The Movie: Nightshooters
The Director: Marc Price
The Cast: Jean-Paul Ly, Doug Allen, Nicolas Aaron, Rosanna Hoult, Wendy Glenn, Philip Barantini
The Story: An action thriller about a group of filmmakers who find themselves on the run from a violent horde of criminals after witnessing a brutal gangland execution. Unable to flee the derelict building they have been shooting in, the hapless film crew must use their technical skill and cinematic knowledge to defend themselves.
The Review:
This indie film, directed by Marc Price, has been kicking around film festivals for a while now and somehow it never hit my radar until now. So glad it finally did because it's a heck of a lot of fun and right up my alley with a fun story and some surprisingly kick ass martial arts fight sequences. The idea is great and very meta with a film crew trying to finish up their movie before finding themselves in a Die Hard style life or death dilemma.
The cast and crew very much understand they movie they are making and there is definitely a tongue in cheek, wink and a nod aspect to the movie that makes it that much more fun. I think it wouldn't have worked nearly as well if everything was played in a more straightforward manner and it could have ended up getting pretty dark the way things play out. As is, think of this movie as Die Hard mashed up with One Cut of the Dead and directed by Edgar Wright. That feels like a fair way to give you an expectation of what you're getting into by watching this movie.
Earlier, I mentioned the kick ass martial arts scenes and holy crap this is probably the highlight of the movie for me given how good they all are. Yes, this is an indie comedy with some horror and action thrown in but dang I really wasn't expecting the fight scenes to be so well choreographed and, if I'm going to make another movie comparison, The Raid: Redemption actually came to mind. Not necessarily the fighting styles, but just how intense every single fight sequence is. As the story develops and the fighting becomes more of an integral part of the movie, Jean-Paul Ly becomes the star of the show.
By no means is this movie meant to be an acting showcase but everyone does a great job fitting the style and tone of the movie and honestly, I feel like comedies can often be underrated and undervalued when it comes to the performances. Everything about this movie is a great example of when this type of filmmaking works really well without going too far over the top. I guess I'll also mention that all the action comes with some pretty graphic bloodshed and exploding body parts so be prepared for all that.
The Verdict:
Nightshooters is one of the most entertaining movie experiences I have had all year. Action, comedy, martial arts, explosions, and a giant pile of fun. It's like the filmmakers knew exactly what type of movie I would enjoy and poured all of that into their movie.
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