Going into Retribution, all I expected was a reasonably entertaining 80's gore fest about some guy with glowing eyes. Those expectations were definitely met, but it gave me a lot more than I'd bargained for.
Retribution will wet anyone's 80's horror whistle, but it also offers an in depth, moving portrait of social isolation and mental illness with an Oscar worthy performance from Dennis Lipscomb. Lipscomb plays a struggling artist who is sent to an asylum after a botched suicide attempt. Little does he know that he died at the exact same time that another man across town was shot and set on fire for owing debts to a bunch of shady characters. Soon, he begins having dreams about this man and that he's going around town, killing all the people responsible for the death.
On the surface, Retribution might seem like another in the long list of Nightmare on Elm Street knock offs. After all, it has the inventive death scenes, the dream sequences, and the burnt man looking for revenge, but it's about so much more than that. This is much more character driven than most horror films of the 80's and you might end up being really moved when all is said and done. It's definitely worth your time.
Retribution will wet anyone's 80's horror whistle, but it also offers an in depth, moving portrait of social isolation and mental illness with an Oscar worthy performance from Dennis Lipscomb. Lipscomb plays a struggling artist who is sent to an asylum after a botched suicide attempt. Little does he know that he died at the exact same time that another man across town was shot and set on fire for owing debts to a bunch of shady characters. Soon, he begins having dreams about this man and that he's going around town, killing all the people responsible for the death.
On the surface, Retribution might seem like another in the long list of Nightmare on Elm Street knock offs. After all, it has the inventive death scenes, the dream sequences, and the burnt man looking for revenge, but it's about so much more than that. This is much more character driven than most horror films of the 80's and you might end up being really moved when all is said and done. It's definitely worth your time.