Left for Dead

When my latest online order of imported DVD's arrived the first one I watched was LEFT FOR DEAD, which I had imported from the UK, when I popped it in my player and started watching the first thing that almost made turn it off was the very poorly staged gunfight sequence in the beginning, I thought to myself then "Oh hell no" but I then decided to watch until the end and give it a chance to redeem itself.

Redeem itself it certainly did, the beginning of the film came off almost completely disjointed, I mean to me it looked like this thing was going to be a total disaster, that's how bad it started but as the film progressed it started to look like things were getting more and more organized, such as the editing was very uneven at first but got better as the film progressed, the acting was bad but it also got better and the best action scenes in the film were in the final act that feature a whole collection of well staged and nicely choreographed fight scenes that came up one after the other non stop.

Overall, the start of this film might put you off if you are really fussy about the quality of your action films but give it a fair chance, the action in the final act is certainly worth the wait.

I've seen my fair share of high and low-budget martial-arts films. Hundreds in fact. Hell, I love them so much that I have written countless reviews and help moderate one of the biggest forums on the net: kung fu fandom. Left for Dead grabbed me from the get-go.

I finished Left for Dead only a few short hours ago and I had to share my thoughts on this UK indie gem. It wasn't what I expected; it turned out a lot better, in fact. I thought this was gonna be another USA type indie film which is usually a Hollywood action film with bad acting and lots of needless, badly performed drama between action scenes. But Modern Life? has surpassed my expectations and that of the industry. I love the fact that they created their own world inside the film, i.e. Hope City, Metro City. The comic book feel does wonders for the film, and they use the freedom of this sub-genre very well.

The pacing is really good too. There is nothing I hate more than drama bogging down a good action film. There are some pretty iffy wife flashbacks of Glenn Salvage, and that was as much as I could take! Believe me, the combined running time of the opening and ending fights far surpass that of most films in the genre.

I'm not sure whether the film was shot in sequence but you'll notice how the fights just keep getting more exciting by the minute! The choreography in the chaotic end fight was a lot better than the rest of the film…or was the best simply kept for last? I can already see myself returning to the end sequences on a regular basis. Of course, good fighting consists of more than having a few good moves, and I think Glenn Salvage and Andy Prior looked a lot more determined at the end, and the action seemed a bit tighter – it works out very well when it comes together. The over-the-top death scenes were a great touch, and fit into this twisted world very well. And who can look down on a film featuring not only guns and fists, but Japanese katanas too? Watch out for the brief fight between Glenn Salvage and a blond swordswoman, very impressive.

Granted a lot of the acting was horrible, but the dialogue was more than just filler. There is a speech Kincaid gives his henchmen Dylon and Taylor for instance, about the Nazis, and it works surprisingly well. Yes, the film has its fair share of rough spots in the dialogue and acting department, but you wouldn't believe how good it looks considering the budget and DV equipment origins.

Some trivia: I saw Andy Prior was reading Bey Logan's (UK author and martial artist) book Hong Kong Action Cinema in Glenn's apartment. Some influences might be Highlander (sword scraping on the roof), The Matrix and Kiss of the Dragon. But mostly the action is so energetic that I could care less about where the ideas came from.

At the very least this film is a guilty pleasure. A lot of its success lies in the fact that it doesn't try to be realistic. The creators' imaginations ran wild and in the end I have to applaud the cast and crew.

Man this movie sucks i'm glad i didn't pay for it (netflix) but i did waste a movie that i could've watched from my que. The camera work is garbage along with the fight choreography these guys don't even make contact! once i saw that glenn salvage guy knock 2 guys down with a lousy hook kick that had NO sound effects i nearly spat my drink and turned the movie off which i did anyways 2 mins later. The muzzle flash's on the guns are poorly added in along with blood which they probably couldn't afford or knew how to make stage blood. The stupidest characters EVER! that one fat idiot with the 2 piece sword that he got off of karate depot that he clearly does not know how to use! i mean comeon doesn't he know he looks ridiculous? i wouldn't even have let them put my name in the credits if i were somehow in this movie. don't waste your time look else where. these actors should hide in shame.

Lets get one thing straight from the get go, this is a Martial Arts action film, so the plot is not all that important, however work should of been done on this aspect of the film, as it is lacking even considering the genre. But that said the action is what people will be most interested in. It is a mixed bag of fighting action. Some sections here and there are well done and its obvious there is a lot of talent in the film, however here come the faults…. The speed of the fights can be slow and lack energy, in part due to the performers and also the director. When a fight is shot in a certain way allowing you to see more of the action akin to Hong Kong style, camera speed is very important as it is easier to see the pace with longer cuts and wider angles. Quite a lot of the fighting falls into the 'pitter patter' form. There is not a lot of contact made and some people seem afraid to hit each other. This is a fight scene, not a toy fight and there is a distinct difference. There are quite a few misses in the fights when air can be seen, this is a kindergarten error, it also takes any viewer away from the sub-reality films create and an illusion is broken. Also two actors playing main parts are just painfully bad at fighting. One of them also looks some what similar to a hamster!

I know this may seem like a harsh review, but its true and I think its important not to sugar coat things to much, so giving the film makers a chance to improve.(well maybe not the hamster comment.

This film is definitely worth the watch... The action is superb and considering the small budget the producer/director have done an amazing job and i think actually looks like something with a greater budget.

The whole experience was a good one and met a lot of top people. don't disrespect this film unless you have seen it. I think this film will only be truly appreciated by those with an interest in martial arts of some kind.

This film is an all British film too which must be a good thing. If we had a million dollar budget imagine what may have been achieved!!!

watch out for it.. should be hitting the shops soon.

mattbrown1@hotmail.com