Ted Prior Movies
Lead actor, onscreen from the late '80s. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1995
- R
In this sci-fi actioner, a crew of clean-up specialists dispatched to the site of a misfired rocket have no idea that they have been set up to be unwilling participants in an evil bio-geneticist's mad scheme to turn one of them into a mutant killing machine, a human prototype for a new kind of government-sponsored soldier. One man is infected, and after changing into a horrible monster, he begins killing everyone in site. But though a terrifying creature on the outside, the soldier within struggles to remember and cling to his rapidly fading humanity. The woman who owns a farm near the site of the accident does her best to save the man's life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Rossi, Powers Boothe, (more)
- 1994
- R
Exploitation king Fred Olen Ray was well entrenched in his "Erotic Thriller" phase (typified by films like Inner Sanctum) when he turned out this oddball mix of salacious schemes and demonic possession. When creatively blocked horror writer Howard (Ted Prior) buys an oversized jar containing a silly-looking pickled monster from a tiny shop in Chinatown, he quickly falls under the thing's supernatural influence. Not only can he churn out reams of manuscript pages like never before, he also becomes more sexually aggressive -- a change which troubles his reserved wife Peggy (statuesque Sandahl Bergman), particularly after the arrival of sexy blonde live-in secretary Carol (Shannon Tweed, whose presence had become ubiquitous in films of this kind). The plot thickens when we learn that Carol is also conspiring with her partner Murray (Frank Sivero), Howard's greedy agent, to steal his manuscript. Carol soon becomes the puppet of the thing in the jar as well, playing violent sexual games with the couple, terrorizing Peggy at every turn, and ultimately turning on Murray -- leading to a hyper-violent climax which has nearly every character blasting away at his/her co-conspirator with automatic weaponry. Despite the heftier financial backing of Columbia Home Video, this is still exploitation in the classic Ray tradition, filled with the usual bucketloads of nudity and kinky sex, and featuring cameos from such familiar B-movie faces as Ray Silva and Turhan Bey, as well as Kato Kaelin as a busboy in the restaurant scene with Bey. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Action genre veteran David A. Prior wrote and directed this thriller that unfolds like a B-movie version of Midnight Run (1988). David Keith stars as Mace, a former cop now working as a bounty hunter or "skip tracer." When his daughter is murdered, the mayor (Charles Napier) of a small Southern town hires Mace to find the killer, who's suspected to be Mitch (Robert Hays), the victim's date from the evening of her death. Mace tracks down his target but when Mitch is nearly killed in an explosion, it becomes clear that he's innocent and the real killer is trying to wipe him out. After being ambushed and nearly killed, Mace and Mitch are joined by Sarah (Pamela Anderson), a hooker who witnessed the attack. As the three of them try to stay alive, they uncover a political conspiracy involving the deputy mayor (Stacy Keach) and the corrupt police force that Mace once quit in disgust, led by a crooked detective (Leo Rossi). Also known as Skip-Tracer. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- 1992
- R
In this erotic thriller (which at the same time parodies many stereotypical elements of the genre), Monica Martel (Sally Kirkland) is a one-time sex symbol whose career has seen better days. Hoping for a comeback, Monica agrees to appear in a steamy murder mystery, but there's a catch: while the script has a number of nude scenes for her character, Monica refuses to appear nude herself. An attractive younger woman named Lisa Shane (Sherrie Rose) is hired to serve as Monica's body double; Monica is less than enthusiastic about this development, especially when her husband and co-star Eric Cline (ndrew Stevens) begins showing a more-than-professional interest in Lisa. Lisa is nearly killed when a bomb causes her car to explode, and many on the film begin to wonder if Monica's jealousy has begun to spin into homicidal madness. Double Threat is available on home video in both R-rated and unrated versions. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sally Kirkland, Andrew Stevens, (more)
- 1992
Joe Estevez (Martin Sheen's brother) plays police sergeant Phil Towers in Armed for Action. Towers is assigned to escort a convicted mafia hit man to prison. Thanks to friends on the "inside", the prisoner escapes somewhere between New York and LA. Unable to corral the crook on his own, Towers assembles a vigilante army of small-town yahoos. Violent? Need you ask? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this thriller that begins with a case of mistaken identity, a man is abducted and thrown into a mysterious car; he is assumed to be a professional assassin--who happens to be dead. After he becomes more involved in an investigative effort by the CIA, he and his girlfriend find themselves in the titular position amid schemes of political machinations and murder. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Davi, Charlene Tilton, (more)
- 1991
In this actioner a country drive turns into a nightmare for two lovers when they are attacked. The boy friend is nearly beaten to death and the girl friend is kidnapped and taken to a baby ranch designed to produce a race of blond, blue-eyed children. Fortunately for her, her courageous lover risks it all to save her and bring the "ranchers" to justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1991
In this direct-to-video thriller, an ex-con gets more than he bargained for when he thumbs a ride with a demented trucker. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
When, during a rash of grotesque shotgun murders, a young race car driver goes to the police claiming that he's been having dreams about the killer, he gets locked up as the suspect. A lady reporter falls in love with the suspect and sets out prove his innocence and find the real killer. A rogue biker who accosts the reporter and kidnaps her is thought to be the killer in question so after he's slaughtered in a shoot-out, they figure they've solved the shotgun slayings. But have they? ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Ford, Sandahl Bergman, (more)
When a police officer's life is threatened by some murderous thugs, his son must travel back in time to attempt to alter the past and save his father's life. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Carradine, Ted Prior, (more)
- 1989
Val (Tony Bova) is a regular guy, who likes to imitate the song styling of James Darren and similar '60s crooners when he isn't selling real estate in Southern California. He is not really prepared to go on the front lines of the battle between heaven and hell, but when his son Matthew (Joe Balogh) inadvertently opens a channel to some very California angels (one of them is named "Crystal") while playing with his computer, he really doesn't have much of a choice. His adversary is a local witch named Vyra (Jinx Dawson), is the local representative of Ol' Patch, the devil himself (Myron Natwick). ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Bova, Diane Copeland, (more)
- 1989
- R
An ex-GI travels to Central America to find the pack of vampires who saved his life during wartime. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
In Hardcase and Fist, it all begins when undercover cop Bud McCall (Ted Prior) has himself incarcerated in Folsom Prison. McCall's mission is to prevent an imprisoned mob flunkey from providing a false alibi for syndicate boss Vincent (Vince Barbi). Meanwhile, Vincent has arranged for one of his henchmen, Tony Marino (Tony Zarindast, who also directed the film) to be locked up in Folsom for the purpose of bumping off McCall. As it turns out, Marino is an old army buddy of McCall's and can't bring himself to do Vincent's bidding. Once this plot point is dispensed with, McCall and his prison-savvy cellmate Eddy Lee (Carter Wong) team up to thwart the string-pulling Vincent and to rescue Marino's girlfriend from her mob abductors. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Prior, Carter Wong, (more)
- 1989
In this actioner, two dispossessed veterans of the Vietnam war return to the steamy jungles to destroy a terrorist operation and rescue the indoctrinated daughter of a prominent America general. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Smith, William Zipp, (more)
In this futuristic film, law and order are things of the past as cops are driven off of the crime-infested streets. It is up to a group of vigilantes to set things straight. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Carradine, Robert Tessier, (more)
- 1989
Stop us if you've heard this one before. A nuclear war has wiped out most of mankind. Still, the remnants of the United States and the Soviet Union haggle over who has "won". To settle matters, a single American (Ted Prior) and a single Russian (Robert D'Zar) are ordered to duke it out on behalf of their respecitvely countries-winner take all. We know that Final Sanction is an American-International project because William Smith is in it. The early-1990s collapse of Soviet Communism quickly converted Final Sanction into a period piece. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
- R
When a few young adults take a little outdoor excursion, they are discovered by a couple of malevolent convicts who proceed to torture them. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1988
- R
In this spooky horror film, a pair of former POWs find themselves plagued with horrific nightmares that are so real that the men awaken with wounds upon their bodies. Desperately in need of a good night's sleep, they visit a dream therapist who is also a Vietnam Vet. At first the doctor is skeptical about their claims, but when something happens to one of the vet's wives, the doctor finally listens. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian O'Connor, Dan Haggerty, (more)
- 1987
- R
This violent actioner owes an enormous tip-o-the-hat to The Most Dangerous Game (1932) for its plotline about a secret mercenary training camp where recruits shoot real people instead of stationary targets. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Mitchell, Troy Donahue, (more)
- 1986
- R
Rhoda used to be a model but suffered some disfiguring burns in a defective tanning box. She used her savings to open a health spa catering to the beautiful people and those who aspire to be like them. Someone is fatally stabbing the patrons of her establishment, and it is up to a rather slow-witted policeman to figure out what is happening. In this oddly unexploitational routine thriller, the lovelier a woman's physique is, the less screen time is given to showing her in revealing states of undress. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcia Karr, David James Campbell, (more)
- 1985
- R
In this deflated action-thriller, McKenna (Fritz Matthews) is a Vietnam vet taking part in a training camp run by a sadistic Colonel Crawford (David James Campbell) when McKenna loses it and goes berserk. He is forced to undergo "interrogation" by his Asian-American "captors" which sets off a psychotic break that makes him think he is back in Vietnam. He escapes, killing other Asian-American soldiers as he goes, and the rest of the slash, stab, shoot, and otherwise horribly overkill story involves McKenna's pursuers being knocked off until he and the Colonel go at it face-to-face. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fritz Matthews, Ted Prior, (more)
- 1983
We've had chainsaws, we've had power drills. Now the murder weapon is both portable and easy to conceal (if you're wearing an overcoat). The mysterious killer in Sledgehammer has targeted a previously tranquil small town. His choice of victims? Why, beautiful young women who can't act, of course. After several local lovelies are bludgeoned to death with a sledgehammer, the authorities suspect foul play. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
