The Prodigy

The Prodigy is why we love Indie films. Studios are often too scared to produce fresh, dark and original stories like this one. As soon as the first bullets fly, you know your on a roller coaster from hell. And I for one didn't want to get off. The lighting and the look of the film works as another character in the movie. Scary, dark and brooding which is hard to pull off on 16mm. The Prodigy character is fantastic. He's the bogey man that has been lurking in the back of all of our minds since we were kids. Who is he? Is he the devil or God's militant dark angel Michael. The biblical references are numerous. The producers, director, cast and crew have delivered a perfect Indie film.

Needless to say, I can't wait for The Prodigy 2, 3, 4...I give this film 4.5 silver bullets.

The Prodigy begins with a drug deal going sour. Only instead of 2 sides facing off against each other in a typical Mafioso fashion, someone dressed like the Scarlet Pimpernel but with the aggression of Jason Voorhees on crack, appears out of nowhere armed with a zillion weapons and cuts them all down before getting into a brutal fistfight with last man standing Truman Fisher. The action is so searingly intense, it makes recent actioners like Running Scared look like a 70s episode of Seasame Street in comparison.

The mystery villain is soon revealed to be some sort of mystical mega-psycho who goes by the name of Claude Rains (as he is, in a way, an invisible man) after he kidnaps the nephew of a gang boss. Truman Fisher is sent to find him but discovers that there is some kind of weird connection between him and Rains.

That is where my understanding of the film ends as it becomes far too messy and unfocused. At a running time of 2 hours I feel a lot of fat could have been cut to keep a tighter, more nervously wrought pace. Whenever Rains is on screen, doing his shooting, slashing and torturing the film absolutely soars. But in between, when Fisher is going from one place to another, it really lags. And by the end you won't have a clue what's going on or why. Less filler during the second act and more coherence in the third would have made this film so much better. I wasn't the only one who felt this way as there were several people in the audience who left halfway through.

Made on an unbelievably small budget of $219,000 the film honestly looks 10 times that amount. The action and fighting is amazing and Rains is a truly terrifying, imposing villain who pushes this film well out of the Crime genre and into Horror.

Obviously, since the budget is so small, it won't star anyone you've really ever heard before but they do just fine. A few characters are completely superfluous and could have been cut-out in a more preferable, leaner running time however.

The film is surprisingly stylish and action-packed considering it's low-budget nature but that doesn't excuse the increasing lack of sense as it goes on.

Still, it's a fine attempt at film-making and adds something new to both Action and Horror.

Although I'm a little fatigued with the 'bullets and blood' shorts and features that are produced wholesale, I was genuinely stunned with the quality of this production. I have produced 10 shorts and 2 micro-budget features, so I feel the pain of being held back by monetary restrictions. Yet with this film I never once thought 'if only they had the funds and/or time to do that the right way'. If they would have announced the budget at 5 million, I would have said that it was money well spent. The cinematography was the best I have seen from a local production, the characters and acting were completely convincing, and the editing, pacing, and score were spot-on (if you notice any of these, then it becomes irritating) and did nothing to detract from the story…which I found refreshingly unique and richly layered. If I had a distribution company I would have signed them in the lobby after the screening.

Interesting that the IMDb recommends the 1995 Bond film GoldenEye as a companion piece for admirers of The Prodigy. But the fact is that Prodigy likely has more inventiveness, directorial savvy, frightening villainy, editing prowess, and well-spent money in its cutting-floor leavings than GoldenEye, or dozens of other big actioners for that matter, have from beginning to end.

Genre films are often cranked out as hasty marketing gimmicks; perhaps they are watched and perhaps not, but in most cases either way, they're quickly forgotten. Here, we have a psychological/crime thriller that stays in the viewer's lens long after the credits have rolled. The acting is solid throughout--superb in spots, actually, especially from star Holt Boggs and costar and co-writer Matt Beckham--and the surprises are well-plotted and considered. Just as importantly, intricate, minutes-long gunbattle and action scenes, which would normally be confusing failures in most low-budget hands, are directed and edited with a precision that allows us to follow the jarring action with the same attention and involvement that we do when we see Prodigy's less-interesting big-budget brethren. Sometimes as many as ten characters are involved in these sequences, but we are never distracted, confused or annoyed by their number, as they are showcased only when needed, to maximum effect. (Added note, and kudo to director Kaufman: Thanks for not filming yet another Nine Inch Nails video and passing it off as an action film.)

I was surprised and impressed at a recent Texas screening of this film, and can only hope that some attentive distributor realizes that memorable, riveting action can be done for less than $10 million. If this one surfaces at a festival or theater near you, don't waste any time--see it.

The Prodigy is straight out awesome. Flawless direction (William Kaufman), outstanding acting, amazing editing, and top notch sound. The film looks outstanding, the producer (David Rucker) and his production team made sure that every penny was put on the screen. This is a movie that keeps you guessing until the end and will stay on your mind way after it is over. The story is about Truman (Holt Boggs) a mobster who is looking for someone who killed some people at his bosses house and then kidnapped his bosses Nephew. What Truman doesn't know is this mysterious person is also looking for him. This movie is full of action, comedy, and suspense, but the mysterious killer being hunted is truly terrifying. He is as scary if not scarier than any villain from a horror movie. As far as the shoot out scenes go. I couldn't even compare it to an action movie, It's more like a war movie. You just have to see it to believe it. I loved this movie. I saw it at a premiere in Dallas. I think it will make its rounds at festivals before being released to the public, but if you get a chance to see it...do it.