Jungleground (1995)

"You don't get it cop. Down here you're one of the bad guys." - Posie

An undercover cop must survive the night in violent gang territory.
Starring: Roddy Piper, Peter Williams, JR Bourne, Torri Higginson

Link to IMDB

Jungleground is the most dangerous part of the city, where drug dealers and ruthless gangs rule the streets with violence. Even the police have stopped trying to control the chaos, and the area has become a war zone. Lt. Jake Cornell and his small team are the last cops in town that are still trying to make a difference in Jungleground, and with pressure from the feds they plan to go undercover and try to find where the drugs are coming from.

They meet with Dragon, a lieutenant in the Ragnarocker gang that are actually against having any drugs on their turf, so despite being criminals they might be able to help. The meeting goes horribly wrong and becomes a gunfight! Cornell is captured by the gang when they discover he's a cop and they take him to their leader, Odin. After torturing him for fun and to learn about his personal life, Odin decides to play a game. If Cornell can make it out of Jungleground before dawn, then no harm will come to his girlfriend, Sammy, that they have kidnapped.


Stripped of his belongings, Cornell is forced to rely on his wit (and some wrestling moves) as a group of the toughest Ragnarockers are hunting him through the urban wasteland. He finds some unlikely help along the way, but Odin unleashes his entire army upon him as he gets closer to escaping. There's lots of action and a few laughs, with explosions and fights keeping the rather dark story moving at a fast pace. With Cornell using his police training wisely, he's able to stir up arguments among the gang members which adds another layer of complexity to the conclusion.

"Everything's a game." - Odin

Odin

Dragon

There's not much story besides the action, but what is here works well. I liked how Cornell's girlfriend was established, and the inner politics of the gang added a nice touch of pathos and/or batshit-insanity to some of the characters.

We've seen Roddy in better movies, but it's still ten times more enjoyable than The Shepherd or Sci-Fighters. My main complaint is just that Roddy doesn't have enough fun dialog he can play with. It's nothing original but still a solid B-action movie.

Be sure not to miss:
- I was hoping to hear more wacky dialog from Gameshow.
- Nicholas Campbell and Earl Pastko with small roles. Yup, it's a Canadian film.

Internet review:
"Jungleground... It's not just a movie title, it's a way of life." - gordo

Should I watch it?
It should fix any cravings for action you might have.

Where can I find it?
Here on YouTube.

Jungleground gets...