Mankillers (1987)
Director: David A. Prior
Genre: Action / Exploitation
Starring: Edd Byrnes, Gail Fisher, Lynda Aldon
Mankillers is a low-budget action film from the 1980s that embraces the era’s love for explosive, over-the-top action. The movie follows a group of tough, female convicts recruited for a dangerous mission to take down a rogue CIA agent leading a deadly criminal operation. With its mix of revenge, gunfights, and classic action tropes, Mankillers fits into the "women-in-action" subgenre that was popular in the 1980s.
The film opens with a secret government mission gone wrong, orchestrated by John Mickland, a corrupt former CIA operative who has gone rogue. He has built a ruthless mercenary army and is involved in illegal operations, including drug trafficking and assassinations. The government needs someone with an unconventional approach to take him down.
Enter Rachael McKenna, a no-nonsense government agent with a reputation for doing things her way. Instead of using traditional military forces, she proposes recruiting a team of female prisoners—each with combat skills, a criminal past, and a thirst for redemption. The idea is simple: these women have nothing to lose and everything to gain if they can complete the mission successfully.
Rachael selects and trains a group of hardened female convicts, pushing them through brutal exercises to transform them into an elite fighting force. After grueling training sequences and team-building moments, the squad is sent into the jungle to track down Mickland and his men.
As the mission progresses, the women prove their strength, intelligence, and combat skills. However, they also face betrayals, ambushes, and intense gunfights. The action-packed climax sees the squad taking down Mickland’s stronghold, engaging in a final bloody showdown. While not all of them survive, those who do emerge victorious, proving their worth and earning their freedom.
Mankillers (1987) is a cult classic for fans of low-budget 1980s action films. While it doesn’t break new ground, it delivers plenty of over-the-top action, making it an entertaining watch for those who enjoy "so-bad-it's-good" cinema.
