The Retaliators

The movie starts off with Bishop and his two daughters trying to buy a Christmas tree when all of a sudden some guy claims their tree as his. He acts like a douche and pushes Bishop away and after they get home the older daughter Sarah asks him why he didn't act. Bishop uses this scenario to talk about in his preaching the next day and says that revenge is not the answer.

Later that evening his daughter Sarah gets murdered by a guy for finding out that there is someone in his trunk. During his mourning he encounters a detective whose wife was also killed years before. He tells Bishop that he found the guy who killed his daughter and he wants to give him the chance to take vengeance. At that point a brutal and twisted story begins and Bishop has to go through a lot of character development to be able to survive.

The movie definitely has its shock value in the brutality and does not shy away to show it. And even though there is some weird pacing and editing at times the movie is able to entertain for its run time. The movies strengths are in the sheer brutality and action that come in the third act and also in the character development from Bishop. It's no masterpiece but I think that it did a decent job with how the story turned out. [5,8/10]

This is an enjoyable movie, just don't expect it to be the next Saw. This is more of a soundtrack movie than a horror movie. That's probably why a lot of the lower level characters are played by members of the band by the same name who also wrote the theme song. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot that are big misses in the movie, but if you're bored and just want a good revenge movie to watch this will fill that pretty easily. It's not on the level of I Spit on your Grave, American Merry, or any of the other great revenge horror, but its watchable.

The acting is sub par, but that's on point for the genre.

I felt like there was also an innovative movie here. The antihero was very interesting and should have been the focus of the movie. Instead it just became a run of the mill revenge flick and focused on the wrong character.

It's well acted and has good production value but, in the end, the redeeming qualities surrounded the cameos and the soundtrack. The rotating one-night only releases is also a marketing gimmick. I fell for both of them...

I feel like the names (i.e. Jacoby Shaddix, Five Finger Death Punch, Tommy Lee) was more of a marketing gimmick than of any real value.

Best leave this for when it becomes available on a streaming service.

Better than a movie featuring the singer of Papa Roach has any right to be, "The Retaliators" is a fun revenge thriller, that switches between genres, offering just enough twist and turns (and a bonkers ending) to stay engaging.

The acting is not bad, with a certain Z Nation actor being the highlight.

The Retaliators is dumb but fun entertainment - something that has strangely become a rarity in horror.

Nowadays where every movie is a slow burn "elevated" metaphor for trauma and abuse - so it's refreshing to see a film that just wants to entertain in a blood soaked way.