Monday 11 March 2013

DVD review: Demon Hunter (2012)


Cosette (Jenny Allford) is a young woman with a big problem. She's cursed. Demons are after her soul. They track and hunt her. And if that isn't enough, a shadowy criminal mastermind is after something only she can get. Her only luck is finding Klaus (Robert Amstler), a tough as nails reformed enforcer for the mob on a mission to redeem himself using his skills in small arms and hand to hand combat to save her from the soul sucking monsters and waves of commandos launched against her, but he can only delay the inevitable. One day she comes across a Priest who has the answer. The curse she's under can be broken, but only if she finds two talismans, combines them, and sends them back to the netherworld. Unfortunately they also animate two of the fiercest demons hunting her, and must be cut from their dead corpses. Worse, in the wrong hands they can be made to control other demons, and so are a prize for those who wish to wreak havoc on a world they see as undeserving. It ends in a free-for-all in a literal ghost town ... Demon Hunter is written by Barry Massoni and Rene Perez who also is the director. The acting is pretty bad and some of the dialogue is unintentionally funny. The camerawork and editing is good. The budget is low and I think Rene Perez reuse the western set from The Dead and the Damned (Video 2011) but hey there ain´t nothing wrong with that. The pacing is high, it´s more or less a fast and furious ride for its 81 minute running time. Sometimes it´s hard to hear what the characters are saying, I must say that the soundtrack is at times very inappropriate and kills all atmosphere or potential tension. And at times the music is just too loud and distracting. There is several fightscenes, the fightchoreography is pretty decent, and shootouts but the use of toyguns and adding computer rendered muzzleflashes, squibs and shell casings in post-production really cheapens the action. There´s very brief practical gore as a demon eats a torn off limb and someone gets their neck cut. As I mentioned all the squibs are computer rendered. The demon/creature design is practical, some stuff are more elaborate while some looks like it is cheap masks bought at a novelty store. There is T & A as a character visit a strip club but besides that scene we also get topless nudity courtesy of  Raven Lexy who plays the character Michelle My Belle and Jenny Allford.
Demon Hunter is also known as Darkstalkers and Obsidian Hearts.
This review is based upon the german region 2 DVD release from Great Movies, it´s uncut and english audion is available
Rating: 2 out of 7.  Buy a copy with a open and forgiving mind and take it for what it is, it´s actually a pretty entertaining flick that starts with a bang and seldom slows down. Sure there are flaws, which for the most part can be credited to the low budget.

/JL




No comments:

Post a Comment