At the dawn of the vhs boom, backyard auteurs everywhere were busy pouring their souls onto celluloid to fill the video stores of the world. And few films capture the personal magic of early ‘80s Ohio quite like this head-scratching homegrown scorcher about rival karate schools facing off in a Midwest turf battle of black belt brutality. The Instructor’s a stunt-packed extravaganza of pasty white guys pantomiming kung-fu, barrel-chested hairy dudes playing tough, and thrilling car chases through the streets of downtown Akron. It features US AAU Karate Team coach Bob Saal, an impressive dick-punch-per-minute ratio, a cast of non-actors and the conviction to name a lead character Thumper Rhodes. Yep, it’s a furious feature length call-to-arms for your local dojo and the most face-smashing flick ever to hail from the Buckeye State. HIII-YAAA!
