While his films may not set the box office alight, the release of a Isaac Florentine film is always a reason to get excited. Now, not everything he touches turns to gold. One just has to look at Hounds of War (2024) to see proof of that. But considering he also gave us martial arts classics like Undisputed 2 (2006), Ninja: Shadow of a Tear (2013) and Close Range (2015), I’m always willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
This brings us to his latest, small town thriller Hellfire. While it may not reach the heights of his best, a handful of good performances and several well done action scenes still make it a fun time at the movies.
There isn’t anything remotely original in Hellfire, with it being strongly inspired by 80’s action films and classic westerns, most notably First Blood (1982) and Pale Rider (1985). Taking place in 1988 (not that you’d know it), the film opens with a mysterious drifter (Stephen Lang) strolling into the seemingly quiet streets of Rondo Texas. Looking for a quick meal before he passes on, our drifter is swiftly met by local Sheriff Wiley (Dolph Lundgren) who informs him that they don’t quite like outsiders and that he should move on as quickly as possible. So far so John Rambo.
Going to the local motel, he is informed that he will need $20 for a room. In order to make the money, he introduces himself to local saloon owner Owen (Chris Mullinax) and his daughter, Lena (Scottie Thompson), agreeing to do some odd jobs around the saloon in return for a day’s pay. Introducing himself as Nomada, it isn’t long until he finds out that the town is in the iron grip of local crime boss Jeremiah (Harvey Keitel). Initially intending to move on after a couple of days, Nomada starts to get pissed off at the audacity of Jeremiah’s men, notably his low life son Clyde (Michael Sirow). While Nomada quickly puts them in their place, his actions put him and the rest of the town in Jeremiah’s crosshairs. Now Nomada has no choice but to bring out the big guns and take the fight to Jeremiah.
First thing to be clear upon before watching Hellfire is that this is a B Movie. This isn’t in a derogatory sense. It is proudly a B movie, knowing exactly what it is offering, and that is mainly giving screen veteran Stephen Lang the opportunity to kick ass. While he may be getting on in years, Lang is at his grizzled best, still being 100 percent convincing as an action lead. Sure, there may be the odd use of a stunt double, but he still carries out a fair amount of the action by himself, getting involved in an assortment of car chases, shootouts and fist fights.
Florentine uses Lang to his advantage, keeping his character suitably mysterious in the Eastwood mold. Any fan of Florentine would be able to tell he has a love for the Western, specifically the spaghetti western. Florentine has gone on note about his love of the works of Sergio Leone and Sergio Corbucci, with his films full of musical cues and visual flourishes that homage their work. Hellfire isn’t as full of them as his earlier hits like High Voltage (1997) or Cold Harvest (1999), but they’re still in evidence.
Similarly to Pale Rider, the first half of the film is something of a slow burn, where we are introduced to the town folk and the situation they find themselves in. There are subtle hints that Lang’s Nomada is more than he seems, with his chest showing a number of bullet wounds that most people wouldn’t survive. Being a Florentine film, we know it’s only a matter of time before the action kicks off, with the handful of set pieces on offer proving he hasn’t lost his touch with action.
Obviously with this being a lower budgeted film, the action is of a smaller scale, but it is in line with the tone of the film. As expected, there is some noticeable digital gunfire on display but this doesn’t become too obtrusive. The bullet holes that appear on a car during a chase admittedly look more like stickers, but again, this wasn’t as much of an issue as it could have been as Florentine smartly doesn’t dwell on it. The car chase in question takes place on a long, deserted road, clearly to keep costs down, but it has a nice old school vibe, harkening back to the car chases of Joseph Sargent’s White Lightning (1973).
While I have compared Hellfire to the likes of Pale Rider, if I was to compare it to any of Florentine’s own films it would probably be The Shepherd: Border Patrol (2008). I wouldn’t exactly say that it is as good, as The Shepherd had better action scenes as well as an appearance from Scott Adkins, but both films have a similar small town flavor.
Although the action may not be on the same level as the likes of The Shepherd, or other Florentine films for that matter, it is still competently done, with the fight choreography being carried out by cast member Johnny Yong Bosch.
It was great to see Bosch on screen again, as we don’t get much opportunity to see him in action. Bosch only gets the one opportunity to show off his own considerable martial arts skills, where he goes up against Lang during the finale. The fight is a good showing off his skills but I would like to have seen more. His role is somewhat similar to that of Scott Adkins in The Shepherd, which also left the audience wanting to see more.
Behind the camera Bosch choreographs a pretty brutal fight between Lang’s Nomada and a couple of Jeremiah’s goons. Taking place in a kitchen, Lang uses any utensil that comes available to gain the upper hand. More fights like this would have been appreciated, however it is possible the filmmakers were staying within their means. Perhaps the budget just wouldn’t stretch to featuring more action. Also, it may have stretched believability even further, as Lang takes a ridiculous amount of damage during the course of the film. To put him through anymore would have moved Hellfire into fantasy territory.
Johnny Yong Bosch certainly makes for a more imposing threat than the film’s main villain. Harvey Keitel is solely on auto pilot here, clearly only included to give the film a bit of additional star power. He only appears in a handful of scenes to bark out orders, but as someone that is meant to instill fear, he is mostly ineffectual.
Then there’s action legend Dolph Lundgren, as secondary villain Sheriff Wiley. This marks Florentine and Lundgren’s first collaboration since working together years ago on Bridge of Dragons (1999). Sadly, their re-teaming is nowhere as memorable, with Lundgren being totally wasted in a small supporting role that doesn’t call for him to do much other than get mildly pissed off. Lundgren does manage to add a bit of humor and personality to his role, but even so, this still ranks as a disappointment.
The setting of Hellfire is very much a man’s world, with Scottie Thompson’s Lena being the only main female character. As expected, her inclusion is mostly so she can be put in peril and be rescued. The role doesn’t exactly stretch Thompson past looking worried or scared at what’s going on around her.
Hellfire was apparently made 4 years ago, with Florentine shooting it before his last movie Hounds of War (2024). It is only now that it’s seeing the light of day. I’m not clear why there was such a delay, but I’m going to assume it had something to do with the high number of production companies involved, which seemed quite ridiculous on what is a considerably low budget feature.
I’m happy to see the film released even if it doesn’t rank as one of Florentine’s best. It is still an entertaining action thriller that never overstays its welcome. Additionally it gives the great Stephen Lang the chance to play the hero again after a number of recent villainous roles.
Plot: 2.5/5
Acting: 3/5
Action:2.5/5
Overall: 2.6/5