Lethal Force (2001)
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| Unearthed Films (USA). All Regions, NTSC.
4:3. English DD 2.0. 70 minutes |
| The Movie |
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| Credits |
Director Alvin Ecarma
Starring
Cash Flagg Jr., Frank Prather, Patricia Williams, Andrew
Hewitt Screenplay Alvin Ecarma
Music Gerard K. Marino
Tagline In this town, two wrongs don't make you right -
they make you even!
Country
USA | Independent films, especially ones made
in the past ten years, tend to polarise filmgoers. They're either
loved or loathed, and the punters sitting in the latter camp often
do so because there is bigger and better out there. However indie
films, particularly those of the action and horror genre, have a lot
going for them. They have an undeniable charm, an atmosphere that
can't be emulated by even the best-budgeted production.
A charm that Lethal Force has in spades.
Sure it's cheap and poorly acted, the sound is variable and the
cinematography crappy, but there is a cool little film in amongst
everything. And, while the declaration on the DVD sleeve that
Lethal Force 'is to action as Scream
was to horror' is a bit rich, screenwriter and director
Alvin Ecarma has nevertheless created an effective and refreshing
parody of the big-budget Stallone/Schwarzenegger/Willis films.
Lethal Force is the story of a two-bit gangster
Jack (Frank Prather) sent on an assassination mission by Mal, a
deranged mobster. However, this is no ordinary assassination
mission: the target is Savitch (Cash Flagg Jr), Jack's best friend.
And, as a something of an incentive, Mal kidnaps Jack's son and
brutally executes his wife. Left with no other option, Jack must
betray and kill Savitch, who himself is a mentally unstable killer.
The results are hilarious, and what ensues is an explosion of blood,
guts and kung-fu chaos.
Boasting an artistic front cover that displays everything from
the blaxploitation to the gore genres, Lethal Force
was always going to be a mixed bag. I was most struck by
the short, sharp bursts of brutality throughout the film, until it
climaxed with a complete splatterfest. In this respect, as a genre
parody/comedy, this is more reminiscent of Bad Taste than
Scream – heads are blown off, drills are imbedded
into skulls and tongues are ripped out of mouths, and the camera
lingers with voyeuristic relish. Furthermore, Lethal Force
is a prime example of technical incompetence, not least
during a climactic swordfight in which the weapon is very obviously
plastic (the blade waves as it is swung). Whether or not these
'mistakes' were intentional is arguable, but they're so blatantly
obvious that Lethal Force falls firmly into the
comedy genre many a time. The references to action films, from
A Better Tomorrow to Pulp Fiction,
are about as subtle as a sledgehammer to the face, adding to the
cult appeal. The characters are a picture book of comic excess –
from Jack the Tom Cruise lookalike, to a Fez-wearing lesbian
uber-sadist and Savitch channelling Chow Yun
Fat, there's something to please everyone. I enjoyed
Lethal Force immensely, and for lovers of offbeat
indie films, this is an unparalleled slice of cinematic gold. The
gore, the goofs and the nutty dialogue (you're like a pencil –
pointless) all make for a fantastic night in. However,
Lethal Force lacks the sheer watchability value of
some of its contemporaries. This isn't a film you're likely to
revisit over and over, especially considering similar spoofs like
the ones mentioned above are superior to this one. Regardless, this
is a very decent minor cult classic that fans of the genre should
get a good kick out of. |
| Video |
| Disappointing. The film is presented in
full-frame 4:3 aspect ratio and the picture is reminiscent of a DVD
sold in bargain bins, not one released by a leading cult film
distributor. Colours are murky and dull and you can see little
during periods of darkness. In Unearthed's defense though, this is
probably as good as Lethal Force is likely to
get. |
| Audio |
| A sole soundtrack – English Dolby Digital 2.0.
It's reasonable, but by no means excellent. There are a number of
inaudible moments of speech, and the sound is generally dull. Again,
it was probably the best audio of the film available. |
| Extra Features |
| A number of decent extras, the most noteworthy
being a feature length commentary by Ecarma. The three director's
shorts have to be the weirdest of the lot, with an eleven second
film of a dog's cyst titled…yes, you guessed it – My Dog Has
A Cyst. Calling this a 'short film' is a little bit
ridiculous– it is, literally, eleven seconds of a dog's
cyst. The two others, Me and A
Conversation; both run about five minutes in duration and
have a little more substance than watching a grotesque pustule on
Ecarma's pet, though they're both fairly uninteresting. A few image
galleries are also included, including production photos, poster art
and an action figure gallery. The action figures aren't available to
buy and are present simply for novelty value.
There were a number of trailers for other Unearthed discs,
including Nails, Visions of
Suffering, Frankenhooker,
City of Rott, Bone
Sickness, and Das Komabrutale
Duell. There seems to be an error with the Unearthed
disc. Some of the options do not work when selected individually,
and you must instead utilise the 'play all' button. I tried the disc
on two DVD players and it didn't work on both occasions, and a post
on the IMDb page for Lethal Force seems to confirm
this. |
| The Verdict |
How much you enjoy Lethal Force
is exactly how much you can appreciate the aforementioned
charm that runs through the film. Oscar-winning material this ain't:
it's loud, brash and technically inept. But Ecarma shows a lot of
style in his direction, and it is clear that he has a fondness for
the films he parodies. If you like films from this genre (and this
budget), then Lethal Force comes with a
wholehearted recommendation.
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