- Directed by Samuel Gonzalez Jr, Michael Lombardi, Bridget Smith
- Written by Darren Geare, Jeff Allen Geare
- Stars Michael Lombardi, Marc Menchaca, Joseph Gatt
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 37 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62B-SEgNaas
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
What was expected to be a pretty standard revenge flick turned out to be something pretty special. This has a strong cast, excellent effects, and a good story. It’s not strictly horror, but it does the job nicely.
Synopsis
We begin with a voiceover talking about justice and evil, “Maybe sometimes it’s better to keep evil alive.” As credits roll, we watch a man throw a body down a well.
Near Hillsdale, New Jersey, a couple of girls are trying to figure out a paper map. Naturally, they turn down onto a private road and get a flat tire. Someone grabs Erica and drags her off into the woods. The other girl gets a scare as a bunch of crazy-acting people close in. A guy shows up yelling that they aren’t zombies as he gets dragged away. The doors slam on the van with the girl inside, and we see the gore splashing the insides of the windows.
In Stockbridge, New Jersey, a teen girl is in a grief counseling group meeting. Sarah tells her story about something that happened when she was ten, and someone is watching from outside the room.
Pastor Bishop goes to buy a Christmas tree with his two daughters. We see that the eldest daughter is Sarah from the previous scene. The guy watching was her father, the pastor. There’s almost a fight over a tree, but Bishop backs off. Later, Sarah rubs in what a wimp he is, but he says that real life isn’t like action heroes in the movies. He incorporates the fight story into his Christmas Eve sermon. He talks about revenge on people who wrong us. You can already smell the “Death Wish” vibes on this guy.
Elsewhere, a man in a wheelchair rolls into a warehouse, where he encounters a creepy bald-headed dude, Ram Kady. Ram takes the drugs from the man in the wheelchair and kills him.
Sarah’s off to a Christmas Party, where she’s told to be home by 11:30. As she fills up the gas tank, Kady is there leering. And there’s a thumping from his trunk – the man in the wheelchair isn’t quite dead after all. She knows something isn’t right, and he knows she knows. He tries to attack her, but she sprays him with pepper spray. She calls her dad because the guy is chasing her down the road in his car. Kady runs her off the road and zip ties her hands to the steering wheel. He then pushes her car into the lake. When Bishop arrives a while later, he does not take it well.
Detective Jed Sawyer comes by to ask about Sarah’s final phone call. Sawyer explain that it wasn’t road rage, it was murder. Elsewhere, a cop pulls over Ram Kady, and the cop injects him with something. Vic, Ram’s brother, starts calling around looking for the missing goon. At the same time, people are missing that guy in the wheelchair.
John Bishop is still distraught, and wants to go looking for his daughter’s murderer.
Detective Jed tells Bishop about a serial killer from ten years back and his own personal experience with tragedy.
Elsewhere, Ram Kady wakes up in a torture chamber.
Otto, the opposing gang leader, declares war on Vic’s gang because he thinks Ram stole the drugs and the money.
Things devolve from there…
Commentary
“Those aren’t zombies!”
From watching the trailer, we had doubts that this even qualified as a horror film. Yes, it definitely does.
It looks good and has good pacing and cinematography. The dialogue is a bit weak in places, but completely acceptable. The overall story is really good. I didn’t care for the music selections, but since the members of Five Finger Death Punch, Papa Roach, and Tommy Lee were actually among the cast, I guess the soundtrack was preordained. Kevin on the other hand loved the music and thought it was awesome seeing all those people from the music industry in this.
The synopsis above makes this sound like a typical “Death Wish” revenge thriller film, but it eventually goes well over the line into horror. Keep in mind, it takes a while to get there, but the payoff is worth the wait. The gore shots are wonderfully excessive and look pretty realistic.
We both liked it a lot more than we expected to.