Packard's gang

Hahaha. Yeah me and Floridaoutlaw must have watched the same SYFY broadcast. I checked it out because my dad said it was awesome (he was my age, 27, when it came out) and I heard it inspired The Crow.

Packard andhis gang came off like a bunch of dumb pussies. In the opening scene, when he pulls over that guy, threaten his girl and make him race for his car, I was just thinking if I pulled my pistol out of my glove compartment, stepped out and gunned them all down... shortest movie ever.

I know switchblade knives look cool but they are tiny, flimsy knives. And his gang all seemed like retards.

The only thing tough about Skank was his inhuman tolerance to paint fumes and industrial lubricants.

These were some pitiful excuses for gangstas, even by 80s stadards. But still... Some morbid curiosity within me would still like to see a prequel, explaining their rise to power.

I hear what you're all saying about Packard's gang being whack and weak. But if Packard's gang went around carrying guns and shooting at people, the movie would've been over in no time because Sheriff Loomis would've arrested them much earlier on for stuff like that.
In a sense, Packard's gang had to be careful how they handle certain situations and it would've been dumb for them to wave guns around. That's why Skank stops Packard from shooting the Turbo Interceptor when it's driving towards them. Skank argues there's an audience around with Rughead and the cops are probably watching them from afar and it'd be considered attempted murder.

And like one other person mentioned, Packard and his gang were a bit older than the teenage kids they preyed on. They probably felt they didn't need guns to handle unsuspecting teenage kids driving around Arizona roads at night since Packard had strength in numbers with his gang. Most high school kids in the 1980's driving around at night probably aren't carrying guns on them. Maybe nowadays that's the case, but probably not back in 1986.

I think from a story telling standpoint, the writers did a good job with making Packard's gang seem intimidating given the environment they're in. It's not like Packard's gang was preying on full grown adults. They were preying on unsuspecting teenagers, hence them hanging around Big Kay's burger joint and the river/lake place with all of the kids. You could see that's why Packard's gang gets nervous when they're around Loomis and the police.