Prayer of the Rollerboys
| Prayer of the Rollerboys | |
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| Directed by | Rick King |
| Produced by | Robert Mickelson |
| Written by | W. Peter Iliff |
| Starring | Corey Haim Patricia Arquette Christopher Collet Julius Harris |
| Music by | Stacy Widelitz |
| Cinematography | Phedon Papamichael Jr. |
| Distributed by | Academy Entertainment Inc. |
| Release date(s) | November 1990 |
| Running time | 95 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Prayer of the Rollerboys is a 1990 independent science fiction film, starring Corey Haim and Patricia Arquette.
[edit] Plot summary
Haim stars as Griffin, a rollerblader in the not so distant future of Los Angeles which is in a sad state, the city is deep in crime and drug activity in the wake of a catastrophic nation-wide economic crash caused by the stupidity and greed of the previous generation. The film includes ominous reminders of both the past and present, including news reports of riots in Washington D.C., a newspaper headline that proclaims "GERMANY BUYS POLAND", and a reference to the Israeli Defense Forces "cleaning up Northern Ireland".
A rollerblade-wearing white supremacist youth gang known as the Rollerboys fight for spiritual and economic control of what's left of the city. The fascist group is founded and led by a childhood neighbour of Griffin's. The Rollerboys carry out their eugenic agenda through both violent gun battles with ethnic gangs, and especially through their distribution of the drug "mist". When Griffin's little brother begins to idolise the Rollerboys and eventually starts abusing mist, Griffin is convinced by the police chief and an undercover cop (Patricia Arquette) to join up with the Rollerboys as a mole, in exchange for the promise of a better life for his brother.
Having joined up, Griffin's loyalties to the gang are eventually called into question and he is tricked into beating his African-American friend Speedbagger almost to death. He also discovers that the Rollerboy's mantra "the day of the Rope is coming" actually refers to a toxic chemical "Rope" being added to the mist drug which renders its (mostly non-Caucasian) abusers sterile, thus facilitating the fascist gang's genocidal goal.
It's a race against time as Griffin tries to find a way out for himself and his younger brother before he is discovered by the Rollerboys and murdered.
[edit] Reception
- The film was nominated for two Saturn Awards: Best Performance by a Younger Actor (Corey Haim) and Best Science Fiction Film.
[edit] External links
- Prayer of the Rollerboys at the Internet Movie Database
- Prayer of the Rollerboys trailer at Videodetective.com
- Prayer of the Rollerboys @ Cyberpunk in Cinema (background info and RPG stats for the film)
