Left for Dead (2004)

Payback meets Fist of Fury in Left For Dead , a revenge martial arts movie set in a cold and unrelenting city, called Hope where a crime-lord called Kincaid rules with an iron glove. His soldiers use martial arts skills and weaponry and are trained to a startlingly high degree. The story centers on one of Kincaid s captains, Williams the master of lethal mechanics and Kelso, a promising young kickboxer who wants to win or lose his fights the honest way. Williams has been working for Kincaid since the brutal murder of his wife, Jenny. He turned to Kincaid for help to hunt down Jenny s killers and driven by a grief-fuelled rage, Williams slaughtered them. When he finds out that he was set up, he decides to leave Kincaid and start a normal life. But no one leaves! Williams and Kelso become fugitives, pursued by the bloodthirsty, cruel and revengeful fighters of Kincaid s army. Product Description

Who knew the Brits could fight this well?

LEFT FOR DEAD is like MORTAL KOMBAT, THE STREET FIGHTER, KILL BILL, PAYBACK, and FIST OF LEGEND all rolled into one, mixing a gritty story about Britain's seedy underworld with some of the most outstanding martial arts I've seen (at least, in a movie of this price range.)

What's really unique about LEFT FOR DEAD is that, while it is basically a revenge movie, the story is just as involving as the action. Long story sgort, it involves (blackmailed) hitman Ben Williams (Glenn Salvage) and rising kickboxer Danny Kelso (Andy Prior) joining forces against the local mafioso of Hope City, whom they both have a personal vendett with.

If nothing else, LEFT FOR DEAD is proof positive a you can make a great martial arts action movie without a fat budget. You just need some world class fighters and choregraphers who understand the dynamics of creating martial arts fight choreography that emphasizes power, speed, and grace. Prior is especially impressive, alternating between dynamic kicking, crippling hand strikes, and good old fashoined kickboxing.

One reviewer wrote that if LEFT FOR DEAD had been made in the 70's, Tarantino would have cited it as an influence. I disagree. Martial arts action films of 70's are what influenced LEFT FOR DEAD, and Tarantino would probably cite it as an influence no matter when it was made. November 6, 2007

Highly recommended UK Action Feature...

In the fictional city of Hope the notorious gangster Kincaid (Adam Chapman) is king. Ruling the underworld with an iron fist, and with an army of trained enforcers at his call - nothing and no one stands in his way.

One of his top men is Williams (Glenn Salvage) a hardened mercenary, left emotionally hollow after the death of his wife, he carries out Kincaid's punishments with ruthless efficiency and unquestioning loyalty. That is, until one day, he discovers that Kincaid has set him up whilst on a job and consequently decides to defy him - big mistake. For his transgression Williams suffers unspeakable violence at the hands of one of Kincaid's other henchmen - the psychotic Taylor (Adrian Foiadelli) and, as the title goes, is left for dead. Upon recovery he meets Kelso (Andy Prior) who had a promising boxing career cut short by Kincaid after he refused to throw a rigged fight and subsequently had his hands smashed by him. Deciding that enough is enough the two join forces and hatch a plan to bring Kincaid and his organisation to its knees - let battle commence!

Privately funded by cult action director Ross Boyask and produced by award winning filmmaker Phil Hobden, Left For Dead was made over a period of two years and finally secured a limited UK cinema run in 2004 and a wide DVD release earlier this year after a very successful debut at the Cannes film festival.

So what of the film itself? Well as far as action goes any self-respecting film fan will not be disappointed. Both Prior and the incredibly versatile Salvage display martial arts skills that would give Bruce and Jet a run for their money. Both do all their own stunts and make the fantastic fight sequences that much more real by seemingly appearing to actually connect with every punch and kick that they throw. Of note is the superbly choreographed car park dust up and the brilliantly wince-inducing ass kicking finale played out in Kincaid's lair.

In addition Boyask's direction shows a sure hand and his camerawork is, at times very inventive indeed, making good use of silhouettes and shadows to create a real 'Sin City' kind of feel to the film. Foiadelli's writing is inspired, injecting a nice sense of black humour to proceedings that makes one fondly remember the salad days of Tarantino and Shane Black.

There are some areas that could of been improved though. Notably in the editing. There are a few scenes that go on far too long and could have done with trimming by a few minutes. Also its way too violent in places and in some areas goes completely over the top in some of its brutality.

Performance wise its a bit of a mixed bag - Salvage is impressive as the hero and can certainly deliver a decent one liner on cue, Prior is a tad wooden and certainly needs some acting lessons, Foiadelli isn't bad as the sadistic nutter Taylor - but could of benefited from reigning in allot of his madman screaming and swearing, and been a tad more on the subtle side to boot - cant fault him for effort though. Chapman is the standout however, chillingly effective as Kincaid, bad to the bone, and so damn nasty that throughout I found myself desperately willing Salvage to get his revenge over him when they meet in the films incredible 'fists at dawn' denouement - which frankly has to be seen to be believed.

So overall I found 'Left For Dead' a highly enjoyable movie. Yes its a bit rough round the edges, but it exhibits a refreshing rawness (rare in films today) that superbly adds to the dark atmosphere that Boyask and Hobden have created. Fair play to the lads, as they've shown some serious balls here, it takes allot to make a movie in this day and age and to have done such a professional job as they have here gives me allot of hope for the future of British action cinema.

Highly recommended

December 7, 2005

Violence and Intense

Independently produced, low-budget movies exist for several reasons. They act as a jumpstart for fledgling talent. They offer something for a niche audience that's not deemed suitable for mass consumption. They push film convention to extremes. Encompassing all of these traits is Left for Dead, one hell of an action movie that gives the people what they want and what the people want is more guns, more swordplay, more high-kicking martial arts, and more bloody mayhem all around.

The movie is wall-to-wall gritty and politically incorrect gunplay and martial arts violence that amazingly holds together as a decent crime drama, which is what Britain's mainstream film industry continues to excel at (see Layer Cake, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead). It all begins in a whirl of action in "Hope City" as a simple, but messy job performed by several hitmen to take out a minor league player in the city's organized crime scene turns into a desperate manhunt for one of their own. For reasons that become clear as the story develops, Ben Williams (Glen Savage) is deemed expendable by his employer, local crime boss Kincaid (Adam Chapman). Kincaid's top henchmen, a pair of cold-blooded maniacs named Dylan (Kevin Akehurst) and Taylor (Adrian Foiadelli) turn on their former associate. Wounded, Ben goes into hiding.

Meanwhile, a promising kickboxer named Danny Kelso (Andy Prior), whom Kincaid hopes to control, refuses to throw a fight. Taylor, his one-time friend breaks every one of his fingers and sends Danny into exile in a neighboring city. Over the next six months Danny recovers and revives his kickboxing career, while waiting for an opportunity to get revenge on Taylor.

Having uncovered the truth about why he first came to work for Kincaid, Ben shows up and convinces Danny to join him in returning to Hope City to take down not only Taylor, but Kincaid and his entire underworld empire.

I'd like to think that the only thing holding this film back is money or the lack thereof. The modest locations, lighting, sound, attempts at computerized bloodletting, and generally uneven art direction are all reminders that this is budget filmmaking. But the movie compensates for this in the areas the matter with heavy doses of gleeful carnage, serviceable acting and some fine direction and editing. The biggest problem with low budget actioners from inexperienced filmmakers is usually pacing. Writer/director Ross Boyask and his crew nail this down with few hitches. The movie flies by as the viewer is thrust into one ugly brawl after another. The movie may move a little too fast at times, but fans of Hong Kong cinema will feel right at home.

The opening sets the tone. It's a long and violent action sequence that begins as a shootout and transforms into a martial arts brawl with swords, fists and feet mincing bodies. It's not the best action sequence in the film and is marred by some discordant editing that makes it look more like a highlight reel. This choppy look returns towards the end as Ben and Danny storm Kincaid's headquarters. My opinion is that they left too much in and should have pared both sequences down to their essentials.

Once done with the extended opener, the film settles more comfortably into its crime genre leanings by fleshing out the story and characters. Unlike most action movies shot at this level, I actually took an honest interest in the story and found the characters, although somewhat derivative, enjoyable to watch. Reminiscent of Robert Carlyle, as the explosive Begbie in Trainspotting, Adrian Foiadelli makes the most of his killer-gone-over-the-edge persona. His final scene in the film is very nicely done. As his partner in crime, Kevin Akehurst isn't quite as convincing in his role, but handles his dialogue well. He also gets to share in one of the film's better stand-alone fight sequences when he faces off against Glen Savage on a rooftop with sword in hand. Savage is a great choice for the film's slow-boiling lead. He's got everyman looks and an unpretentious manner that is wholly believable when cast as someone who means business. There's also something in his eyes that speaks volumes. I'm glad to see that he's continuing to star in subsequent UK actioners such as The Silencer and Boyask's Devil's Run.

One disappointment story-wise, is the confusing introduction of an attractive platinum blonde during a montage sequence. She appears to be Ben's replacement as one of Kincaid's newest fighters. We get a scintillatingly short fight towards the end between her and Ben where she shows off some uniquely-acrobatic fighting skills. But there's no character development of any kind to give her fight any meaning.

A lot of work obviously went into the martial arts sequences in this film, which were put together and shot with members of several British stunt teams including First Strike Action Team, Independent Stunts and Screenfighter UK. The types of combat used are varied, but dominated by high kicking. Personally, I have a problem with high kicking put to use in a supposedly gritty crime film as many self-defense practitioners would probably agree that throwing your leg up above the waist leaves you wide open to a world of hurt. But, as Hong Kong producer Ng See-yuen discovered with The Secret Rivals (1976), leg fighting onscreen sells because it looks good. Andy Prior gets the lion's share of leg work to perform as the kickboxing hero, both in the ring and out. He's not the next Hwang Jang-lee, but he's alright.

Genre fans should appreciate some of the more creative aspects of the fight choreography that works its way into the film. Towards the end, some tandem fighting appears as two stunt actors coordinate their attacks against Prior. Viewers will also witness the use of locks, takedowns and good old fashioned kung fu sparring. There's even some gory Street Fighter-type bodily alterations performed on opponents. With the sheer volume of fighting that takes place in the movie, the stunt teams are able to work in quite a bit of variety. Even so, this starts to work against them, for the action scenes linger long enough to begin to lose their "punch." The amount or fighting isn't the real problem here. It's just limited clarity, dynamics and the ability to manipulate the scenes for full dramatic impact, all of which tend to come with experience on everyone's part.

Although not without faults, I've got to hand it to the folks behind Left for Dead. They've created a monster of an action movie considering their limited means. Most importantly, they've managed to make the most out of their medium, the indie film, by pushing the action to extremes while maintaining an engaging plot. Left for Dead is like a modern, British equivalent of a Shinji Fukazaku yakuza thriller and classic Hong Kong kung fu movie in one, where the violence is intense and the fighting practically never stops.

- Mark Pollard

November 23, 2005

First-class budget-defying British action

In the opening scene of `Left for Dead' the low budget roots of this homegrown, self-funded British action film are painfully obvious. Thankfully the ambition and love of the genre that the filmmakers have clearly injected into the project are infectious and within minutes all its flaws are forgotten. With its straight-forward, engaging revenge storyline and numerous energetic and accomplished fight scenes `Left for Dead' is a kick in the head for a genre that has come to rely too heavily on special effects and wire-work. Few filmmakers at this level of funding would even attempt to make such an elaborate, time-consuming and large-scale project, especially in a country in which genre films in general are a rarity, but the finished film stands as a testament to their success. The spirit and inventiveness of this back-to-basics action film puts some of the most expensive and explosive blockbusters to shame and needs to be seen to be believed. November 20, 2005

Non-stop action !

I've now watched this film twice and for a low budget action flick, it presses all the right buttons. The intro graphics and titles draw you in nicely, good start. Then the film begins and it's non-stop action, gun fights, swords, bats, motor bikes, martial arts, electrocution, and this is only the first twenty minutes !

The camerawork and the editing are very well done, good camera angles, nice cuts between scenes. I liked the chapter breaks, the graphics when travelling between the two cities, the humour throughout the film, the interspersed cut scenes. There were a lot of really nice touches of black humour that acted as a good contrast to the violence. The acting was sometimes a little stilted, but the manic expressions on some of the characters (especially Dylan and Taylor) gave the characters some real personality. The plot itself is, like all good martial arts films, a saga of revenge. The story flows smoothly, leaving the viewer in no doubt about what is going on.

The martial arts scenes were generally very well choreographed, and there is enough diversity of moves to make it a worthwhile watch for anyone interested in martial arts. Actually, there's a hell of a lot of fight scenes in this film, you certainly get your money's worth ! If you're an intense action/martial arts flick aficionado you will love this film. If the sight of blood and violence turns your stomach... best steer clear.
November 1, 2005

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