From Screamfest 2021: Bridget Smith and Samuel Gonzalez Jr.’s THE RETALIATORS drags a preacher through hell on earth
Bridget Smith and Samuel Gonzalez Jr.’s The Retaliators, at any given moment, isn’t what one might expect. Sure, the opening set-up is familiar: two beautiful girls take a creative driving shortcut through scary rural territory. Of course, they break down, and get attacked by…things. But just when they think they have a handle on the situation as some sot of zombie attack, a bloody faced man yells “They’re not zombies!” Heads appear to explode. And the film’s point of view completely changes.
Suddenly, we’re in what could be a faith-based Christmas movie. Pastor Bishop (Michael Lombardi) just wants the love and respect of his daughters for the holiday season. That notion takes a hit, though, when he fails to stand up to a bully while buying a Christmas tree…and then lies about it in a sermon. Uh-oh! This supposed good Christian might have to learn a lesson about the holiday season!
Well, he would if this were the faith-based flick it briefly mimics. But meanwhile, in what feels like a completely different movie, two rival biker gangs are attempting to broker a peace treaty. One which almost immediately fails spectacularly thanks to the gigantic Ram (Joseph Gatt), who resembles nothing so much as a fully rejuvenated Jason Voorhees, or perhaps a really large sentient thumb on steroids. Gatt is definitely the guy to call if Michael Berryman or Derek Mears aren’t available, is what I’m saying. Compellingly evil and nigh-indestructible, he proceeds to ruin everyone’s plans with maximum violence. Oh, and murders Bishop’s eldest daughter after randomly encountering her at a gas station. That’s some disproportionate karma, even by horror-movie standards.
Already now, we’ve had a touch of hillbilly horror, faith-based drama, and biker flick. Next it’s time for the detective thriller, as Bishop encounters Jed (Marc Menchaca, recently seen as the morally ambiguous victim in the impressive revenge flick #Like). Jed is a detective who has undergone similar tragedy, and he vows to make things right. But let’s just say his unorthodox style leads everyone down an even darker path.
Gatt is the clear standout in all of this. Though he’s had a solid career as a character actor in smaller roles, and a voice actor in video games, this is his Hills Have Eyes moment that will likely guarantee him a permanent, reliable career as “that guy” in horror movies for the rest of his days, if he wants that. Menchaca, best known as Russ in Ozark, may be less distinctive, but he’s slowly building up a resume of roles as the best thing in what he does. Lombardi, in the lead, is less interesting, but like young Bruce Campbell, he’s game to be splashed with blood at any and all times.
In some bizarre stunt casting, the movie also features cameos from rockers like Tommy Lee and Five Finger Death Punch. As actors, they don’t add much, but they seem to have agreed to contribute soundtrack songs in return, which is why you hear Motley Crue during an obligatory strip club scene. Good enough.
Perhaps they also signal that the whole thing isn’t to be taken too seriously, which is significant, since thematically, the script by the Geare Brothers could be read as borderline reprehensible. Taken literally, it presents brutality as something close to essentially formative for any real man – Bishop only becomes a worthy, honest, stand-up guy after committing heinous acts of vigilantism, in many cases against people he doesn’t even know. In actuality, his inevitable PTSD would probably undermine all that. But when Tommy Lee shows up as a strip club DJ, you may just chill the hell out and not worry about taking this as realistic in any way. Though it’s understandable to be confused, since The Retaliators blends several kinds of exploitation movies together, it’s important to remember that a blender’s primary purpose is to splatter and liquefy. And this certainly does that.
