Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Glimmerubro It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Suman Roberson It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

hellholehorror This is true grit originating from the eighties. It is almost unbelievable that this is based on real life as there is so much sleaze. Everyone in this film is either a prostitute, a pervert or a cop. The story is good though and this lifts the production. It is hampered by rather bad technical aspects such as jump cutting, continuity and a bloke with a lens standing clearly in shot in a supposedly empty room. Not scary but the action is oddly thrilling. It is violent although not extreme or gory. Alright for a watch as long as you can get past the huge stack of eighties inner-city clichés.

Chase_Witherspoon The thriller that brought Wings Hauser to the attention of film-makers and audiences as the manipulative, sadistic, and psychopathic pimp preying on his meal tickets with callous ambivalence. Season Hubley is the call-girl who has Hauser arrested, Swanson the detective, but before they can indict him, he's on the loose like a wild animal, out for revenge.Hauser's intense portrayal of the urban cowboy with a seriously mean streak is probably his best role to date; edgy and offbeat, exuding charm and an omnipotence that masks a violent alter ego and hair-trigger temper - the scene in which he uses electrocution to enforce his authority is quite shocking (no pun intended).Often dismissed as a sleaze-a-thon, and rarely referred any credit, "Vice Squad" was one of a number of films in the early eighties that dealt with the fringe sex industry and the shadowy figures that make it a dangerous profession. The cast is full of familiar faces with Beverly Todd as Hubley's ill-fated friend and confidante, Rainbeaux Smith (in one of her last roles) as a working girl, Stack Pierce, Jonathan Haze and Grand L.Bush in minor roles.Not an emulation of the DePalma stylings (e.g. "Body Double"), it's volatile and gritty in atmosphere, more a match with "Cruising" or the subsequent slasher movies "New York Ripper" and "Fear City" in its downcast, brutal tone, director Sherman has got lucky with Hauser achieving such a memorable characterisation, surely among the most notorious of screen villains in the annals of film history.

Michael_Elliott Vice Squad (1982) ** (out of 4) Tom Walsh (Gary Swanson) proudly works the vice squad where his main goal is bringing down a violent pimp (Wings Hauser) who has no problem torturing and beating his women. Along with the help of a prostitute (Season Hubley) they get the pimp in a string but he escapes and goes to get revenge on the woman who set him up. Now the vice squad must try and find her before the pimp does. I must admit that I was really disappointed in this thing after hearing so much about it. When the Anchor Bay DVD was released there was a good amount of people who really talked this film up as being one of the last sleaze productions before movies really started to changed. In all honesty they must have been watching another movie because if you take out the bad language you're left with a rather tame movie. Sure, there's a tad bit of brief nudity but not enough to make one call this an exploiatation movies. The violence is mostly off screen and just suggestive so there's another reason this really doesn't enter the sleaze market. I'm really not sure why this film got the reputation of being a disturbing movie because it's actually just a low-rent police drama. As a police drama it doesn't really work either because I couldn't help but think the cops here were among the dumbest people to ever be put into a film. The movie kicks off with a disclaimer about the real vice squad and I really, really hope it wasn't like what's shown in this film. I won't ruin the ending but the pimp has the hooker in a car with the police following yet they don't try to pull him over because they're worried he will kill here. So what do they do? They let him take her into an apartment and be in there with her a good ten-minutes while they're all either outside or waiting to arrive on the scene. What in the hell did they think he was going to do when he had her inside a room with no one else around? I thought Swanson was pretty good in his role as he has the perfect look for a worn down cop. Hubley wasn't too bad either but I did have a hard time believing she was one of the more popular prostitutes out on the streets. Hauser doesn't give an Oscar-worthy performance but he's so over the top that you can't help but enjoy what he brings to the film. Director Sherman at least builds up a very nice atmosphere and one really gets the dirty feeling that they're on the streets with these women. This overall mood and feel makes the film worth sitting through at least once but there's still not enough to make this a complete winner. BTW, Frank Capra, Jr. was one of the producers.

lost-in-limbo Gary Sherman's "Vice Squad" is all show, but powerfully biting and sordid exploitation of the seedy strip of Hollywood and Sunset Boulevard when the sun finally goes down. For such luridly unpleasant context, the film manages to amuses with rousing suspense, sharply-witted (if foul) script and its authentically raw atmosphere. Even the performances figure prominently. Wing Hauser deservedly dominates the limelight as the frighteningly, aggressive pimp Ramrod. His turn is that of pure spontaneous and nightmarish intensity. Truly hard to forget. Gary Swanson's courageously humane performance as Detective Walsh, the leader of the 'Vice squad' is downright solid, and there's a confidently brassy and strong-willed go-it-alone portrayal by Season Hubley as the prostitute Princess that Ramrod is after for setting him up. The support cast racks up recognizable bit players (Pepa Serna, Beverly Todd, Maurice Emanuel, Nina Blackwood, Michael Ensign, Cheryl Smith, Fred Berry and the list goes on) of rich characterisations. Sherman's sensationally gripping direction doesn't let up or beat around the bush, as he cranks up the energy and brutality. Still there's a slickly professional manner about it, and cinematographer John Alcott shots it with great ticker, and stylish verve. The screeching rock title track "Neon Slime" sung by Hauser sets the tone, and the saucy score has a feverish pitch that enhances the downbeat atmosphere and daring intensity.