Prayer of the Rollerboys


Prayer of the Rollerboys is a 1990 independent science fiction film directed by Rick King and starring Corey Haim and Patricia Arquette.

Plot summary

Griffin, an accomplished inline skater, works as a delivery boy in near-future Los Angeles. The city is overrun with crime and drug use, in the wake of "The Great Crash": an economic catastrophe triggered by the greed of previous generations. The film includes ominous events, including: news reports of riots in Washington D.C. ; a newspaper headline that proclaims "GERMANY BUYS POLAND"; and references to the Vatican hiring the Israeli Defense Forces to "clean up" Northern Ireland.
A heavily-armed white supremacist conglomerate known as the Rollerboys fight for control of the decaying city. Their director is charismatic narcotics-kingpin Gary Lee: a childhood neighbor of Griffin's, who's also rumored to be the great-grandson of Adolf Hitler. The Rollerboys carry out their mission of restoring Anglo-America's former greatness, through violent battles with other gangs...and through the distribution of "Heaven Mist", a designer drug. Griffin's younger brother Miltie, who idolizes the Rollerboys, takes a job with them pushing mist on the streets; eventually, Miltie starts using it himself. Then Casey, an undercover cop, recruits Griffin to join the Rollerboys as a mole...in exchange for a better life.
Griffin is initiated but his loyalty to the Rollerboys is soon called into question. In order to prove himself, he unknowingly pummels Speedbagger, his and Miltie's Afro-American landlord, nearly to death. Shortly thereafter, Griffin discovers the chilling truth behind the Rollerboys' mantra "The Day of the Rope is coming". Rope turns out to be a toxic mist-additive, developed by the Rollerboys, which gradually renders its users sterile; the purpose of this is to "eliminate the weak", removing future generations of the "junkie" population, thus giving the Rollerboys free rein over their concepts of a thriving American society.

Cast