A lot of revenge movies struggle for a sense of proportion. The early event that makes you hate the villain might be effective, but how can the hero’s vengeance possibly balance the scales? The Christmas revenge-gore-horror violence-fest “The Retaliators” (2022) actually does achieve that see-saw balance between the movie’s beginning and end.
Directors Samuel Gonzalez Jr. and Bridget Smith – working from a screenplay by brothers Darren and Jeff Allen Geare – perhaps hit on a storytelling cheat code. “The Retaliators” is many things, and usually this leads to viewer complaints of it being tonally imbalanced. “It doesn’t know what it wants to be,” people might say.
But every segment of the story – even if it branches off quite a ways before reconnecting – is compelling on its own. A central theme – albeit an extremely dark, almost comedic one — doesn’t get lost among these side trips; it gets enhanced.
“The Retaliators” (2022)
Directors: Samuel Gonzalez Jr., Bridget Smith
Writers: Darren Geare, Jeff Allen Geare
Stars: Michael Lombardi, Marc Menchaca, Joseph Gatt
Violent night, holey night
Bishop (Michael Lombardi), a small-town pastor who staunchly believes in bypassing violence amid confrontations, is forced to examine this view. His teenage daughter Sarah (Katie Kelly) is not merely murdered, but murdered in such a horrifying way that peace of mind seems forever impossible for her father and kid sister.
“The Retaliators” is structured as a connected series of horrific, violent, gory or just plain bizarre segments. The opening one proves the directors’ skills, calling to mind “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” and its ilk as teen girls get a flat tire along a supposed “shortcut back to the highway.”
It ends with the line “They aren’t zombies.” Before we’ve even gotten to know the main characters, we’re turning over the bizarre notion that apparent zombies aren’t really zombies. That’s just for starters.
Driven by the through-line of Bishop’s quest for an elusive justice, the film effectively takes a side trip with police detective Jed (Marc Menchaca), assigned to Sarah’s murder. It also peppers in a gang war with several well-cast, scary looking actors, appropriately backed by a butt-rock soundtrack.
Robert Knepper (“Prison Break”) is the familiar face in this modestly budgeted yet consistently crisp-looking film, and he’s effective in his one scene as a mob boss. Papa Roach lead singer Jacoby Shaddix is also scary good in a side story.
A theme creeps down the chimney
The pace of events is fast, but “The Retaliators” is subtle and gradual in the way it creeps further down its anti-Christmas-spirit route and asks if peace of mind could be achieved via killing bad people with a sufficient amount of violence. The film features some of the most horrific things that could be done to humans, yet makes it clear that these are all horrible people. We’re forced to ask: Do they deserve it?
Granted, much of the movie – even most of it – is unlikely in the real world as we’re taken through slices of revenge thriller, zombie flick, torture porn, psychological horror and dark comedy. For instance, a Christmas-tree shredder happens to be around when the plot needs one.
There’s no time to roll our eyes, because each moment of shock keeps us from thinking about plausibility. The film stays emotionally grounded because we don’t drift too far from Lombardi’s Bishop. Smartly, every actor plays it straight; winking would’ve ruined it — although we do get wry one-liners.
Due to its extreme nature, “The Retaliators” is a bit much for repeat viewings, so it won’t become an annual Christmas tradition for me. But darn if this stocking isn’t stuffed with entertainment value.