Naturally Bad (1995)… But Relatively Good!

Dave chats to stuntman Bob Bragg about his little-seen directorial debut.

If you’re a fan of the movies we cover on The Schlock Pit, chances are you’ll have caught sight of a credit or twelve for NATURALLY BAD’s (1995) writer, director and actor Bob Bragg. A stuntman by trade, he started out in the mid ‘80s whereupon he soon formed bonds with a pair of filmmakers who later influenced his decision to direct.

“Rest in Peace Anthony Hickox!” bellows the wonderfully forthright Bragg. “He had a grand style – big sets, lots of actors, and lots of stunts. He was also very loyal to his people back then. He was an influence for sure, but Fred Olen Ray is where I got my real inspiration for producing and directing. When I wasn’t stunting on Fred’s movies I would watch how he did things. He was fast and very proficient. He didn’t waste time and he didn’t waste money. He also knew how to get the best out of his talent and crew. To this day some of the biggest stunts I’ve performed were on his films.”

“So this leads to Naturally Bad. I started to get the itch to do something more in the industry, so I had this crazy idea to write a screenplay. Boy was I about to get an education! After all, how hard could it be to make a film, right? Fred Olen Ray made it look easy.”

“Here I am in botanist heaven, and it’s so quiet,” says Saundra Ryker (Shanna Jacobs, as ‘Shanna Teare’) into her Dictaphone, as she goes plant hunting at the base of a volcano in Washington State. Handed a government grant to research the flora and fauna of the area, it’s a trip she’s been looking forward to. Before long, however, Ryker stumbles across the wilderness retreat of drug lord Billy Slayer (Bragg) and his gang – and they’ll stop at nothing to preserve the secretive goings-on at their backwoods narcotics dispensary…

The uncomplicated storyline at the heart of Naturally Bad does Bragg a favour in that it allows him to focus on what he does best: adrenaline pumping carnage. A liberal sprinkling of bar fights, hand-to-hand combat, martial arts, speedboat tricks, horse riding, car chases, and cross-country motorbike action ensures that there’s never too long to wait before something exciting happens. And for a cast populated by fellow daredevils and pals, they’re not that bad. Jacobs is an attractive and dependable lead [1], and Bragg-the-actor makes for an effective villain. The only bona fide actors are consigned to brief cameos, specifically: a topless Robert Z’Dar snorting coke on a boat, and a zesty turn from the ever excellent David ‘Shark’ Fralick.

“I rounded everybody up and took them to the Northwest, in Washington state, to Ariel and Cougar, where we shot most of it. My younger brother, Rich Bragg, was an integral part of locking locations, designing sets, acting and stunts. The cast all stayed at my mother and step dad’s house. They were also investors in the picture. My mother had a huge army tent set up with appliances for feeding the cast and crew.”

After a decade on film sets, it’s clear that Bragg knows his way around a movie camera (he credits Gary Graver as another major influence). That said, Bragg remains critical of his mistakes as a neophyte helmer – though the most painful aspect of Naturally Bad‘s production seems to be what happened to the film when it was finally finished.

“It ended up being a mish mash of content, basically based on who I brought in over the two years it took to get completed. My old friend, Grant Austin Waldman, secured post production out of Universal Studios Florida. I went there and didn’t care for the editor, so I eventually went back to L.A. and found another facility. Arthur Webb, a late producer friend, secured finishing funds and placed the master in a vault. Unfortunately, he passed from cancer and it took me ten years to get the master back.”

“Before he died, I was able to package – with artwork and shrink wrap – five-hundred copies of the film’s VHS. I went around to video stores and talked them into putting copies on their shelves. Arthur was a sales agent and sold rights to Poland, Italy, and Brazil. South Korea wanted a print for theatrical, but it was going to cost another $30,000 to produce it so I declined the offer because that’s all that they offered to pay for the rights.”

The original American VHS is something of a rarity, which is a shame, because Bragg’s debut deserved a solid video store run, where it would no doubt have forged a respectable reputation. Contrary to many pictures of this era that have slipped through the net, Bragg has ensured his feature is accessible in today’s streaming dominated world. You can check it out on all major platforms under the title ‘Apache County War’.

“I gave Fred Ray a copy, and later, at a wrap party, him, Gary Graver, and me were hanging out and Fred says, ‘I saw your movie’. Since Fred doesn’t pull any punches, I thought, ‘Oh boy, here it comes’! ‘I was so surprised and impressed that you went out and made a movie,’ he said. ‘It’s better than my first one.’”

“I was shocked! I quickly said, ‘Well, Fred, it’s only because I’ve been watching you for so long!’.”