One of Schlockmania’s great pleasures in 2025 was covering the excellent expanded reissue of These Fists Break Bricks and Armies Of The Night, the absorbing history of the cult film The Warriors. Both books were co-written by Chris Poggiali, who recently took some time out of an action-packed schedule to answer a set of questions from yours truly about both books and a few related topics. Read on to learn a lot about martial arts cinema, the complex history of The Warriors and what it’s like to research and write about such topics. Grab a drink and some snacks because you’ll want to devote some time to reading these detailed responses.

Armies Of The Night offers a carefully researched and organized look at a film steeped in mystique. Ever since its release, The Warriors has been followed by a legend of inspiring gang violence and deaths in the theaters where it was shown. This book delves into that legend but that arrives in its latter stages. In fact, the book has a lot more on its mind than just correcting the record.