Director: Jason Horton
Year: 2023
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Creature Feature
Plot:
At a remote bar in the desert, a group of patrons finds their night interrupted by a gang of thieves on the run from a ruthless band of hunters looking to contain one of the gang for a monstrous secret he possesses, but once it threatens to come out no one around him is safe and must try to escape alive.
Review:
Overall, there was a lot to like about this one. Among the better factors with this one is the generally enjoyable and intriguing setup in place here which makes this one quite effective at luring you in. The main exploit at the bar in the middle of the desert, offering just enough glimpses of the mundane lives of the patrons before they get interrupted by the gang who are on the run from the hunters looking to kill one of them for a series of cryptic messages about one of the gang being some kind of ravenous creature is a nice way to go about this. The back-and-forth nature of their interactions within the bar and the flashbacks about the hunters looking for this strange creature over the course of several decades lead to a series of duplicitous mind games being played out as revelations and double-crosses including who each of the various groups are and how they know each other that makes for a highly enjoyable time here.
Other than this, the other factor to really like here is how this handles the action in here which is usually rather fun. Initially appearing as a gangster crime/thriller, the amount of gunplay and knife-work here gives this a strong, brutal edge when dealing with the gang overwhelming the bar and taking the patrons hostages and the initial flashbacks of the gang undergoing their initial search for the creature’s origins. That lets the film’s incredibly fun final half come into play with the creature coming to life in a grisly transformation sequence turning it into a rather impressive mutation that brings about a series of highly effective setpieces filled with great kills as the creature takes out the remaining patrons in a spectacular rapid-fire type of action. This sets up a great finale which is a nice touch and manages to give this one quite a lot to like that hold this one up overall.
There isn’t much but there are some factors here that hold this one down. One of the biggest issues here surrounds the film’s general lack of explanation for everything that takes place which makes a lot of the action here great to see play out in terms of activity but makes no sense of what’s going on. The whole point of the gang taking over the bar and hiding out from the hunters who barricade them inside is quite odd, making no sense as to why the hunters wouldn’t just plow into the location to get what they wanted especially if the group just stands outside waiting on an ultimatum to play out. Even the gang’s interactions in the bar feel somewhat odd and unexplained leaving so much of the first half hard to get around that it’s a struggle to understand since no one’s spelling anything out which is the big problem here. Beyond this, though, and the low-budget limitations on display at times this one was quite fun and didn’t have much wrong with it.
Overview: ***.5/5
A highly enjoyable low-budget monster movie, this one has more than enough to like which holds it up over the few minor issues that bring this one down even if only slightly. Those who appreciate this kind of indie effort, are a fan of this style of creature feature, or are intrigued by the creative crew will have plenty to like here while only those who aren’t into those factors will want to heed caution with this one.
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