Well Worth The Slog

The other night, I watched a whole pile of movies, most of them not fantastic. I was, for whatever reason, on an erotic thriller kick. I'd watched the one I described the other day, then there was another one that wasn't very erotica and wasn't very thrilling. The night closed out with the wonderful "Marked For Murder". I had noticed that it seemed to be directed by the same man behind the infamous "Hobgoblins", and so how could I resist that?

It seemed to be a little like "Three Days Of The Condor". A couple of low level employees of a TV station get ensnared in intrigue when a police operation is captured on tape and various players start angling for possession of the recording. There are cops, FBI agents, underworld figures and seamy locales like dance clubs and strip joints. It's a promising setup, to be sure, except that it's in the hands of Rick Sloane.

It's very possible to produce a good film on a low budget. In some ways, it's easier than having money. Sloane manages to find every way of failing in very risible fashion. The actors are ill-suited to the task, and their job isn't aided by a script that has them passing through some real hairpin turns in their character arcs. The subprofessional acting and writing is matched by some truly abysmal locations, but then Hobgoblins fans would know about that.

I still love this movie. Maybe the big reason concerns somes gunplay that figures into the climax. At one point the main bad guy has pulled a gun on one of the other characters. When he shoulds him, he seems to kind of put some extra force into the bullet by thrusting the gun towards the target as he fires, sort of like he thought he was holding a David & Goliath-style sling. A friend watching with me described it as the worst gun acting in film history.

That was before something outdid it. The two plucky leads are roaming around this warehouse with everyone else, and they've realized they may have to resort to violence to defend themselves. Says the girl as she gets the gun she has out of her purse, "I was hoping we wouldn't have to use this." Moments later, they turn a corner and the bad guy's right hand man pops up in front of them looking the other way. She proceeds to instantly drill him through the back without any hesitation. A terrible squib erupts on his chest, and he slowly goes down while halfheartedly reaching for something to brace himself against.

The whole package is hysterical. Violence was so avoidable in that situation, and she was supposedly so reluctant to employ it, but she did it so fast that one would have to conclude she was in fact very eager. Then the poor effects were comical, and finally the way the thug silently goes down puts a really nice button on the whole thing. You really must see it for yourself, but I encourage you to do so in full context, so make sure you check out "Marked For Murder", streaming on Netflix and perhaps available elsewhere as well.