Knightriders is a tantalizing glimpse of the kind of eccentric, provocative, genre bending films George A. Romero could have spent the last thirty years making if he hadn’t been so cruelly type-cast as a zombie monger. Don’t get me wrong; the world would be a much less interesting place without the original Dead trilogy but now to see this great and intelligent filmmaker reduced to recycling his own old ideas with the increasingly derivative likes of Diary of the Dead and Survival of the Dead is a tragedy.
The Dead Trilogy are stone-cold classics (I will defend Day of the Dead against the naysayers until my dying breath) but as time passes, schlock horror fans get older and wiser and the zombie genre becomes insanely oversaturated, what really stands out in those films is not the gruesome horror aspects but the crafty satire and social commentary. Knightriders is the only non-horror film Romero has ever, to date, made and it has that same cleverly subversive vein running through it. It’s also ridiculous, grandiose, pretentious and far too long but it still somehow manages to be kind of brilliant.
This is Romero’s angry but eloquent rant at the shallow cynicism and greed of Reagan’s America, told from the perspective of the titular travelling troupe of jousting, steel-clad stunt-riders who’ve swapped horses for souped up motorcycles. They might have upgraded their choice of transport but, thanks to the unshakeable morals and slightly unhinged psyche of their noble “King William (Ed Harris in his first lead role), the riders live by an Arthurian code of honour and integrity that harks back to a forgotten age of myth.
Living by this outdated ideology becomes increasingly hard as the knights are confronted with the shameless excesses of corruption and self-obsession that typified the corporate world of the 1980s. When the notorious black knight Morgan (Tom Savini) is lured away by the bright lights of corporate sponsorship a rift forms in the fellowship and William’s fantasist mind gradually starts to unravel.
It’s a fierce, funny and firmly tongue-in-cheek piece of satire that’s put together with the same slightly shambolic, guerrilla filmmaking approach of Romero’s early zombie films with the low-budget combated by its inventive storytelling and free-wheeling energy.
It’s also Romero’s most visually inventive film. He earned his apprenticeship making cheap corporate films in his native Pittsburgh and despite their supernatural subject matter his movies have always had a natural, Cinéma-vérité visual style. That’s still the case with much of Knightriders but Romero sprinkles in some highly effective mist-shrouded Romanticism. It’s interesting that Knightriders was in cinemas at the same time as John Boorman’s Excalibur as they have similar ideas of what Arthurian Britain should look like; even if Romero’s version is actually taking place in Pennsylvania.
Ed Harris clearly still had a lot to prove (and some hair) when he took the lead because he goes at it full throttle. He manages to make King William’s devotion to his code and anger at the modern world both funny and poignant by playing it completely and intensely straight. He shares a few scenes with a little boy and the poor child actor often looks genuinely, and understandably, terrified of Harris’ intensity. Tom Savini is best known as a make-up effects guru he provided a lot of the gore for the Dead trilogy and although in the extra features he’s keen to point out that he trained as an actor, it’s still a surprise to see him more than holding his own against Harris.
Just like the best of Romero’s horror films, Knightriders is hugely enjoyable escapism that has something to say and it proves he doesn’t need to shower the camera in blood and guts to entertain or get his point across. Despite the fact that this is a film that clearly knows how ridiculous it is, there are times when it’s clear Romero shares his protagonists’ sense that there’s more to life than money (he should know, his films never make any) and their despair at the honourless modern world and is deadly serious about the message the film is delivering. Unfortunately, he’s hamstrung by the film’s needlessly epic running time.
Knightriders is 147 minutes long and a lot of it feels like unnecessary baggage. Romero often fails to obey the crucial “show don’t tell rule of filmmaking. He includes fantastic images like his modern day King Arthur staring in horrified incomprehension at an advert that has hijacked his image but then labours the point by having his characters have a long, drawn out debate about the merits of advertising. It’s the same problem that ruined his black magic snoozeathon Season of the Witch; people sitting around talking, no matter how well written or performed the dialogue might be, is never a worthy substitute for seeing things happen.
Luckily, enough things do happen in Knightrider to make up for these lulls and when they happen they happen in spectacular fashion. The bike stunts are of the bone-crunching surely that stuntman is dead’ variety and there are some proper belly laughs as well including a cameo from a certain incredibly well known horror author as a slack-jawed yokel.
There’s a plethora of fantastic extras too, including in-depth interviews with Ed Harris, Tom Savini and Patricia Tallman who played Knightrider groupie Julie and despite not being involved in the action scenes went on to become one of Hollywood’s leading stuntwomen. Harris talks with great affection and nostalgia about the film which is refreshing as it’s the kind of eccentric curio that many big stars would want removed from their CV.
Overall Verdict: It’s far too long but still a hugely enjoyable, bizarre and strangely affecting time capsule film with a powerful, if a little heavy-handed, message that’s as relevant today as it’s ever been.
Special Features:
Audio commentary with George A. Romero, Tom Savini, John Amplas and Christine Romero.
The Genesis of a Legend’ Star Ed Harris remembers his first leading role.
A Date With Destiny’ Co-star Tom Savini reflects on the film.
Medieval Maiden’ Interview with actress Patricia Tallman.
Theatrical Trailer.
TV Spots.
Reversible sleeve
Collector’s booklet
Reviewer: Adam Pidgeon