A blood-soaked tale of morality and vengeance backed by a hard rocking soundtrack, what The Retaliators lacks in depth it makes up as a grimy horror thriller sure to appease grindhouse fans.
“When do the sins of a good man make him bad?”. This quote opens The Retaliators and establishes the moral stakes at play in this blood-soaked thriller. While the themes are heavy, the execution is pure exploitation yet done well, with The Retaliators a hyper-violent take on Death Wish that would have been right at home during the “video nasty” days of the 80s.
Adding more novelty to the proceedings is the films heavy metal soundtrack, with bands such as Five Finger Death Punch and Papa Roach not only providing the music, but also starring in pivotal villainous roles, with which their grimy tattooed appearances fit quite nicely.
The Retaliators stars Michael Lombardi as John Bishop, a pastor from a small New Jersey town. When John’s oldest daughter Sarah (Katie Kelly) is murdered by monstrous gang enforcer Ram Kady (Joseph Gatt), John undertakes a harrowing journey through hell when he accepts the opportunity to have one minute with his daughter’s killer, within which he can dispense any method of brutal torture his broken heart desires.
Having Lombardi’s lead character be a “man of God” brings with it an inherent set of moral quandaries with which directors Lombadri, Samuel Gonzalez Jr., and Bridget Smith can play with. The constant violent imagery that teeters on the deranged, along with a loud hard rock soundtrack, however, often overpowers any heavy commentary that the film might have hoped to share.
To the films’ credit, the faith of Bishop is portrayed as a virtue, with the good pastor often sticking to his faith driven morals. Yet when thrown into a literal pit of hell does this good shepherd become a savage wolf, with Lombardi rendered a mess of blood splatter in sequences reminiscent of a zombie movie, imaginative kills and all.
A third act that pits Lombardi’s vengeful father against his daughter’s murderer, played by the terrifically menacing Joseph Gatt, harkens back in the best way to 80s actioners such as Cobra, in which justice is dispensed upon the wicked in bloody, brutal fashion. For those with an appetite for such a thing, The Retaliators is worth feasting on.
