Hellbinders

I heard about this movie on Dread Central a year ago, don't know why it took so long to finally get released. But whatever the reason I'm glad it came out. In a world where every action film either costs hundreds of millions of dollars or is intentionally made cheesy this film stands out.

Ray Park (Darth Maul, Snake Eyes) plays Max, a mercenary who is literally soulless. He finds himself over his head when he takes a job to exterminate a gang that turns out to be possessed by a 'legion' of demons. And ends up getting some unlikely help from a ninja assassin and an immortal Knight Templar.

If that sounds like a comic book it is because it almost literally is. The film was written, directed, and edited in a very stylish comic book way. It clips along at a fast pace without a dull moment, even when there's no action- which is not surprisingly good considering the film makers are all former stunt men- it is interesting.

The story is good, the dialog is good and the camera work looks like something out of a much bigger film.

It seems like it is set up for a sequel and I hope they're already making it.

I picked this film up because I liked the cover art and I'm a sucker for a good or even bad kung fu movie, especially one with Darth Maul (aka Ray Park) and I was pleasantly surprised.

This little movie rocks.

The people who made were clearly going for a comic book look and they really did a good job. From the way they colored the film to the sets to the comic book page moves between scenes it just really felt like I was watching a graphic novel.

The action really has a comic book flare to it too. Each character is different. The ninja character has some very cool traditional martial arts fights, my personal favorite, Darth maul's character has more modern commando-type moves, and the Templar is some super powerful Hulk-like dude. It's a great mix so you don't keep watching the same type of action over and over.

The end fight scene is the best. Very cool use of slow motion.

Also, I don't want to put in a spoiler but the story is actually good. Unlike most B movies it has some cool twists in it that I didn't see coming.

Yes it's a low budget film, and the effects suffer a little bit, my only real criticism, but it beats everything I've seen on Syfy lately.

I like action movies. I like comic book movies, and so I like this movie. It's obviously a low budget movie, but a low budget movie with a good story, great action, and actors who can really act, something that is rare in most low budget films.

Three heroes from different walks of life team up to battle a group of biblical demons that are pretty much unstoppable. What they do and how they do it ends up being a pretty entertaining ride.

The filmmakers do some interesting things with the transitions between scenes, moving from frame to frame with text, like you would read in a comic book.

Even if you're not into the comic book style of the film I guarantee you won't be bored.

It's worth the rental.

It just came out on DVD in Germany and I rented this, not knowing what I should expect. As stated many times before, I don't actually read, what the movies I watch are about. I like to be surprised like that. Sometimes that can go awfully wrong, but this little movie (budget just over a million, which is really peanuts in the action genre these days) was a hit!

Directed by three men, who are actually more into stunts, than directing, this really is a fun little movie. And while other movies try hard to be funny, this actually has the actors that can pull that off. Not that every joke hits its target, but even those who miss are pretty nice. With Derek Mears in a small role (the new Jason in Friday 13th) and quite a few great action scenes, it's all surrounded by a good enough story to back that all up.

Not pitch-perfect, but if you have a heart for low budget movies, that are worth your while (and money), then you should definitely give this a chance! :o)

Okay I'm a self admitted Star Wars geek but I love love love Darth Maul! The best Sith ever. I even suffered through the last season of Heroes because of him. But I did not suffer through this movie because Darth Maul kicked ass and did not let me down. I'm not sure if I liked the comic book look or not but it was different. I haven't even seen it done that way in big budget movies. The action was great. Sword fighting, gun fighting, and the big guy who could just slug the life out of people was pretty cool. Also this movie really had some good acting in it too. Ray Park never gets to say anything but in this film he really showed he can act. He was funny, cool and even touching when he loses a friend.