Gene Blalock ventures into action with Vendetta. Warning: Strong language and graphic images. Viewer discretion advised.

Synopsis

A woman is on the hunt for her missing sister and the men that took her.

Review

This is the fifth offering by Seraph Films and Gene Blalock. You can definitely see a further refinement and maturing in the work. Even working on a low budget of $500 everybody manages to pull their weight in this one, and it’s evident from the first frame of the opening credits.

The action sequences are brutal and intentionally slow. Instead of going for faster fight scenes like so many other filmmakers do these days, Mr. Blalock plays it out so you feel every strike and bullet hit. It’s more like the blunt-force trauma of a tank as opposed to a Jaguar hitting you at a hundred miles per hour. You see it unfold in front of you in all its painful realtime.

That’s not to say there’s a story here. It’s told as it should be, in sparse dialogue that gives you exactly what you need and through scene action. The actors drive this story to its ultimate, explosive conclusion.

The only thing that I thought could’ve used a little more work is the foley. A few more amped-up punches would have made it an even more visceral experience, especially with a heavy bass mix. You still feel the punches, don’t get me wrong, but it would have added that extra bit of icing on the cake for me.

Here’s where it gets interesting for me. Being on the sidelines as one who has reviewed several of Mr. Blalock’s shorts up to this point puts me in an objective place in regards to his work. You can go through in order and see that maturing that I talked about earlier in this review. The camera work is progressively getting better and the stories are gaining more subtle textures, even with Vendetta‘s almost pure-action storyline. The editing is also tighter with each one.

I can only wonder what will happen if Gene Blalock gets an even bigger budget.

What did you think of Vendetta? Leave a comment below.

Information

Genre: Action
Country: United States
Release Year: 2012
Runtime: 11 mins, 1 sec.
Written by: Gene Blalock
Directed by: Gene Blalock
Cast: Sofie Norman, Ian Roberts, James Tumminia, Adam James, Nick Somers, Stuart Hammill, David De La Garza, Andreas Beckett
YouTube Channel: TheSeraphFilms
Twitter: @SeraphFilms
Facebook: SeraphFilms
Website: Official Website