Eric Stoltz is Danny, a young man accused of murdering his father in cold blood. While in jail awaiting his ultimate fate, he recieves letters from a prostitute named Charlene (Monica Carrico, looking distractingly like some other actress I can't put my finger on). Charlene has fallen in love with Danny just by watching him on television, and so when Danny stages a risky daylight escape that leaves one cop dead, he goes to the only address he knows: Charlene's. Soon, the two are on the run together, sparking up a bit of sexual friction while the police officer who survived Danny's escape, Trent (Stuart Margolin), chases after them, looking for revenge.

The first thing I noticed about Running Hot is the direction by Mark Griffiths: bodies fly, people get zapped, and there's copious amounts of nudity to keep everything exciting and fast-paced. There's a great example of his effectiveness right near the beginning: Stoltz's escape from the cops is surprisingly tense, and the fate of the cop who dies trying to stop him is startling and well-staged. Griffiths even tries to provoke some amusing squirming from his audience as Stoltz practically tears off all the skin on his hand sliding it unwillingly from a handcuff (also a particularly clever makeup effect). The whole film moves at a good clip, though, hopping from massage parlors to sleazy hotels faster than you can say "seedy".

Looking at his IMDb filmography, Running Hot appears to be Eric Stoltz's third theatrical film (although he had tons of TV and TV movie credits by then), and it shows from time to time. When the pair are staying at the massage parlor, his reaction to Charlene's attempt to give him a bit of a happy ending is both whiny and confusing (the next time she tries to seduce him, he's all for it). Overall, he's got some immature charisma, but even his most hardcore fans will be forced to admit the seams of his talent show in this early performance. On the other hand, it's surprising that Monica Carrico only has one other credit to her name (seven years later!), because she's pretty good here (with or without the rubber Nixon mask). I doubt she would have ever blossomed into a master thespian, but she's got charm in spades, which is more than Running Hot asks of her (mostly, the picture asks for her to be naked).

Playing for the villains' team, Stuart Margolin is reasonably slimy, lying to Charlene's abused stripper friends and listening in on private telephone conversations, although he never quite takes off into the terrible, despicable villain stratosphere. He's joined by two other mustachioed creeps: Richard Bradford is a newscaster who's a frequent customer of Charlene's, and Virgil Frye (father of "Punky Brewster" star Soleil Moon Frye!) also adds a little gaudiness as Charlene's mostly-shirtless, gold-chain-wearing pimp, looking a bit like a poor man's Charles Bronson.

I could probably go on, but with a movie like Running Hot, the pleasures are all in the experience. Suffice it to say that it wraps things up with an oddly satisfying ending, and aside from that, the thematic elements of the piece are pretty much nonexistent and there aren't any other technical aspects I could describe. If you want to be titillated by a bit of sexy 1980's sleaze with a touch of violent action, you could do a lot worse than unearthing this lost piece of salacious-but-fun drive-in amusement.

The DVD
Running Hot comes in a single-width Amaray case with no insert. On the front, we have a seemingly topless woman with Stoltz's handcuffed wrist draped over her shoulder (it looks like it might have been poster art), and the back is extremely basic. Frankly, the packaging looks cheap, but I imagine anyone who's been trying to track down the movie won't mind the uninspired use of fonts, the poor arrangement of words and pictures, or the fact that Stoltz is spelled "Stolz" 50% of the time.

The Video and Audio
If you ran a movie theater that played cult classics and you ordered in the best print of Running Hot you could find, I imagine it'd look about as good as the 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation on this DVD. The image is soft throughout, color delineation is weak, there's some print damage including lines and scratches, and most noticeably, the brightness fluxuates slightly during most of the shots (not to mention the color on a larger scale will often make shot-to-shot lighting look significantly different). On the other hand, fans of the movie will probably be pretty pleased; I can't imagine any other presentation of the movie looking better than this. The clarity of the overall picture is occasionally strong even if fine detail is obliterated (even exhibiting a mild, hazy sense of depth), and every once in awhile skintones are so spot-on as to shed most of the 25 years that have passed since the movie was made.

As for audio options, all we get is a muddy mono track. The dialogue is usually discernable enough, but that's about all I can say about it. No subtitles are provided.

The Extras
Before everything, when you play the movie, there's a short introduction (0:11) by director Mark Griffiths, in which he calls the movie Lucky 13.

Next is an audio commentary with Griffiths and producer David Calloway, with moderation from Code Red's Lee Christian. It's a laid-back discussion about the movie, which any fans might appreciate, but it didn't exactly blow me away; it's almost too laid back, mellow and friendly to be particularly interesting. Topics covered include Stoltz's request to be called by his character name (a technique Stoltz had borrowed from Sean Penn in Fast Times at Ridgemont High), thoughts on the then-recent writer's strike, being on the set of Marathon Man, bunny duck, the use of a water pipe on the score, shooting on porn sets, Griffith's wife's role as a prostitute, and peanut butter.

Next, we also get an on-camera interview with Griffiths (8:10). It's okay, although he repeats large chunks of information from the commentary while summing up his history and his experience on the movie. Distractingly, Griffiths stares directly into the camera, and the interviewer seems kinda uninformed (he doesn't seem aware that Lucky 13 and Running Hot are the same movie). Strangely, the interview is also full of film clips with a timecode, as if it's rare footage.

The disc also includes a lengthy stills gallery (7:55), and an alternate opening (2:03), seemingly included only for the Running Hot title card.

Conclusion
Running Hot is a fun drive-in diversion that's been mostly lost since the 1980's. The bonus features are only so-so and the picture quality is questionable, but both fans and newcomers should find it enjoyable at least once. Rent it before buying it, but be sure to rent it: it's more than worth a look.