Hellhound

Louis Mandylor is a seasoned actor with a lot of films under his belt but, has mainly played support roles throughout his career. You get some fine views of the city and a well choreographed bunch of action scenes; the best, as 1 reviewer has remarked, being the rooftop battle.

I enjoyed watching it even though it did have a few scenes that seemed to be idea's running low. When the pace was not slow (there are only 3 or 4 of these moments) it is a sharp well paced unfurling of events. The support actors all do a good job and make it a film that lies somewhere between an A and B film. Camera work throughout is well done and you will like the city views.

I would say that it lacked tension and tense moments but, this may be different for other viewers.

This for me, a strange watch. I remember the main actor, was in a movie with Scott Adkins. 2 good fun movies. Debt Collectors.

So, this movie, a very strange video aspect, it appears that if you look at the screen, about one quarter of the movie if missing on the left side.... But, it is what it is.

So, the story, I get it, maybe some subtitles for the Thai language would be helpful, but an enjoyable movie, action as expected.

So a bit of vengeance in this but not fully explained in the original synopsis.

Moving forward, I thought it was enjoyable, having no idea what the thai language parts meant, but did not spoil the movie at all.

As far as an action movie, all good, enjoy the watch. If you happen to see with full english subs, would be useful.

Good points - Great location scouting, good establishing shots, all round DoP work is very proficient if unimaginative, great lighting and sound. Wardrobe and make up v good. V good direction of action scenes, the last fight in the red corridor was super and very atmospheric, tons of locations used very well Bad points - V poor script and story with terrible dialogue - cringeworthy at times made worse by some weak delivery. Very difficult to feel any empathy for the protagonist (the actor clearly took the money and ran) - totally confused in the final scenes with 2-3 new? Characters - no idea what was going on. Some of the acting was dreadful eg the priest and the very experienced Thai actors. There was no real character depth or arcs, 2D comic strip stuff.

The direction seemed non-existent in terms of creativity. It looked like a series of half-baked TV commercials stitched together rather than a plausible feature film.

Would you ask a writer to be a DoP? No, obviously not , so why ask a DoP to be a writer? Is it arrogance or lack of humility? I guess this was an expensive vanity project - The cool locations and lead actor could have been used to create an edgy crime drama if the producer or director paid an experienced script writer and acting coach 5-10k . Hope to see similar locations and crew create a much better 2nd feature.

5 stars out of 10 for Hellhound is generous. It's just not very good. But good enough to watch to the end if you're in the mood for an action movie and don't have high expectations. Louis Mandylor stands out compared to all the other actors as he clearly has more experience carrying a movie. The dialogues are clearly written by someone that did not have the imagination and sense of realism to create something that makes the viewer believe it's real. It would have probably worked better if the actors had not been given a word by word script. The action scenes in the movie are also a 5 out of 10. There are some good bits but as many bad ones. The story isn't half bad but there is nothing new here. But after seeing one great movie after another it is sometimes just fun to watch something like this. That's where it serves it's purpose.

An interesting take on the issue of kidnappings and killings in the Southeast Asian region, this action thriller failed to attract audiences around the world. For me it was not only slow-paced but anticlimactic. The performances, not only by the supporting characters but by the protagonist as well, were bland and so stereotypical of action movies wherein the dramatic performances were slowly diminishing in quality and depth. The storyline, however, was solid and interesting. The amount of violence and gory scenes were just sufficient for me. It would have been a more thrilling ride if it was longer.