth score is just mesmerizing (sure, it is extremely dated and feels like a Clockwork rip-off but still works and its so much fun to listen to), the fights are well choreograph, the characters may be forgettable but the way they react and interact with each other are perfect for this bizarrely fun world, the costumes may look cheap but they are creative and overall become the characters, and overall this film is extremely fun, which is the main goal of a B movie.

On a side note, the inclusion of a comic book style for the change of scenes are awkward at first but they actually fit the style of this film, the only issue is that it doesn't merged naturally as the film itself looks old and raw but the comic book illustration look clean and from a different era, but still give them credit for the idea.

"The Warriors" is a B movie that deserves its cult status as it is by no means a great film (people can even argue it is not good at all) but it is stylized fun that will suck you into this world and will keep you there for its entire running time. One of the most entertaining and memorable B movies you can find and one of my personal favorites.