Sweet Karma

I caught this film at Fantastic Fest in Austin, during a sold out screening. Clearly the reason the screening was sold out is that the lead actress was in attendance, days after winning an award for Next Wave Best Actress, so everyone wanted to know what the fuss was about. I won't bother going into the details about the plot since it's covered here by others, but I gotta say this was a cool little film. It's a nice modern take on the old style 70's revenge film. It's got a great energy, an engaging story, some bad-ass, albeit low-rent kill scenes, and yes, the performance from the first-time lead actress is a knock-out. She owns the screen. From the reaction of the audience, and the fact that almost 3/4 of them stuck around for the Q&A, I'd safely say that most others would agree with me. A perfect film? No. But a solid, must-see piece of entertainment? You bet.

Playboy Playmate of the Month (November 2010) Shera Bechard gives acting a whirl. This is her first, and possibly only film, so you better run to see it.

A 70s style revenge flick that takes place largely in a strip club run by the Russian mafia, it is violent and titillating at the same time.

Naturally, the mob suspects a rival, not the sister of one of it's girls. That will give Karma time to kill a few more.

The bodies keep piling up as Karma seeks revenge only to find in the end that the cost may be too high.

Cool action in a seedy setting.

Caught this film on Prime late at night (seems apt; right?). As a movie it is at once better than most of the poor reviews and worse than it has to be. I expect I am a sucker for any 'poor vulnerable girl left alone gets even with all who've mistreated her' stories and that's basically the plot here.

Shera Bechard does a pretty good job as Karma, an innocent mute girl from Russia attempting to avenge her sister's death at the hands of Russian sex traffickers in Toronto. It takes a bit of concentration to follow the timeframe as there are several flashbacks and the mute girl isn't explaining her backstory for you to understand her motivation. But that may be part of the grand design here.

Note her name: 'Karma', which in spite of how Anna explains her sister's name is really what her mission is. It's literary irony in the vein of Edgar Allan Poe. Don't tempt Karma!

Other than Shera Bechard the other actor of note is John Tokatlidis who plays the only other character with a substantive backstory - part of the twist ending so I won't reveal it here. Suffice to say the viewer should mind the other characters, even the baddies, because they do flesh out the picture somewhat.

Caveats: the violence is gory at times; the sex scenes are unpleasant; the club dancing is almost boring; the outdoor scenes are cold, dark and bleak; the language is crude and unimaginative - all deliberately so, to maintain the theme of the story, which is that the sex trade has absolutely NO glamour or nobility to it even if you think it might seem interesting, as a story theme, in just some macabre way. So it's easy to dismiss this as a 'bad movie' when it's really just a pretty good movie about really bad people in a really bad business doing really bad things (most of whom meet really bad ends).

Watch it late at night when nothing else is on - and pay attention. Maybe you'll see what I mean.

"Sweet Karma" have, what sounded like, an interesting storyline. Karma's sister Anna travels from Russia to Canada under the impression to work there as a housemaid. Karma never hears from her sister, never receives any money, and decides to go to Canada and look for her sister. Signing up with the same company that sent Anna to Canada, Karma discovers that it is in fact a human trafficking ring supplying prostitutes and erotic dancers. Bent on revenge, Karma takes down the ones responsible, one by one, and with every weapon at her disposal.

Sounded great, didn't it? Yeah, unfortunately there was nothing new or innovating to be seen in "Sweet Karma". It had all been seen in movies before; a woman out for revenge, an undercover cop in too deep with the bad guys, the woman bringing down an entire cartel all by her lonely self, and women being suppressed and forced into shady work. With those things lined up, "Sweet Karma" didn't really rise above mediocrity.

Don't get me wrong, the movie is actually quite good and manages to keep you riveted to the seat until the very end. But lacking new ideas and execution in movie style, then "Sweet Karma" was a bit tame.

The people in the movie were actually doing good jobs with their roles. And the lead role of Karma was played by Shera Bechard was particularly well performed, especially because she didn't speak a single word throughout the entire movie.

One of the things that I really liked about "Sweet Karma" was the feel you got from the scenes and scenery. It was gritty, dirty and foreboding. And that worked really well, because you had the sensation of being in a bad and low place; which the women also were. So thumbs up on the way they used that to the movie's advantage.

Personally, I just didn't fully buy into the story, that a woman singlehandedly could manage to unwrap the human trafficking ring all by herself and take them down the way she did. Some of the violence scenes were actually quite well executed, though, I will give them that. But in general, I just didn't see the storyline as that plausible.

"Sweet Karma" is good entertaining for an evening of movies where you don't have to use your brain. This movie invites you to just disable and sit back in the couch and watch it for being entertained. Now, I know that things like what was portrayed in the movie actually does occur all around the world, but still, the movie didn't leave me with any lingering afterthoughts in any regards.

In the shadowy realm of crime thrillers, "Sweet Karma" (2009) emerges as a brutal, yet intriguing exploration of vengeance and the human spirit. Directed by Andrew Thomas Hunt and starring the enigmatic Shera Bechard as the titular character, the film weaves a dark and gritty tale of retribution in the seedy underbelly of Toronto's criminal world.

Karma, a mute woman of striking beauty, embarks on a merciless crusade to avenge her sister's death at the hands of a ruthless Russian sex trafficking ring. Bechard delivers a haunting performance as the stoic Karma, her silence amplifying the intensity of her actions. Through her eyes, we witness the pain and determination that drive her forward.

The film's visual style is reminiscent of the neo-noir aesthetic, with its desaturated colors and high contrast lighting, effectively setting the stage for this grim tale. Hunt's direction is unapologetically bold, presenting the gruesome reality of the sex trafficking industry and its associated violence without flinching.

However, "Sweet Karma" is not without its flaws. The lack of character development, particularly among the antagonists, can leave the audience feeling somewhat disconnected from the film's emotional core. This, coupled with an occasionally uneven pacing, detracts from the overall experience.

Yet, despite its shortcomings, "Sweet Karma" offers a compelling narrative that commands attention. The film's relentless brutality and Bechard's captivating performance ultimately overshadow its imperfections, leaving viewers with a memorable and visceral cinematic experience.

In the end, "Sweet Karma" stands as a testament to the power of raw, unyielding determination in the face of unspeakable cruelty. Though it may not appeal to everyone, fans of the revenge thriller genre will find a harrowing and satisfying journey into the heart of darkness. As the old adage goes, "revenge is a dish best served cold," and in "Sweet Karma," it's a dish served with a chilling, ruthless precision.

6 out of 10 stars.