Big Kill Blu Ray Review (Cinedigm)
Big Kill is a 2018 western written, produced, edited, & directed by Scott Martin (Battle Force). After losing his wife, accountant Jim Andrews (played by: Christoph Sanders from Last Man Standing, Ghost Whisperer, & Hounddog) decides to leave Philadelphia & heads out to Big Kill to join his brother The Mayor (played by: K.C. Clyde from I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, The Crow: Salvation, War Pigs, & Zombie Hamlet) in business. On the way there, he meets two gamblers Travis Parker (played by: Clint Hummel from The Quick and the Undead, Alien Battlefield, A Demon Within, & Star Trek: Insurrection) & Jake Logan (played by: director Scott Martin from Repetition, The Rig, & P-51 Dragon Fighter) that are both running out of luck. They run into problems with Col. Granger (played by: Michael Paré from Eddie and the Cruisers 1/2, Streets of Fire, The Lincoln Lawyer, The Greatest American Hero, & Bad Moon) & General Morales (played by: Danny Trejo from Heat, Machete 1/2, From Dusk Till Dawn franchise, The Replacement Killers, & The Devil’s Rejects).
They hear Jim talk about this unknown small town that’s supposed to be booming & ask if they can join him on his trip hoping to change their bad luck. When the three men arrive to Big Kill, they notice it’s nothing like it was described. It’s been run down & it’s damn near a ghost town now. The Mayor tells his brother Jim that so much has changed here since he sent him that letter years ago. Jim connects with Josie Strong (played by: Elizabeth McLaughlin from Hand of God, Dead South, Betrayal, & First Day) & finds a new reason to stay there. The Mayor tries to keep justice in Big Kill but things are starting to get crazy & the violence begins. The Preacher (played by: Jason Patric from The Lost Boys, Narc, Sleepers, The Losers, & Rush) & his henchman Johnny Kane (played by: Lou Diamond Phillips from Young Guns 1/2, The Big Hit, La Bamba, The First Power, & Extreme Justice) take over control in Arizona & it starts a war with the new visitors. Who will survive this showdown? Can the community count on these strangers from out of town????
Jason Patric, Lou Diamond Phillips, Michael Paré, & Danny Trejo all in the same film? If Big Kill was made in the late 80s or early 90s it would have been a way bigger production. It’s been a long time since those days so it’s a very low budget western. Director Scott Martin pays homage to the classics with his opening, cinematography, music, & gun fights in this. I am a huge of fan of westerns & I hate to say it but it’s a dying genre in modern cinema so I do appreciate when one is made. Big Kill delivers on most of elements that you would expect from this type of feature. Michael Paré, & Danny Trejo are barely in this, both had quick cameos. I wish they had more screen time because they were two of the better performances.
Both Jason Patric & Lou Diamond Phillips chewed the scenery in Big Kill. It’s their best performances in a very long time & it was great to see them get a chance to shows their talents again. Scott Martin did a solid job with the script, directing, & editing but he shouldn’t have put himself in here as an actor. His performance was pretty damn bad & the same goes for Clint Hummel. Those two had huge parts in Big Kill & they couldn’t carry the movie so it did hurt the overall production. Christoph Sanders, K.C. Clyde, & Elizabeth McLaughlin gave decent performances to round out the cast. Some of the supporting actors that I didn’t mention were just okay & I thought everything could have been elevated with higher quality casting but it’s a smaller flick so I wasn’t expecting Oscar material with this. That’s the biggest flaw with Big Kill but it was still fun & entertaining. It had a decent amount of violence & I will say that I thought the gun fights came off a little cheap & amateur at times. It’s worth checking out if you are a fan of independent film, westerns, Christoph Sanders, Jason Patric , & Lou Diamond Phillips.
Let’s talk about the high definiton presentation from Cinedigm! This 1080p (2.39:1) transfer looks bigger than it’s small budget with it’s cinematography, production design, & classic western locations. The English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track provides crystal clear dialogue, elevates all the gunfire plus action in this, & the music has a nice boost to it. It also has English SDH subtitles. There’s no extras on the disc but it does have a trailer for “Dead Ant” before the film starts. It has a nice glossy slipcover, it’s available everywhere right now. CHECK IT OUT!!!!
