Screamfest 2021: THE RETALIATORS

A “rockstar horror thriller” was the line that captured my attention. Instantly my mind was flooded with ideas of rock and roll and fear – and more importantly intrigue. Coupled with the attention-grabbing poster for the film, The Retaliators, from directors Samuel Gonzalez Jr. and Bridget Smith, was immediately on my radar. When I think of horror and music, Rocky Horror Picture Show and Anna and the Apocalypse are instant recalls, their soundtracks and imagery permanent classics of not only a season, but also a genre. Yet, The Retaliators seemed to promise something darker and more sinister, its red hues within its poster lending itself to a potential blood bath. And while the soundtrack lives up to its promise, as does the blood, the film as a whole is a literal rollercoaster of success and failures, boasting its highs and lows.

Holy Beginning Batman!

The Retaliators opens to a wide shot of the forest, a man’s voiceover almost guiding the camera as it pans over the desolate isolation of the wilderness. “When do the sins of a good man make him bad?” the voiceover asks, effectively setting the scene of its narrative and running themes. “Sometimes if you are lucky, evil can be destroyed – sometimes it’s better to keep it alive.” There is an air of foreboding in the narrator’s words, every word he utters drenched in knowledge and understanding. There is a weight in his words matched by the foggy and drained landscape the camera captures setting a serene yet ominous visual language early on.

In a snap, viewers are plunged into darkness, the framing only giving viewers a limited perspective into a potential evil within the forest, someone bringing what appears to be a shrink-wrapped body and dropping it into a well, the darkness of the night seemingly made brighter in comparison to the vacuous black hole of the well’s opening. The camera lingers, only momentarily, before moving viewers along to its opening scene. As a van pulls over at the entrance of a slaughterhouse, its two occupants attempting to figure out directions, the darkness and leached grays fade away embracing deeply contrasted yellows, oranges, and greens, the introduction of color slowly leading viewers to its central characters and story.

As the dialogue of the two girls in the car continues the foreboding nature of The Retaliators, “Can’t turn back now, it’s too late”, focus falls onto the details. The film boasts a lot of extreme close-ups that force the audience to pay attention, raising the edge of your seat feel as the action surrounding the characters is limited. The framing in these moments is exquisitely intense and lit. As the girls soon find themselves under attack by an unknown and unseen force, The Retaliators has effectively demanded our attention.

A Rocky Middle Ground

After The Retaliators concludes its opening, there is a craving for more. It is so beautifully crafted and designed that the intrigue is solidly planted. Unfortunately, it begins to lose steam and cohesion shortly after. Following its solid beginning, audiences are introduced to Bishop (Michael Lombardi), a local preacher,  and his two daughters Sarah (Katie Kelly, Sno Babies) and Rebecca (Abbey Hafer) as they are purchasing their Christmas tree. Met by the callous disregard of others, the relationship with Bishop and his daughters, as well as his faith, is established early and challenged just as quickly.

Tragedy arrives, its darkness contrasted by the luminescent colors of the Christmas season, challenging the faith and morality of Bishop. As he is reluctantly thrown into the world of drugs, violence, and moral depravity, he finds both faith and value tested.

On paper, the idea is solid. The narrative is brilliant. But when you see the film play out, there is a  disjointed marrying of ideas. Contrasted by its solid opening, the middle portion of The Retaliators does not live up to its early promise, leaving confusion and a bit of frustration in its wake. As Bishop descends reluctantly and unknowingly into the belly of the beast, Lombardi’s performance waivers as much as the film, at times over the top losing authenticity, while at other times delivering the one-two emotional punch the film so desperately needs.

This carries through many of the performances, accelerating the rollercoaster feeling the film too often brings to the table. The wavering success of the film never flatlines but continues through every element beyond performance and narrative, scenes beautifully and meticulously crafted failing to flow into one another.

Conclusion: The Retaliators

The Retaliators is a decent C film, missing much of what would have made it a knockout, but also never truly floundering. As the film reaches its third act, it begins to find its strength, narrowing into its central theme and circling back to the success of the film’s beginning. Never afraid of a little blood, The Retaliators dives headfirst into the gore, making its violence cringeworthy in all the best ways. And I would be remiss if I did not extend a nod to the film’s soundtrack, its rock and roll theme carrying through the film’s entirety. A definite must-have download.

The Retaliators is also not afraid to take a risk, its close-ups and Matrix-like movement of the camera speaking more to the potential of the filmmakers behind the camera, rather than the film at hand. While The Retaliators may not deliver the horror film it promises, its rollercoaster peaks in sound and gore.

The Retaliators player at Screamfest 2021 on October 12, 2021!

Watch The Retaliators