Official
Link
Shot
on a budget of less than $100, 000 Canadian and taking three years to
produce, this low budgeted affair has been a labour of love for
filmmakers/actors Melantha Blackthorne and Jason Cavalier. Fashioned by
Melantha and Jason’s own Robomonkey Productions, this ambitious action
packed horror yarn set between our world and a dark twisted version of
Hell, packs a punch way beyond its meagre finances and hurtles the viewer
into a journey of the wickedly weird.
The
story centres on Father Drake (Jason Cavalier), a member of ‘Our
Lady of the Righteous Fist’, responsible for hunting down
perpetrators of evil and opening a can of godlike whoopass on the
sinners. Enlisting the sultry talents of combat nun Sister Jordan
Merrick (Liz Faure) they head out in to the night on the scent of a
band of kidnappers who, with the help of the Vatican Satellite
‘VAT-SAT’, have been tracked to an abandoned warehouse. During
the inevitable confrontation between the forces of good and evil
something very odd occurs. First Sister Merrick’s top flies off
and she is forced to battle evil in a very distracting manner and
secondly the poor innocent girl who was kidnapped transforms into
the sexy queen of the underworld Necrotia (Melantha Blackthorne) on
a personal mission to search out the one human who can save the
netherworld from a devious conspiracy. Taken literally to Hell and
back, Father Drake finds himself drawn into a freakish assignment
that will test his body, mind and sole.
This tripped out genre meld of kung fu/street
brawling blended with an unhealthy dollop of evil pit dwelling
abominations is anything but your conventional type of cinematic
normality. It displays a distinct repugnance for a plot where A
follows B follows C and goes for a much more haphazard approach
which sometimes works, but sometimes doesn’t. The films surreal
nightmare imagery reminded me a lot of Carl Rudolph Stargher ’s
horrific dream world from the unfairly criticised film ‘The
Cell’, offering some unsettling glimpses of an underworld
riddled with lost souls punished with sick and masochistic acts by
hideously deformed demons who take great pleasure in their work. It
is during these often bizarre segments that the film takes on its
own unique visual style displaying several moments that will remain
with you way after the DVD has been popped back on the shelf (or
slide under your living room chair if you’re as untidy as me). Not
wanting to spoil the surprises too much, a special mention has to go
out to the nursing mother who welcomes new arrivals to Hades by
squirting breast milk right into their shocked face and Hells
strippers who will titillate the weary traveller right before they
chow down on your pancreas.
Jason’s
skill as a professional stuntman and actor is obvious for all to see
during the many fight sequences that pepper the production and,
whilst the fight cinematography isn’t up to the standards of your
typical action blockbuster, the limited budget hasn’t made them
any less effective with the help of some rapid segment editing, bone
crunching sound effects and a kick-ass rock anthem booming away
thanks to the efforts of such pleasantly titled groups as Tvangeste,
Ashes to Ashes, The Evil Boys, Bordello, Festerguts, Atargatis,
Season of Mourning and Pnevma. While Jason flexes his muscles to the
sound of breaking limbs, Melantha Blackthorne vamps it up as the
deadly but beautiful Necrotia. Fans of Melantha will not be
disappointed by her big style vamping as she struts her curvaceous
stuff but her screen time is a little limited and her dialogue is
delivered with a very annoying 'echo' effect which is presumably
intended to make her character sound a little more sinister, but
only makes it hard to understand her lines.
The films finale is a bit of a damp squid
despite it working on a certain level, but it’s just never clear
enough whether it’s the filmmaker’s intension to leave the end
so…..unresolved. It might be a taste thing, but I do prefer my
endings a little more resolute and with such a good job made of
caressing the story with flash visual and a driven thread, the lack
of a kick ass climax was a big disappointment for me. Contemplating
the last 87 minutes of my life spent with ‘Sinners and Saints’ I
can resolutely declare that this is an amazing production, all
things considered, which deserves your attention and that of a
descent distributor. I can see this being an indie hit given a
little TLC by a respectful DVD company and, complete with a solid
image, robust soundtrack and gaggle of special features, should be
on any horror/action fans shopping list.