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Tough and resourceful war veteran Rachel Baldwin (a solid and sympathetic performance by the beautiful Jessica Kabasinski) exacts a ferocious revenge on the assorted scumbag criminals who are in one way or another responsible for the death of her beloved niece Jamie (sweetly played by Khila Freeman).
This film marks a radical departure from writer/director Len Kabasinski's previous more down'n'dirty exploitation fare: It's a lot more gritty and serious in tone, with nice use of seedy practical locations, startling moments of brutal violence, and a colorful array of truly slimy and hateful villains. Moreover, the deliberate pacing, shell-shocked war veteran heroine, and firm grounding of the gripping premise in a believably sordid everyday reality brings to mind the grim 70's grindhouse gem "Rolling Thunder" while the absence of nudity shows considerable growth and maturity on Kabasinski's part as a filmmaker. This movie further benefits from sound acting by Frederick Williams as the shrewd Detective Miles Trufont, Donna Hamblin as ruthless crime kingpin Beverly, Jasmin St. Claire as vicious illegal arms dealer Smoothy, Mark Kosebucki as slimy drug pusher James, Jawn Gross as smarmy amateur porn peddler Billy Williams, Kirsten McCain as Jamie's grieving mother Carol, Lisa Neeld as Rachel's loyal lesbian lover Reagan, Tim O'Hearn as scuzzy thug Brick, and Deborah Dutch as worn-out aging stripper Bobbi. The sharp cinematography offers plenty of neat fades and dissolves. A real on the money little flick.
score 8/10
Woodyanders 6 December 2016
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3592993/ |
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20-4-2021 05:04:04