Instant Death

Basically this is a poor version of Death Wish. The only difference it is really cheap looking and Lou Ferrigno's character has military experience, so he's a legit tough guy already why Charles Bronson's Paul Kersey character was still "soft" before becoming developing a killer instinct.

Now with the film:

• Looks really cheap. I understand why people are saying it was cheap looking. The quality of the film looks like it was recorded on someone's phone.

The action scenes are way too short. Wanted more detailed revenge and action scenes. Took 5 minutes of action and that was it, the good guy one and went home. The film itself is really short. Maybe 80 minutes? Went by real fast.

Overall, I got it for $2.50 at Book Off in NYC. So, it was okay for a one time watch on a boring Saturday. Nothing memorable and a forgettable cheap flick.

P.S.

I could have done without the sexual assault scene. That was very disturbing and not really needed.

All the money went to Lou and Razor but that's not to say it's to the detriment of your overall enjoyment. While the rest of the actors range from poor moderate or simply OK, and just a few are occasionally good… Lou and Razor do a fine job, Razor's heartless bastard performance actually convinces. The movie itself moves at a reasonable pace, first 5 minutes aside. It reminds you of the 51st state with slightly lower production values.

Personal take…

This is the sort of film of which reviewers who should not leave a review because they do not embrace the genre will say things about like, "just wasted a half hour of my life".

In my case, I feel fans of Indie Brit flicks with that American twist will enjoy it, or anyone who just wants to see Jerry Anderson doing his best Ray Winstone impersonation. If you want a deeper plot or high production values with a perfect script then this may not be for you. For the former group there are some sadistic scenes and some reasonable action to be had (given Lou's getting on a bit).

High art this is not, but a guilty pleasure for some… maybe!

Overall, I enjoyed it.

Ferrigno, (Special Forces fighter John Bradley) left the army six months ago, and is suffering PTSD. After travelling to the UK he's drawn into the world of Razor (Jerry Anderson), a drug dealer with a very sadistic nature. This is the usual trope that we see in these movies: Razor's henchmen rape Bradley's daughter on her dining room table, and commit other awful acts, which are meant to convince us viewers that what follows is perfectly justified.

There is no tongue-in-cheek humour in all this and I kept wondering how all this mayhem could be going on with no apparent police reaction.

I like watching action and war movies but frankly, this film was a bit too hardcore for me. If you like gore and sadism it'll be your kind of movie.

No pun intended - I really like Lou Ferrigno! He seems like a cool guy. Also while we don't have insane stunts here, they are quite solid and you can see that he does some stuff himself. He can move his hands and feet (looking at you Seagal - it's about that time to stop for you). Having said all that, maybe it wasn't the best idea to do that either - yes it plays a bit like Death Wish (I used the german title as summary line, though fans of Hulk or rather Lou will get a different kind of joke out of this too).

The bigger issue though is not the been there and done that part of it all! No it is that there seems a lack of acting ability for most involved. And while you won't watch this for that reason ... it would not have hurt if there was more gravitas to it. Not to mention that some of the violence is almost comical ... not in a good way. You really have to suspend your disbelief ... a lot.

Instant Death is your stock-standard "they hurt my family now I want revenge" movie that is pretty much a trope on it's own now. That in itself isn't a bad thing. I love that kind of movie.

These movies in general require a bit of leeway as far as script writing, acting, and general believability goes, and that is fair because these are not documentaries. But this movie really does abuse that leeway.

Razor as the "main bad guy" has about all the charisma of a cardboard box. But I do get the feeling that the actor playing him is doing everything he can with a script that feels like it might have been written by a 15 year old in between watching Death Wish, Taken and Rambo and deciding he can write better.

The fight scenes have no weight, I have honestly seen better fight choreography from uni student film projects. The plot is laughably bad and hard to believe even for a character as unhinged as "Razor".

The movie constantly dances on the line of being "so bad it's good" to straight up just "bad" but it finally bulldozes over that line with the incredibly underwhelming showdown with the main antagonist, which really felt like the 15 year old I mentioned earlier suddently realised he was going to run out of paper.

I talk a lot about the character of "Razor" because he is the only character you end up getting attached to. Even the main protaganist (John Bradley) is completely forgettable - an impressive feat of poor script writing considering it's Lou Ferrigno.

It's a movie that spends about an hour getting you ready for the ultimate ride of your life. But once the credits begin to roll, the movie will lie down, stretch out and smoke a cigaratte. You on the other hand will sneakily open your drawer and look for something else.