Endangered (1994) watch online HD

Kate (Hess) and her husband (?) Neil (MacLachlan) decide to go camping in the wilderness outside of Seattle. Neil obviously taking up the challenge because he's such an enthusiast of Postal Carrier-style shorts. While enjoying their sojourn, a passel of punks decide to ruin the fun. Assaulting Kate and Neil, Kate goes on the run in the woods. While there, she runs into DeVoe (Kove), a man dressed as some sort of indeterminate Indian. What are his true motives? Meanwhile, the Sheriff of the nearby town of Wilkeson, Shirley (Aiello) wants his own answers for all the goings-on in the woods, so he embarks on his own expedition into the harsh and unforgiving lands. Will anyone make it out alive? The reason why we checked out Endangered is because we're fans of Martin Kove. As we discovered, there's really no other reason to seek out this boring wilderness slog. And it's a total waste of Kove at that, as he gets very little screen time. In addition, his character, like the movie as a whole, is poorly written and conceived. Presumably influenced by I Spit On Your Grave (1978) and possibly even Savage Instinct (1991), Endangered has none of the qualities that enliven those movies - it just meanders and goes around in circles.

It's director Kellis' only feature film to date, and it's easy to see why. He does manage to get some celebrity siblings on board - Rick Aiello is Danny's son, and Renee Estevez, who is Martin Sheen's daughter and Charlie Sheen's sister, has a very small part as well. We get to see some all-too-brief Rick Aiello-Fu at one point, and Kove's getups are something (buckskin fringed jackets and wild Indian-style ponchos, etc.), but there's so much dumbness on show, these bright spots get lost. Not enough actually HAPPENS in this movie, and you don't care about the characters one way or another. Even as they try to survive, it's hard to care because they're all victims of bad writing. Even when one of the head punks causing all the terror rips the scrunchie off his ponytail in anger, despite the fact that it's a power move to show you're upset (hey, we've all been there, right?) it's still hard to care. Sad, really.

And because it was 1994 and set in the environs of Seattle, naturally during the credits there is a Pearl Jam-like "grunge" tune that plays. Pretty predictable. You could always tell it was the mid/late-90's in DTV land because the music moved to a more grunge style, away from the more AOR style of the 80's. See Overkill (1996) and Food For Feet as an example. We see this as an upsetting change - give us Steve Butler and "Always On My Mind" or Joe Lamont's "Quiet Cool" any day of the week. Unfortunately, that's another weak point for Endangered and the straw that broke the camel's back, really.

Sadly, we cannot recommend Endangered. Even Kove fans are likely to be disappointed.

Characters pop in and out, why? Often never substantiated. The editing is choppy to say the least. Some interesting time-lapse footage, but that's about the only redeeming quality in this cumbersome tale. Characters are murdered and those are best described as mercy killings to get them off the screen and on with their careers. With an absence of character development, you never really care that they're gone. One keeps wondering - why am I watching this when I could be rummaging through the bargain bin videos at Pick'N'Save? It is as utterly amazing as it is suspicious, that anyone out there gave this a "10" rating.

There's just something about Sandra Hess. Full stop. All the men in this film seem to go gaga over her and have trouble keeping their eyes off her. Not hard to see why. From opening to close, she ends up centre of attention. Virtually at every turn in the company of someone new and finding herself caught in a dangerously bizarre chain of events.

"ENDANGERED" (aka "THE HUNTED") is a considerably well-shot, taut B-grade fight for survival revenge outing that keeps to the basics. No surprises in how it's filmed, or in what direction in wants to go. Well, that's what you tend to think, until it decides to shake things up. This story is cluttered with forceful twists and turns, yet it does a good job disguising them. It sure does make it much more interesting and suspenseful.

The plot follows a young couple hiking in the wilderness when they come across four psychotic boneheaded drug runners who have their eyes on Kate (an excellently feisty Sandra Hass) for some 'fun', but she manages to escape, to only bump into another hiker (Richard Hench). Earlier these same four, unknowingly killed an off duty police officer from a nearby town and the local sheriff (Rick Aiello) decides not to wait around heading out on the trail of these murderers. Then throw in a mysterious stranger (Martin Kove), who seems to be tracking the sheriff. Is this the guy the drug runners are meant to meet up with in the valley for their business deal?

During the early scenes there seems to be a couple suspicious looking characters that you know are going to play a bigger part in the scheme of things, as the story progresses. Kove is the pick of the lot, although his character doesn't utter a word within the first hour and spends most time playing hide and seek. Hench's philosophical character is just an obsessive weirdo that you just know there's something not quite right. As for Aiello's sheriff, he slowly grows into the live-wire part. One thing though, every one of these men (including the four reckless thugs) learn they are in for a fight.

Hess' character has got a real mean kick on her, and they literally find that out. After playing the victim and sick of running, the screws are finally turned. By becoming resourceful, making booby traps in such a quick matter of time, you'll be amazed by how much she gets done. Even how far she would go to manipulatively prove a point will most likely have you raising an eyebrow. All of this doesn't really occur until the brutal third act, as before that you got to deal with a lot of wandering through the woods, along with the cardsharp plot's regular reveals. Still there are small pockets, like the intense first encounter when the drug runners come across the skinny dipping couple (which Hess does again later on), while the rugged mountainous terrain adds another risky element.

In the end it was more excessive, than studious watching Hess breaking out the shackles, going Rambo to stick it to 'em.