If you were offered a minute alone with the killer of your loved one, would you take it?

The Retaliators starts off with a time jump, letting you know that the relative peacefulness of Pastor John Bishop’s life is about to all go to shit. A complicated relationship with daughter Sarah starts off the film as Bishop (played by Michael Bombardi) holds a sermon to his church, highlighting how best it is to turn the other cheek. 

When Sarah is brutally murdered, this philosophy goes out the window as director Samuel Gonzalez Jr. dials the revenge all the way up to 5.  

Buckle up and prepare for over the top blood splatter and a storyline that descends deeper and deeper into absolute ludicrosity. The Retaliators is exactly the kind of gorefest that you’d expect the kids of Stranger Things or IT to be sneaking into the cinema to watch before one of their friends disappears in the bathroom. 

A medley of rockstar cameos (Tommy Lee, Papa Roach et al) and a “high octane” soundtrack make up for what The Retaliators lacks in coherent plotline. The story is a tad hard to follow with a blink and you’ll miss it pace that genre-hops from start to finish. It switches between revenge thriller and ultra-violent slasher resulting in a film that would probably get a stiff thumbs up from the likes of Sam Raimi and Rob Zombie. 

The Retaliators feels a little out of its own time, as though it should have been released a few years back in the late noughties. Moments of ‘Oh, okay then’ and ‘Sure thing, why wouldn’t that happen?’ abound as Bishop hunts down his daughter’s killer with a bit of help from sussy detective Jed (Marc Menchaca, Ozark). As he hunts, Bishop inadvertently causes a fall out the likes of which are usually confined to The Hills Have Eyes and Wrong Turn and doesn’t really end well for anybody. 

If you’re into gore horror on a budget then The Retaliators will be right up your street. The film is being released as an Event Cinema release worldwide on the 14th September. Get your tickets here. 

Are you a cheap date in the horror genre? Find out why you should probably shouldn’t go outside in Camping Trip here.