Cobra (1986)
“Cobra” (1986), directed by George P. Cosmatos and starring Sylvester Stallone, is a gritty action thriller that captures the dark, violent atmosphere of 1980s crime cinema. Loosely based on Paula Gosling’s novel Fair Game, the film follows a tough, no-nonsense cop who takes on a brutal criminal cult terrorizing Los Angeles.
The movie opens with a chilling scene — a masked gunman enters a crowded supermarket and begins shooting randomly. The Los Angeles Police Department is called in, but none of the officers dare to confront the killer. Enter Lieutenant Marion “Cobra” Cobretti (Sylvester Stallone), a maverick cop from the LAPD’s elite “Zombie Squad,” a division that handles the city’s most violent crimes. Cobra is known for his ruthless efficiency and his own brand of street justice. When he arrives on the scene, he calmly assesses the situation and confronts the gunman. With his signature one-liners and quick reflexes, Cobra eliminates the shooter and ends the standoff — but this is only the beginning of a much larger war.
The supermarket killer is revealed to be a member of a vicious cult known as the New World, a group of psychotic murderers who believe in killing the weak to make way for a stronger society. Their leader, The Night Slasher (Brian Thompson), and his followers roam the city at night, targeting innocent civilians in cold-blooded attacks. The police struggle to understand the scope of the killings, while Cobra begins to suspect a pattern.
During one of the cult’s attacks, a young woman named Ingrid Knudsen (Brigitte Nielsen) accidentally witnesses the Night Slasher committing a murder. The cult discovers her identity and vows to silence her. Cobra is assigned to protect Ingrid, leading to an intense game of cat and mouse through the city streets. As the cult closes in, Cobra takes Ingrid to a small town outside Los Angeles in an effort to keep her safe, but the killers track them down, leading to an explosive and bloody showdown.
The film builds toward a violent climax in a rural factory. Cobra faces off against the Night Slasher in a brutal hand-to-hand fight surrounded by sparks, flames, and molten metal. The confrontation is personal and intense — the Night Slasher tries to provoke Cobra, claiming that society is weak and deserves destruction. Cobra responds with his signature stoicism and righteous fury, killing the villain in a fiery finale that wipes out the cult’s remaining members.
In the aftermath, Cobra and Ingrid walk away from the chaos, both scarred but alive. The film ends with Cobra rejecting the corrupt police system that doubted him, riding off on his motorcycle into the California sun.
“Cobra” is quintessential 1980s Stallone — a mix of tough-guy heroics, pulpy violence, and gritty urban atmosphere. It captures the era’s fascination with lone-wolf cops and vigilante justice, while delivering sharp one-liners and explosive action scenes. Though critics were divided, the movie became a cult classic for fans of raw, adrenaline-fueled crime thrillers.
