''Rolling Vengeance'', also known as ''Monster Truck'', is a 1987 Canadian

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...

directed by Steven Hilliard Stern and starring

Don Michael Paul Donald Michael Paul (born April 17, 1963) is an actor, director, writer, and producer. Biography He starred in the films '' Heart of Dixie'' and '' Rich Girl'' with Jill Schoelen and appeared in '' Aloha Summer''. He wrote the screenplay for ...

and

Ned Beatty Ned Thomas Beatty (July 6, 1937 – June 13, 2021) was an American actor and comedian. In a career that spanned five decades, he appeared in more than 160 films. Throughout his career, Beatty gained a reputation for being "the busiest actor in ...

. The movie follows a truck driver that builds a special, eight-ton truck to help get revenge against the rednecks who killed his family and raped his girlfriend. The film script's initial premise centered on a young boy that created special monster trucks in order to eliminate

drunk drivers Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is in ...

Plot

The five drunken sons of influential local business owner Tiny Doyle have been terrorizing the streets of their small town in their pick-up truck. Local trucker Big Joe Rosso has a wife named Kathy, a son named Joey, and two young daughters named Allison and Kristin. Big Joe and Joey do business with Tiny, delivering liquor to his bar, but that does not stop Tiny's son Vic from driving drunk and running Kathy off the road, killing Kathy, Allison, and Kristin. Thanks to Tiny's influence, the local judge sets Vic free after ordering Vic to pay a $300 fine. Lieutenant Sly, one of the local cops, is sympathetic toward the Rosso family, but Sly is about to retire, and Tiny has a lot of clout in this town. Enraged and bereaved, Big Joe goes after Vic, but the Doyles and his five sons kill Big Joe. After that, they gang rape Joey's girlfriend Misty. Enraged and frustrated, Joey builds a monster truck out of junked car and truck parts, with seven-foot tall tires, a flame thrower, and a giant retractable combination drill and metal cutter mounted on it. Joey is out to do what the local authorities cannot or will not do...put an end to the Doyles once and for all.

Cast

as Joey Rosso *

Lawrence Dane Lawrence Joseph Zahab (April 3, 1937 – March 21, 2022), known professionally as Lawrence Dane, was a Canadian actor and film producer, best known for his role as Lt. Preston in ''Bride of Chucky''. Life and career Born in Masson, Quebec, Dane ...

as Big Joe Rosso *

as Tiny Doyle * Lisa Howard as Misty * Todd Duckworth as Vic Doyle *

Michael J. Reynolds Michael John Reynolds (15 August 1939 – 22 March 2018) was a Canadian actor who has featured in over one hundred films. Selected filmography * ''The Reincarnate'' (1971) .... David * ''The Discoverers'' (1972) .... Dr. Frederick Banting * ''T ...

as Lt. Sly Sullivan * Michael Kirby as Mahoney * Michael Dyson as Moon Man * Hugo Dann as Hairlip * Lawrence King-Phillips as Finger * Alan C. Peterson as Four Eyes *

Barclay Hope Barclay Hope (born February 25, 1958) is a Canadian actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Clifford and Claudius Blossom on '' Riverdale'', Mike Hayden on '' Street Legal'', Peter Axon on '' PSI Factor'', Col. Lionel Pendergast on ''Sta ...

as Steve Tyler * Susan Hogan as Kathy Rosso *

Alyson Court Alyson Stephanie Court (born November 9, 1973) is a Canadian actress. Beginning her career as a child actress, her first role was on the series '' Mr. Dressup'' (1984–1994) and she made her film debut in '' Sesame Street Presents: Follow That B ...

as Allison Rosso * Marsha Moreau as Kristin Rosso

Reception

Reception for the film has been mixed, with most reviews upon its initial release being negative.

Twitch Film Screen Anarchy, previously known as Twitch Film or Twitch, is a Canadian English-language website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown. In addition to films, ...

gave a mostly positive review for ''Rolling Vengeance'', stating that although the film didn't go against any genre conventions, it does "play all the right notes to their hilt".

Dread Central Dread Central is an American website founded in 2006 that is dedicated to horror news, interviews, and reviews. It covers horror films, comics, novels, and toys. Dread Central has won the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Website ...

also praised the film, commenting that it was "a cult film just waiting to be rediscovered". The

San Jose Mercury News ''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidia ...

panned the film, calling it "predictable".

References

External links

* {{Steven Hilliard Stern 1980s exploitation films Trucker films 1980s road movies 1980s crime drama films 1987 films Films directed by Steven Hilliard Stern English-language Canadian films Canadian action thriller films Canadian vigilante films Canadian films about revenge Rape and revenge films 1980s English-language films 1980s Canadian films