Oscar Bonsetta, a young punk is sent to prison for 13 years for arm robbery and befriends an old inmate Mac. Prison guard Tom "Gully" Gullerman unfavourably torments and tortures Mac, in hopping that eventually he'll give up the position of his hidden loot, but he dies before doing so. However Oscar promises Mac that he'll get revenge and in doing so before he passed away he tells Oscar of a paper in his cell that would show the location were its hidden. But when he gets there his cell is cleaned up and Gully is waiting for him. Believing now his knows were the money is hidden, but before he could push him anymore. He has an car accident that prevents being a prison guard. Three years later Oscar is released, and tracks down Gully at road side diner, which he owns with his wife Rose and finds out his blind. Oscar begins working for them, and soon revenge is clouded with sensual passion for Rose.
Anthony Hickok's erotically deadly and charged-up thriller 'Payback' manages to draw you in, and in with its sweepingly causal moving story of twisty intrigue and fabulous performances led by C. Thomas Howell, Marshall Bell and the highly irresistible Joan Severance. The glowing Severance simply smokes up the screen that it's hard to take your eyes off her! The story isn't anything original, but manages to be tempting due to its terse material of desire, retribution, deceit and redemption in a refreshingly above-average script that has appealing shades of film-noir. It's quite like watching a domino effect take place. Lay it out, buy some time and then watch it unexpectedly collapse, as we nervously wait for the right moment to set it all in action. There's a real emotional intensity lurking underneath the surface, and these are broken up with those hot, steamy sex sequences and flashes of violence. Stylish, but compact direction by Hickok is executed very well and he uses the picturesque locations to great effect. It's definitely Hickok's most complete work that I've seen of his. Anthony Marinelli's succulent, silky music score just oozes and sizzles with the on-screen action. A neat little b-thriller.
