Independently produced, low-budget movies exist for several reasons. They act as a jumpstart for fledgling talent. They offer something for a niche audience that’s not deemed suitable for mass consumption. They push film convention to extremes. Encompassing all of these traits is Left for Dead, one hell of an action movie that gives the people what they want and what the people want is more guns, more swordplay, more high-kicking martial arts, and more bloody mayhem all around.

The movie is wall-to-wall gritty and politically incorrect gunplay and martial arts violence that amazingly holds together as a decent crime drama, which is what Britain’s mainstream film industry continues to excel at (see Layer Cake, I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead). It all begins in a whirl of action in “Hope City” as a simple, but messy job performed by several hitmen to take out a minor league player in the city’s organized crime scene turns into a desperate manhunt for one of their own. For reasons that become clear as the story develops, Ben Williams (Glen Savage) is deemed expendable by his employer, local crime boss Kincaid (Adam Chapman). Kincaid’s top henchmen, a pair of cold-blooded maniacs named Dylan (Kevin Akehurst) and Taylor (Adrian Foiadelli) turn on their former associate. Wounded, Ben goes into hiding.

Meanwhile, a promising kickboxer named Danny Kelso (Andy Prior), whom Kincaid hopes to control, refuses to throw a fight. Taylor, his one-time friend breaks every one of his fingers and sends Danny into exile in a neighboring city. Over the next six months Danny recovers and revives his kickboxing career, while waiting for an opportunity to get revenge on Taylor.

Having uncovered the truth about why he first came to work for Kincaid, Ben shows up and convinces Danny to join him in returning to Hope City to take down not only Taylor, but Kincaid and his entire underworld empire.

I’d like to think that the only thing holding this film back is money or the lack thereof. The modest locations, lighting, sound, attempts at computerized bloodletting, and generally uneven art direction are all reminders that this is budget filmmaking. But the movie compensates for this in the areas that matter with heavy doses of gleeful carnage, serviceable acting and some fine direction and editing. The biggest problem with low budget actioners from inexperienced filmmakers is usually pacing. Writer/director Ross Boyask and his crew nail this down with few hitches. The movie flies by as the viewer is thrust into one ugly brawl after another. The movie may move a little too fast at times, but fans of Hong Kong cinema will feel right at home.

The opening sets the tone. It’s a long and violent action sequence that begins as a shootout and transforms into a martial arts brawl with swords, fists and feet mincing bodies. It’s not the best action sequence in the film and is marred by some discordant editing that makes it look more like a highlight reel. This choppy look returns towards the end as Ben and Danny storm Kincaid’s headquarters. My opinion is that they left too much in and should have pared both sequences down to their essentials.

Once done with the extended opener, the film settles more comfortably into its crime genre leanings by fleshing out the story and characters. Unlike most action movies shot at this level, I actually took an honest interest in the story and found the characters, although somewhat derivative, enjoyable to watch. Reminiscent of Robert Carlyle, as the explosive Begbie in Trainspotting, Adrian Foiadelli makes the most of his killer-gone-over-the-edge persona. His final scene in the film is very nicely done. As his partner in crime, Kevin Akehurst isn’t quite as convincing in his role, but handles his dialogue well. He also gets to share in one of the film’s better stand-alone fight sequences when he faces off against Glen Savage on a rooftop with sword in hand. Savage is a great choice for the film’s slow-boiling lead. He’s got everyman looks and an unpretentious manner that is wholly believable when cast as someone who means business. There’s also something in his eyes that speaks volumes. I’m glad to see that he’s continuing to star in subsequent UK actioners such as The Silencer and Boyask’s Devil’s Run.

One disappointment story-wise, is the confusing introduction of an attractive platinum blonde during a montage sequence. She appears to be Ben’s replacement as one of Kincaid’s newest fighters. We get a scintillatingly short fight towards the end between her and Ben where she shows off some uniquely-acrobatic fighting skills. But there’s no character development of any kind to give her fight any meaning.

A lot of work obviously went into the martial arts sequences in this film, which were put together and shot with members of several British stunt teams including First Strike Action Team, Independent Stunts and Screenfighter UK. The types of combat used are varied, but dominated by high kicking. Personally, I have a problem with high kicking put to use in a supposedly gritty crime film as many self-defense practitioners would probably agree that throwing your leg up above the waist leaves you wide open to a world of hurt. But, as Hong Kong producer Ng See-yuen discovered with The Secret Rivals (1976), leg fighting onscreen sells because it looks good. Andy Prior gets the lion’s share of leg work to perform as the kickboxing hero, both in the ring and out. He’s not the next Hwang Jang-lee, but he’s alright.

Genre fans should appreciate some of the more creative aspects of the fight choreography that works its way into the film. Towards the end, some tandem fighting appears as two stunt actors coordinate their attacks against Prior. Viewers will also witness the use of locks, takedowns and good old fashioned kung fu sparring. There’s even some gory Street Fighter-type bodily alterations performed on opponents. With the sheer volume of fighting that takes place in the movie, the stunt teams are able to work in quite a bit of variety. Even so, this starts to work against them, for the action scenes linger long enough to begin to lose their “punch.” The amount or fighting isn’t the real problem here. It’s just limited clarity, dynamics and the ability to manipulate the scenes for full dramatic impact, all of which tend to come with experience on everyone’s part.

Although not without faults, I’ve got to hand it to the folks behind Left for Dead. They’ve created a monster of an action movie considering their limited means. Most importantly, they’ve managed to make the most out of their medium, the indie film, by pushing the action to extremes while maintaining an engaging plot. Left for Dead is like a modern, British equivalent of a Shinji Fukazaku yakuza thriller and classic Hong Kong kung fu movie in one, where the violence is intense and the fighting practically never stops.

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