Whilst he never became an A lister the likes of Jean Claude Van Damme, British Martial Artist Gary Daniels still managed to rack up quite an impressive filmography throughout the 90's, starring in a stream of quality DTV actioners. Movies such as Rage (1995), Bloodmoon (1997) and Cold Harvest (199) are just a taste of what he was appearing in at the time, with them all being fine showcases for him to show off his martial arts skills.
Although he was still appearing in starring roles as he moved in the 2000's, the quality of these features was somewhat lacking, especially when compared to his 90's output. As the decade moved on Daniels started taking more supporting roles, many of which were beneath his talents. He can be seen sharing the screen with fellow martial artist's Dolph Lundgren in Retrograde (2005) and Steven Seagal in Submerged (2005), neither of which show anyone involved at their best. Saying that, in hindsight, in comparison to some of the other productions they have been involved with since, these two films are certainly not their worst.
Supporting turns in the Expendables (2010) and Hunt to Kill (2010) were brief bright spots, but even the odd starring roles in Misfire (2014) and Skin Traffik (2015) didn't exactly set the world on fire. Similarly, his villainous turn in I Am Vengeance (2018) and the Gardener (2021) really should have been a better showcase for his talents. However, what these films did show was that even as he reached his 60th year, Daniels still had the moves and capability to lead a film. It was with this thinking that made me hopeful for his latest feature, action thriller Bring Him Back Dead (2022).
According to the promotional material, Bring Him Back Dead was inspired by the works of Sam Peckinpah and Jim Thompson. In terms of how the characters are portrayed, mostly made up of double-crossing criminals, there is some truth to this statement although the comparison doesn't hold much scrutiny when looking at the actual quality of the completed film. This isn't to do the filmmakers a disservice, as there are definitely enjoyable aspects to Bring Him Back Dead, it is just that there are too many detracting elements to make the film an overall success.
Kicking off in the midst of a Jewel Store robbery, we are quickly introduced to our gang of robbers, including Geoff (LeJohn Woods), Killian (Ryan M. Shaw), Hayden (Chris Torem) and Zarina (Zhuzha Akova). Waiting on them outside is getaway driver Alex (Gary Daniels), the closest the film has to a hero.
As is the norm in a film of this ilk, the robbery ends in a bloodbath which doesn’t exactly sit well with Alex. They all retreat to the woods, holding up in a log cabin where they meet mastermind Trent (Louis Mandylor) who is accompanied by Lisa (Katie Keene), who the gang mistakenly believe is Trent’s mistress.
The gang celebrate on what they believe was a job well done only to wake up later with the realisation they were drugged and that Alex and Lisa have disappeared with their haul.
Now Trent and the rest of the gang must hunt them down, with Trent exclaiming that he wants them to bring Alex back dead. During this we begin to find out where everyone's true loyalties lie.
The first thing that becomes evident with Bring Him Back Dead is its low budget. Now, this doesn't automatically equal a failure, as many other low budget features have overcome the same obstacle. Still, even then, the lack of resources does seriously hamper the film quality throughout the duration.
However, director Mark Savage still has some advantages at his disposal. Luckily for him he has Daniels front and centre. Sure, he may not be the finest thespian to grace the silver screen but he can at least portray a convincing tough guy, something he does on numerous occasions during Bring Him Back Dead's relatively short running time. I did hope that there would be more chances for Daniels to get a chance to show off his martial arts skills, but there's still enough fight scenes to keep his fans happy.
Now, fans shouldn't go in expecting fight scenes on the scale of today's hits i.e. The Raid (2011) as they will be ultimately disappointed. The fight choreography is nothing you haven't seen before, harkening back to the types of martial arts movies of the 90's where the moves were certainly more basic to what we see these days. Even then, the fights aren’t even on par with that of Daniel's best like the previously mentioned Bloodmoon or Cold Harvest. I suppose I really shouldn’t be comparing those though, as he did make them 25 years ago.
Daniels character is very much an anti hero, although screenwriter Ben Demaree does go to some lengths to show that he isn’t as bad as his fellow criminals, with the audience being shown a reasoning behind his motives through a series of flashbacks. Personally, I would have rather they left this element out of the movie. Not only do the flashbacks end up slowing the momentum of the film, they dilute Daniel’s character. I would have preferred if he did have more selfish reasons for turning on his team, as this would have been more in line with the 70’s style thrillers that Bring Him Back Dead is trying to emulate.
Still, I shouldn’t be too judgemental, as at least the filmmakers do make an attempt to make the characters have more than one dimension. Demaree’s writing is certainly better than his last Gary Daniels vehicle, the extremely underpar The Gardener.
As much as I was looking forward to Daniels getting another starring vehicle, a lot of my enthusiasm for Bring Him Back Dead was down to his co-star, Louis Mandylor, who unsurprisingly gives the film its best performance. This is director Savage’s other main advantage, the one that stops Bring Him Back Dead from being just another forgettable action thriller. For a long time Mandylor has been consistently injecting life into what would otherwise be simple DTV fodder, and he does the same here, raising the material above its budgetary limitations.
Although Mandylor’s screen time is somewhat limited, he takes what could have been a one sided villain and gives him a lot of heart. Like Daniel's character, there is more to Mandylor’s Trent than initially meets the eye, with him having very personal reasons behind his crimes. Although he may not be relatable, he is certainly understandable.
Being the main villain, you know at some point Mandylor will have to face off against Daniels. This is the only real action scene Mandylor is involved in during the film but he certainly holds his own against the Brit Kicker. This isn’t the first time that Daniels’ has had to fight off a Mandylor, with him going up against Louis’ brother Costas in the anime adaptation Fist of the North Star (1995).
The remainder of the cast sady don’t match their more famous co-stars. Daniel Baldwin is the most recognisable out of the supporting cast but other than a short scene during the opening minutes he doesn’t appear until the final third, and even then doesn’t get a great deal to do.
Katie Keene fairs slightly better as the only member of the gang to side with Daniels, but like Baldwin, she doesn’t get a great deal to do. The only real action scene she takes part in is a terribly choreographed fight between her and Zhuzha Akova which actually had me cringing at how poorly it was done. Thankfully it doesn’t last long.
This isn’t the only poor element of the action. Like so many DTV actioners, there is the use of awful looking digital gunfire which is a distraction. However, for the most part it appears that Savage and screenwriter Demaree recognises this, with the gunplay being kept to a bare minimum. Early on there is a scene to explain why the characters have little in the way of firepower, with them having to rely on what is at hand such as knives and a crossbow.
I also appreciated the use of practical effects on more than one occasion. Sure, the film isn’t exactly a gore fest but the blood effects are capably handled and a definite plus point in my book.
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend Bring Him Back Dead to casual filmgoers, as they may be unable to overlook the drawbacks of the production. However, if like me you grew up watching Gary Daniels movies or are a fan of Louis Mandylor it's definitely worth a viewing.
Rating: 2.5/5
Comentários