Tag: bloody

SILENT NIGHT – Review

Joel Kinnaman as Godlock in Silent Night. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate

For years, film buffs have enjoyed arguing about whether DIE HARD is a Christmas movie. The “yeas” emphasize when it’s happening and what’s going on there besides the mayhem between Bruce and the baddies. The “nays” say it’s the polar opposite of the decades of seasonal feelgood spirit exemplified by everything from IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE to what the Hallmark Channel cranks out annually for the holidays. For them, if it ain’t gooey, it ain’t Yuley. Well, whichever camp you’re in, you’ll vote the same way for this gift from A-list action writer, producer and director John Woo, SILENT NIGHT.

SILENT NIGHT serves as a two-edged title. Besides the main events occurring on consecutive Christmases (for which that title ranks among the most popular carols), the entire film plays out without a single spoken word. Whatever they saved on dialog they spent on bullets, squibs, chase vehicles and sound effects. The film opens with Joel Kinnaman’s character, wearing a butt-ugly Christmas sweater, running after a couple of cars full of gang bangers blasting away at each other. Though he’s shot in the throat and chest, he miraculously survives. But one of the wounds rendered him unable to speak without a trachea tube, which he bitterly shuns. About 20 minutes in, we learn why he was so recklessly pursuing them – his young son had just been killed by one of their stray bullets.

Then we get a pretty slow 30 minutes with a lot of brooding and Kinnaman training and prepping for his revenge. He lives for nothing else, eventually driving his wife (Catalina Sandino Moreno) away to handle her grief in her own way. Between the stretches of almost catatonic mourning sprinkled with seething anger, the rigorous conditioning and self-teaching on weaponry, hand-to-hand and a FAST & FURIOUS level of driving are faithful to what we see whenever an Everyman heroically decides to go full Bronson on whoever done him wrong.

Once we get to the second Christmas, Woo gives us all the splatter and superb stunt work that has defined his long and oft-lauded career. On the adrenaline scale, the last 40 minutes comes in well above Charles Bronson’s vigilante outings (Paul Kersey’s multiple DEATH WISH flicks, MR.MAJESTYK, etc.), yet well shy of the JOHN WICK franchise in quantity; a bit closer in intensity. The big final assault puts Kinnaman and the stunt cast through a grueling, bloody ordeal with a few really stellar demises. Fights are gritty and excellently choreographed – like watching a less-athletic Tony Jaa, or many among the recent wave of crime flicks coming from Korea. And unlike many recent slugfests, this one is adequately lit and edited smoothly enough to follow the action and see the consequences. Not intended for the squeamish.

Besides the action that’s really the motivation for buying a ticket, the cast does quite well at conveying their states of mind without uttering a word. Moreno’s expressive face is particularly eloquent while making up for losing an actor’s most obvious tool for establishing a sympathetic character and emotional arc. Kinnaman is sufficiently convincing in his transformation from blue-collar dad to Rambo. After nearly 50 years, Woo is still going strong. Happy holidays!

SILENT NIGHT opens in theaters on Friday, Dec. 1.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

THE RITUAL KILLER – Review

(l-r) Morgan Freeman and Cole Hauser in THE RITUAL KILLER. Courtesy of Screen Media

Any time Morgan Freeman is in the cast, a film is going to be worth considering. In the RITUAL KILLER, he’s second banana but still key to the proceedings. The crime drama opens with a grisly killing and dismemberment in Rome before an immediate switch to the Southern U. S. of A., where similar slayings start occurring in what may be some sort of occult ritual style. Cole Hauser stars as , Detective Boyd, the lead detective on the domestic cases, soon turning to a nearby professor of African cultures and historical practices, Professor Mackles (Freeman) who might understand why the bodies are piling up. Not because he’s the prime suspect. It’s just that aspects of the murder scenes seemingly relate to his slice (inadvertent pun) of academia. Hauser is right, and Freeman starts contributing to the task of ending the spree.

We see the perpetrator (Vernon Davis) before they do. The dude has exceptional skills, bordering on the mystical, in evading capture while he continues his conspicuously gruesome mission. Hauser’s investigation ties Davis to the Rome murder, helping I.D. the guy, while making that early scene shift less disjointed than it felt at the time. There is method to this seeming madness. No need for the whodunit component, as sufficient suspense lingers on the why, and whether they’ll be able to catch this elusive, prolific killer.

Director George Gallo, whose diverse resume spans many genres, spares little of the gory details of Davis’ acts and their results. He also wastes no time, completing the package with admirable efficiency. This film is for the strong of stomach, not the faint of heart. The script from veteran actor and first-time screenwriter Bob Bowersox and a handful of other credited penners is mainly a by-the-numbers procedural, upgraded by a few unusual and intriguing variations along the way. The three leading actors carry the load, with the rest of the cast, including gifted character actor Peter Stormare, called upon for little more than dutifully filling the standard roles for such tales.

Though not yet MPAA rated as this is written, the gore factor would warrant at least an R, and possibly an NC-17, depending on who’s doing the job. You’ve now been warned about the yucky parts. If that’s not a deal-breaker, then step right up for this solid crime drama. And Morgan.

THE RITUAL KILLER opens Friday, Mar. 10, in theaters and video on demand.

RATING: 2.5 out of 4 stars