eccentricbrit2
(No major spoilers but some plot points are revealed) It's quite unusual to see a UK made action/martial arts film as opposed to the plethora of period pieces and dramas made over here so for that reason alone the director and production team deserve credit. Essentially the film revolves around a man's brutal revenge against his ruthless employers - fairly standard plot but still well executed here.When you consider the budget for this piece (around £10-20K according to reports) and that it was self-financed by the producer and director team Phil Hobden and Ross Boyask, it's amazing that something so action packed could be attempted, let alone filmed and distributed. From the opening scene with a 10-minute mayhem fight to the closing showdown, there is plenty of action along the way with character development and a little romance playing a minimal role (as expected in an action film).Naturally given the budget constraints there are flaws. The opening scene is perhaps a little overlong and does betray the small amount of money available. Special effects are limited and often the camera angles are chosen so the blood and cut effects don't need to be shown. Also the cast is pretty much made up of unknowns. Some do a good job (especially the leads and the main villain) while some of the smaller performances leave something to be desired.The fistfights are well choreographed and must have taken a long time to get right. Especially good are the boxing scenes midway through, a fight between the main character and a sword wielding henchwoman and the relentless finale where literally dozens of people bite the dust. And there is no shying away from the violence (that you might get in a Hollywood blockbuster that has to be cut down to get a family friendly rating certificate). Plenty of people (nearly the entire cast) die brutal deaths here.Overall, a good first effort. It is the first feature from Modern Life although many short films have been made by the team in the past. Despite some shortcomings, most fans of 80s style action movies (such as Commando, American Ninja etc.) will enjoy this effort and hopefully the team will have more money to do even better films in the future.
Mike Hilder
The film the term 'So bad it's good!' was invented for. This film has all the hall marks of a very bad 80's action movie. The kind of film that was frequented by Jeff Speakman, Michael Dudikof and Jeff Wincott. The kind of film you rented because the cover had ninjas and fighting drawn so badly that it looked more like your grand ma than Chuck Norris.The kind of film where the good guy gets shot, kicked, stabbed, beaten, blown up and yet still manages to take down the bad guys army of 200 highly trained soldiers.The kind of film that had a name like 'American Ninja', 'The Perfect Weapon', 'Ninja Exterminator', 'Invasion USA', 'Eye Of The Tiger', 'Kick Boxer' and 'Missing In Action'.The kind of film that I always chose at my local video shop over the higher budgeted star driven studio fair. The kind of film that, well, that I love so much.Don't get me wrong. Like the films mentioned above (and the many I have failed to mention), this isn't a masterpiece in terms of production value, acting or (sometimes) editing or direction but in terms of bang for buck well this film does what it says on the tin. In spades.And lets face it I never watched Segal movies for the character development or plot. I watched them because I knew, just for that hour and a half, that I'd get to see some tubby white guy kick the crud out of a bunch of bad guys in inventive and fun ways.But the strange thing is, for all its faults and over long running time, this film does just what I wanted. It offers an 80's styled action film that is true to the genre and superb fun to watch.So, in short, if your idea of a good film is Citizen Kane, Remains of the Day or Notting Hill this film is not for you.If however, like me, you grew up on a staple diet of action movies, body counts and ninjas then you 'Left For Dead' is that rare find… a butt kicking, head stomping 80's styled action romp that makes for almost 2 hours of mindless fun, bloody, guts and over the top martial arts moves.--eye--
Jason Davis
Independently produced, low-budget movies exist for several reasons. They act as a jump-start 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.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.
