Most try their best to avoid urban areas at night. A wise choice, seldom do they ever consider what might transpire on the dimly lit streets, but they know there is the potential of danger around each corner. Tales of such experiences might startle the average person, and in 1982, the film Vice Squad dragged them out of the gutter and onto the silver screen.
A Crime Thriller set in the early 1980s on the seedy streets of Los Angeles, California, the idea for Vice Squad originated from a potential documentary about prostitution in Hollywood. Put into motion, Screenwriter Sandy Howard (famed Director of The Howdy Doody Show) began interviewing actual pimps and prostitutes with the assistance of the LAPD Vice Squad. From here, it developed into something more, and Howard teamed with Kenneth Peters (writer for series like T.J. Hooker) and Robert Vincent O’Neil (creator of the television series Lady Blue) to pen the screenplay for the dramatic motion picture Vice Squad.
Rather compelling to learn that real individuals were studied to give Vice Squad the proper context, the film excels at giving you a very dark, twisted view into the world of prostitution in Hollywood during the time it was filmed. Touching on many perversions, what is most disturbing is that forty-something years later, much of it is still highly relevant.
For example, the film draws attention to the desensitization of the human mind, as female escorts discussing their evening’s clients seldom seek traditional intimacy. A dark rabbit hole you can go down with curiosity about how this has evolved, one of the boldest attributes of it all that Vice Squad portrays is brutal violence. Hard to stomach, while Vice Squad leaves plenty to the imagination and avoids unnecessary, excessive visuals, you cannot help but feel a little shaken after viewing it.
Explaining the plot, in Vice Squad, you have an out-of-work businesswoman turned prostitute going by the street name of Princess (played by Season Hubley, who was in 1979’s Hardcore and the 1979 made-for-television movie Elvis). A mother, Princess, is thrust into a grimy world of turning tricks surrounded by drug addicts, pimps, and, worst yet, murderers. A very tragic thing to watch, soon her friend Ginger (portrayed by famed MTV VJ Nina Blackwood) is ruthlessly beaten to death by a psychopathic night dweller named Ramrod (played by prolific Actor Wings Hauser).
Distraught, Princess is soon given no choice but to cooperate with the LAPD Vice Squad in baiting Ramrod; otherwise, she will do time herself. A perilous plan, Detective Tom Walsh (played by Gary Swanson, known for a list of films including 1993’s Sniper and 1999’s The Bone Collector) leads a group of detectives dedicated to protecting Princess from the volatile Ramrod, all while bringing him to justice.
A solid enough story, again, where Vice Squad grabs you is the gritty realism and the way it presents situations that almost seem too warped to be true, but understanding how the film’s story was built, it is very possibly based on some reality. Additionally, it is said that Season Hubley also spent over two months with real Los Angeles prostitutes to understand the subject matter better. With all of this in mind, Vice Squad hit theaters on January 22, 1982, through Avco Embassy Pictures and did relatively well out of the gate. As a matter of fact, it was one of the Top 100 box office-grossing films of 1982. Even while Vice Squad might be a distant memory now, it is still a compelling Thriller, bordering on a Horror film, four-plus decades later.
Initially making it to DVD in 2006, Scream Factory put out a Collector’s Edition Blu-ray in 2019, but now Kino Lorber enters the game in 2025 with a brand new 4K Ultra HD edition of Vice Squad. Released on May 13, 2025, for those who do not own a 4K player, new Blu-ray and DVD versions are also available through Kino Lorber. It is good to have options, but there is no denying that 4K Ultra HD is the most exciting because it is the first-ever 4K Ultra HD disc format to hit the market.
Arguably the best home media pressing of Vice Squad ever offered, you get three discs (4K UHD with the film, a Blu-ray with the film, as well as another Blu-ray with a list of special features). Special features that mirror those of the 2019 Scream Factory Collector’s Edition Blu-ray, this new release from Kino Lorber bundles it all together better than ever before. Giving you Vice Squad on the 4K disc, you get a beautiful, crisp image with plenty of depth and contrast. Furthermore, the set includes a nice slipcover and a reversible sleeve featuring the original theatrical poster on one side and alternative artwork on the other.
In the end, if you are in the mood for a dark, moody, and intense film, this release of Vice Squad is a must-have. That is why Cryptic Rock gives the Kino Lorber 4K Ultra HD edition of Vice Squad 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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