Director: Mike Mendez
Writers: Dan Berk, Robert Olsen
Stars: Dolph Lundgren, Kristina Klebe, Elissa Dowling
Plot: An ancient demon terrorizes a tiny Mississippi town.
Running Time: 1 hour 23 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes Score: Critics 89% Audience 38%
Why I watched it: It’s a horror film it has Dolph Lundgren, it’s called Don’t Kill It, this is my wheelhouse and then some.
Thoughts: Now I will say the Rotten Tomatoes Score of 89% is high cause I lot of critics haven’t reviewed it and I think that’s a problem for a small film like this, make no mistake this is a throwback film and these kinds of films do become cult films but they take some time to find their audience, it needs word of mouth.
What I liked: This is the kind of movie I enjoy watching call it what you like, a popcorn movie, a B-Movie, a guilty pleasure for me it’s just fun, when I said this was a throw back movie I’m not lying, this reminds me of the late 80′s early 90 films, like The Hidden or even I come in peace.
I give director Mike Mendez a ton of credit he didn’t have a big budget so he went with what he had, Dolph and a ton of gore and violence. The short running time is good cause the film keeps a pretty good pace and yes there is a ton of violence.
Dolph Lundgren is good here he’s a very likeable presence and he’s so comfortable with himself his acting is effortless. Dolph and the film are smart enough not to take themselves too seriously, this is very much winking at the audience at times. The best part of the gimmick is the creature or demon movie from body to body when it’s killed and it goes to the person who kills it, a neat idea that they have a lot of fun with. Dolph actually has a really cool net gun, yes a net gun. One of the best things for me was that they made Dolph Lundgren’s character more than just a cliche, he has a back story and I like the fact that he plays weary, he’s been doing this a long time.
What I didn’t like: The lack of budget hurt the film big time and you can tell this was a quick shot, if they had more time and money this would easily be a cult film. The acting is not great and some of the practical effects are very iffy. I was kind of let down by Kristina Klebe she’s not a bad actress but is miscast here, she feels like she’s in another film, she’s not having the fun Lundgren is.
The ending is a little weak and they kind of reached to stretch it a bit, I think the lack of money really hurt here, it needed to be bigger and louder.
Final Thoughts: It was a fun watch and I liked it, it could have been a bit better but for what it was I had fun with it. If you’re a genre fan it’s worth a watch.
Rating: 6/10
Movie Burner Entertainment 