In the fictional city of Hope the notorious gangster Kincaid (Adam Chapman) is king. Ruling the underworld with an iron fist, and with an army of trained enforcers at his call - nothing and no one stands in his way.
One of his top men is Williams (Glenn Salvage) a hardened mercenary, left emotionally hollow after the death of his wife, he carries out Kincaid's punishments with ruthless efficiency and unquestioning loyalty. That is, until one day, he discovers that Kincaid has set him up whilst on a job and consequently decides to defy him - big mistake. For his transgression Williams suffers unspeakable violence at the hands of one of Kincaid's other henchmen - the psychotic Taylor (Adrian Foiadelli) and, as the title goes, is left for dead. Upon recovery he meets Kelso (Andy Prior) who had a promising boxing career cut short by Kincaid after he refused to throw a rigged fight and subsequently had his hands smashed by him. Deciding that enough is enough the two join forces and hatch a plan to bring Kincaid and his organisation to its knees - let battle commence!
Privately funded by cult action director Ross Boyask and produced by award winning filmmaker Phil Hobden, Left For Dead was made over a period of two years and finally secured a limited UK cinema run in 2004 and a wide DVD release earlier this year after a very successful debut at the Cannes film festival.
So what of the film itself? Well as far as action goes any self-respecting film fan will not be disappointed. Both Prior and the incredibly versatile Salvage display martial arts skills that would give Bruce and Jet a run for their money. Both do all their own stunts and make the fantastic fight sequences that much more real by seemingly appearing to actually connect with every punch and kick that they throw. Of note is the superbly choreographed car park dust up and the brilliantly wince-inducing ass kicking finale played out in Kincaid's lair.
In addition Boyask's direction shows a sure hand and his camera-work is, at times very inventive indeed, making good use of silhouettes and shadows to create a real 'Sin City' kind of feel to the film. Foiadelli's writing is inspired, injecting a nice sense of black humour to proceedings that makes one fondly remember the salad days of Tarantino and Shane Black.
There are some areas that could of been improved though. Notably in the editing. There are a few scenes that go on far too long and could have done with trimming by a few minutes. Also its way too violent in places and in some areas goes completely over the top in some of its brutality.
Performance wise its a bit of a mixed bag - Salvage is impressive as the hero and can certainly deliver a decent one liner on cue, Prior is a tad wooden and certainly needs some acting lessons, Foiadelli isn't bad as the sadistic nutter Taylor - but could of benefited from reigning in allot of his madman screaming and swearing, and been a tad more on the subtle side to boot - cant fault him for effort though. Chapman is the standout however, chillingly effective as Kincaid, bad to the bone, and so damn nasty that throughout I found myself desperately willing Salvage to get his revenge over him when they meet in the films incredible 'fists at dawn' denouement - which frankly has to be seen to be believed.
So overall I found 'Left For Dead' a highly enjoyable movie. Yes its a bit rough round the edges, but it exhibits a refreshing rawness (rare in films today) that superbly adds to the dark atmosphere that Boyask and Hobden have created. Fair play to the lads, as they've shown some serious balls here, it takes allot to make a movie in this day and age and to have done such a professional job as they have here gives me allot of hope for the future of British action cinema.
Highly recommended
One of his top men is Williams (Glenn Salvage) a hardened mercenary, left emotionally hollow after the death of his wife, he carries out Kincaid's punishments with ruthless efficiency and unquestioning loyalty. That is, until one day, he discovers that Kincaid has set him up whilst on a job and consequently decides to defy him - big mistake. For his transgression Williams suffers unspeakable violence at the hands of one of Kincaid's other henchmen - the psychotic Taylor (Adrian Foiadelli) and, as the title goes, is left for dead. Upon recovery he meets Kelso (Andy Prior) who had a promising boxing career cut short by Kincaid after he refused to throw a rigged fight and subsequently had his hands smashed by him. Deciding that enough is enough the two join forces and hatch a plan to bring Kincaid and his organisation to its knees - let battle commence!
Privately funded by cult action director Ross Boyask and produced by award winning filmmaker Phil Hobden, Left For Dead was made over a period of two years and finally secured a limited UK cinema run in 2004 and a wide DVD release earlier this year after a very successful debut at the Cannes film festival.
So what of the film itself? Well as far as action goes any self-respecting film fan will not be disappointed. Both Prior and the incredibly versatile Salvage display martial arts skills that would give Bruce and Jet a run for their money. Both do all their own stunts and make the fantastic fight sequences that much more real by seemingly appearing to actually connect with every punch and kick that they throw. Of note is the superbly choreographed car park dust up and the brilliantly wince-inducing ass kicking finale played out in Kincaid's lair.
In addition Boyask's direction shows a sure hand and his camera-work is, at times very inventive indeed, making good use of silhouettes and shadows to create a real 'Sin City' kind of feel to the film. Foiadelli's writing is inspired, injecting a nice sense of black humour to proceedings that makes one fondly remember the salad days of Tarantino and Shane Black.
There are some areas that could of been improved though. Notably in the editing. There are a few scenes that go on far too long and could have done with trimming by a few minutes. Also its way too violent in places and in some areas goes completely over the top in some of its brutality.
Performance wise its a bit of a mixed bag - Salvage is impressive as the hero and can certainly deliver a decent one liner on cue, Prior is a tad wooden and certainly needs some acting lessons, Foiadelli isn't bad as the sadistic nutter Taylor - but could of benefited from reigning in allot of his madman screaming and swearing, and been a tad more on the subtle side to boot - cant fault him for effort though. Chapman is the standout however, chillingly effective as Kincaid, bad to the bone, and so damn nasty that throughout I found myself desperately willing Salvage to get his revenge over him when they meet in the films incredible 'fists at dawn' denouement - which frankly has to be seen to be believed.
So overall I found 'Left For Dead' a highly enjoyable movie. Yes its a bit rough round the edges, but it exhibits a refreshing rawness (rare in films today) that superbly adds to the dark atmosphere that Boyask and Hobden have created. Fair play to the lads, as they've shown some serious balls here, it takes allot to make a movie in this day and age and to have done such a professional job as they have here gives me allot of hope for the future of British action cinema.
Highly recommended