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My father didn’t leave a legacy of life lessons but did have one important nugget of wisdom that has stuck with me “Kevin,” he said, never trust a man with three first names.
Armed with that, I prepared myself for director David Ryan Keith’s new project I Am Rage. It’s described as a woman seeking revenge thriller from the people who brought you 2020’s Army of One. As another female-driven thriller, this one seemed promising and from the trailer, I was sure it was going to take the cake.
Erin (Hannaj Bang Bendz) is taking a trip to the countryside with her boyfriend, his brother, and the brother’s new girlfriend. While relaxing at the calm getaway, our girls are about to get introduced as ‘The Family’. It turns out that this particular family is actually part of some ancient Blood Cult that kidnaps people to take their blood and sell it to mega-rich clients. It doesn’t take long for the tables to turn, and we slowly start understanding that Erin is a bloodthirsty, rage-fueled maniac born out of years of abuse and mental scarring. Soon the hunt begins. Now the only question is Who is hunting who?
Let me start by saying that I was blown away by how talented Hannaj Bang Bendz is. She is not an actress I was familiar with, but after this movie 90-minute-long film, I must say we could be seeing a future lead action star. She looks like a cross between Linda Hamilton and Cynthia Rothrock, and I love it! To top all of that off, she is a Brit, so that’s all she wrote, cast this lady in everything!
Naturally, this is an ensemble, so let’s get into the actual blood family. The father of the family is Jamie Chambers. He is someone I know from watching Morris Men recently (if you haven’t seen it, check it out!). Chambers really got the memo on this flick and played it as such. He has completely gotten better in this movie. And speaking of people that got the memo, Marta Svetka as Margaret is amazing in the role and certainly plays it to the Hanna’s against type.
Svetka provides an excessive and much-needed saving. She plays one of the monsters that balance the charm and fury that the rage beast hero exudes while maintaining intense charisma and a look of being “dead behind the eyes.”
The movie has some flaws here and there such as the overly intelligent blood-harvesting subplot that adds too much complexity. Sure, it shifts the focus and gives certain motivations, but it makes no interpretation of this girl’s back story which is a telltale sign of having the urge to go skinning the family’s ‘hard target’ Erin. (Damn, now I really want to watch that.) I completely understand, and it helps explain the family, my issue is that there are a few scenes that bestowed me with too many convoluted perversions.
In addition to the good story, the fight choreography is as, if not more impressive, than every secondary character getting the chance to hit our leads and focusing on everything that helped with the impressive actions. The best part of the fight choreography was showcasing the real-life skills of some of the actors.
I Am Rage is one of the most entertaining films I’ve watched, and the running time is only 71 minutes! Pretty much what I mean is that it combines entertainment and an engaging script while also delivering a fierce and compelling plot. Some parts of this film really do leave an impression. I can’t forget those moments, and I assure you that most, if not all, of you can relate. The film gets its charm through its degree of absurdity rather than lack of it, and to some extent, that makes it more engaging and enjoyable. David Ryan Keith assembled a team that somehow managed to make it all seem entirely logical to me. To put it bluntly, there’s just a lot to love about I Am Rage, and I do.
One thing that strikes me the most is how strong the plot was, and the direction by Steven Durham just sealed the deal. It is one of those films that are sure to catch a viewer off-guard at any point, and that is probably the trait of many independent films.
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