mere ten years after Charles Bronson was blowing away 
criminal scum on the streets of New York in Death Wish, the urban vigilante film had reached the apex of its insanity thanks to '80s pop culture. Thugs with big hair, gaudy earrings, and horrifying fashion sense were apparently prowling around every corner and lurking in gangs, ready to leap on any innocent schoolgirl or senior citizen unlucky enough to wander in their path. Of course the most absurd (and beloved) variation on this idea was Death Wish III, but a year before that, Linda Blair to offer her own sorta-feminist turn thanks a black cat suit and a crossbow in her own high school variation, Savage Streets. 
thirsting for revenge when the Scars chuck one of her friends off a bridge, decides to hunt down the perpetrators one by one.
see Blair strut her stuff (including a much-loved bathtub scene) and reuniting with Chained Heat costar, John Vernon (who gets some great one liners as the school principal). The production itself was famously rocky, with Blair's Hell Night director, Tom DeSimone, kicked off just before shooting. As the supplements chart out in detail, the rest of it didn't go much smoother, either, but the end result still delivers the goods. The attack scene on Quigley is still jaw-droopingly tasteless even today, but otherwise the violence is top drawer drive-in stuff with Blair's crossbow getting perhaps the crowning moment of the film.
circulation almost immediately after the company folded. The transfer was fine for the time, interlaced but taken from a clean print and definitely better than the grungy old Vestron VHS. A 2011 reissue in the UK from Arrow ported over the copious extras, as did the 2012 double-disc version from Scorpion which adds quite a few new goodies as well, not to mention a pretty darn gorgeous transfer. The packaging downplays it, but the film is also presented optionally as a "Kat Skratch Cinema" title with host Katarina Leigh Waters doing lively wraparounds (in black leather, of course, and whipping out a crossbow after the credits). The history of the film gets covered in massive depth courtesy of three audio commentaries: Steinmann and moderator Michael Felsher; producer John Strong and actors Robert Dryer and Johnny Venocur (moderated by David DeCoteau, who certainly knows his way around an exploitation film); and Dryer, cinematographer Stephen Posey, and actor Sal 
Landi (moderated by Marc Edward Heuck). Obviously there's a lot of ground covered here including the film's bumpy origins, Steinmann's other directorial adventures, the conflicts between the director and producer during shooting, and of course, the very colorful cast members. Also on the first disc are the theatrical trailer, three "vintage interviews" with Dryer (6 mins.), Strong (14 mins.), and Venocur (14 mins.), and bonus previews for Death Ship, Kill and Kill Again, Joysticks, and Alley Cat.
career and brainstorming problems on the set, not to mention showing off his scripted idea for a sequel; Strong (12 mins.), going into more detail about such issues as the sudden lack of money during production and addressing Steinmann's open "trash talking" about Strong on the now-infamous commentary track; actor Sal Landi (9 mins.), who played Fargo and shares his memories of the set including some much-needed discipline; actor Scott Mayers (12 mins.), who played Red, discusses how he got his role without an agent and his fun times on the set; and Venocur (9 mins.), who recalls wanting to hug "cutie" Blair and working comfortably with Quigley on the rape scene, which initially earned the film an X rating. The disc rounds out with two Red Shirt Pictures video interviews from the previous release, a great 17-minute featurette with Blair (who shares her favorite line of dialogue, discusses the music and editing, and enthusiastically explains how the movie went over with a theatrical audience in New York), and Quigley (10 mins.), who talks about some of the physical challenges passing for Blair's younger sister, being a Blair fan, having to stay silent during the rape scene, and getting caught on a cast mate's button during the basketball court scene. 
with a purity the SD predecessors couldn't handle. The DTS-HD audio is presented in both standard theatrical mono and a punchy 5.1 remix, which should come as a nice treat to fans of the film's gloriously '80s soundtrack. Speaking of which, there's also a great isolated 
music track, too, so you can console yourself if you don't have the pricey vinyl release (and want the entire score, too). The sole extra here is the theatrical trailer. CODE RED (Blu-ray) (2018)
CODE RED (Blu-ray) (2014)
SCORPION RELEASING (DVD) (2018)
