Death Grip

I found the Stunt People back in 07, and it has been great to see Eric and the crew grow from films like Undercut and Contour to Death Grip. While the aforementioned efforts are great, Death Grip is a jewel for action/martial arts fans. Lots of heart, humor, and above all is the topnotch action choreography. While Death Grip is less campy than some previous efforts by the SP crew, it has moments of drama that are surprisingly real and you can't help but feel the bond between the Zemacus brothers. The supporting cast shines with memorable performances, Alvin Hsing's in particular. Add a healthy dose of a very sinister Johnny Yong Bosch, and you have a multifaceted gem of action kickback called DEATH GRIP. I can't wait to see what comes after this.

With so many big budget movies with poor action scenes out there, i wonder what these guys could do with bigger budgets. Death Grip shows what some talented people can do with their passion and application, delivering a really solid movie. I admit i lost a bit of interest in the story during the second part, but i also had some fun throughout the movie, especially with the hilarious toilet scene. And i really took a liking for the inoffensive Mark. Obviously, the most brilliant thing was the fighting, with great speed and use of the environment and with Eric reminding me a bit of Jackie Chan in his furious combinations. Keep it going Stunt People!

First things first: The fight scenes in Death Grip are outstanding. Do you remember how complex, exciting, and fun Jackie Chan's fight scenes were in the late '80s before he became obsessed with stunts and running away? Well, it's like Eric Jacobus and the Stunt People picked up where Jackie fell off and have been developing that style all this time. They've taken that same punchy spirit from 80s Hong Kong fight choreography, updated it with modern camera techniques and editing, and put their own violent spin on it. You could make the case that no other group in the world create fight scenes as well as The Stunt People right now.

Having said that, Death Grip has issues with pacing and tone. Like classic 1980s HK cinema, the story veers from comedy to action to heavy melodrama to outrageous violence. But unlike those HK films, the pace is slow and leaden. Characters often pause and react slowly for no reason, making you want to yell at them to hurry up. The photography (while stylish) seems under-lit and the music is constantly ominous, giving the whole affair a gloomy vibe that detracts from the story's lighthearted tone and absurd events. Also, the fights are too few and far between and when they do come, the lighting is so dark that they can be hard to appreciate fully. It's infuriating to struggle to see those magnificent fights, then switch to the Blu-Ray's "extra" fights and see how well-lit yet still stylish they are. The brighter lighting and colours even give the fights an extra pop of energy! Regardless, Jacobus' likable underdog charisma pulls the film together and his epic battle with Johnny Bosch makes the film a must-see.

If there's one thing that Eric Jacobus and The Stunt People consistently do, it's embarrass big budget Hollywood action filmmakers, who are generally clueless when it comes to fight choreography and cinematography. "Death Grip" is a fantastic micro-budget action film with a genuinely engaging plot and cast, and quite possibly the best American made martial arts film since Steve Wang's "Drive" (1997). The Hong Kong influence is apparent, so if you like your fight scenes fast, flashy, and furious (like Jackie Chan's "Police Story" for instance), the film is sure to please. Jacobus and his team focus on ground based fighting techniques that are both stylish and hard hitting, and the timing and precision are excellent. The film is also mercifully free from attitude and macho posturing, which is where so many domestic action films go wrong. Instead, we're treated to a tight and intelligent script with authentic dialog and believable characterizations, with no extraneous filler. Action fans and kung fu buffs should rejoice.

From the very first frame you can see the improvement that Eric Jacobus and the Stunt People team have made from earlier efforts. The cinematography is now beautiful and crisp, gritty grey's and smooth camera movements make this a joy to watch and to top it off, the story is engaging and practically hole free with the Stuntpeople's signature frenetic choreographed fights and action (which are always clear to see unlike most Hollywood movie's) complementing the story rather than make a boring film with a couple good action bits like most B movies these days. So congrats to these guys for giving us hope for the martial art action movie scene :)

Death Grip tells the story of Kenny (Eric Jacobus), a man living day to day in his own guilt and Kenny's reunion with his brother Mark (Nathan hoskins) his autistic brother who he hasn't seen in years. When Kenny drags his brother to a catering gig it doesn't go the way it should go when they get embroiled in the affairs of a cult out to rob an artifact from a museum. With support from Rebecca Ahn, Bosch and the rest of the SP team, It's a solid film.

Like the best Hong Kong action films it has a guy in the wrong place at the wrong time trying to do the right thing, bathrooms get broken, blood gets sprayed and the stuntpeople's traditional off beat humor also makes some cameo's which help pace the film. One particular scene reminded me of why tito ortiz has a UFC rule made after him, you'll know when you see it, the action in this movie isn't as heavy as past SP films but this is so the story can take centre stage but when the action does come it's brutal, fast paced and realistic, where as their previous movie was like cityhunter this is more The Raid meets Batman begins, really gritty and cool and well worth the watch :) (As a bonus there are heaps of extras on the DVD, making ofs, extra short films, and outtakes, count me excited for their next effort!!) Also watch out for Eric Jacobus and the stuntpeople's name's as they are destined for great things and bigger projects in Hollywood :)