Death List (2006) User Reviews

This really should have a cult following.

[jewbo23 · 7/10 · 28 April 2017]

I had tried and failed three times to watch Death List. Each time I just didn't feel in the mood for it. The first fifteen minutes come across as very amateurish and the odd dubbing really didn't put me in the mood for it at all. I finally sat down and got all the way through and after those first few minutes, this really does pick up.

Writer, director, lead, cameraman and everything else Ara Paiaya is a force to be reckoned with. He may not have any money for this film, but he has more heart and passion than an entire franchise full of Hollywood drivel. The fact he got so much done for nothing is amazing. Ara is clearly a talented guy and his martial arts ability is top notch. He uses a style akin to early Jackie Chan films as he incorporates the environment into the fights. Various cars are destroyed during the fight scenes and we even get a great moment with a forklift truck. Ara also did all his stunts and from the bloopers section on the DVD, we can see he really does risk his body for his film.

The film is only just over an hour long, but nothing else is needed. It's lean and fast moving and there's never more than a few minutes without another great fight scene coming along. The film is also filled with humor that worked for me eventually, you just need to let the mood of it sink in a little. It's also got some really bad, and seemingly knowingly so gore. Any time someone has a limb cut off, we see something that's clearly just been bought at Poundland. It kind of works too.

I'm so glad that Ara has gone on to make more films and it seems like the budgets have gone up in recent years too. It's sad this film is so unknown (I'm only the 3rd person to have seen it on Letterboxd at the time of writing) as it's so well done I feel it should have found a cult following. I'll certainly be checking out more of his films in the very near future.

Horrible film, but the action's great

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 28 December 2020]

Another Scottish BOURNE knock-off from prolific filmmaker Ara Paiaya, following on from his DUBBED & DANGEROUS trilogy. This one features the usual stuff familiar from shot-on-video indie flicks: atrocious joke-shop special effects, appaling acting, join-the-dots plotting, you name it. But it also happens to have surprisingly decent fight scenes and plenty of them too. Inspired by Hong Kong cinema in general and Jackie Chan in particular, these fights are breakneck, frenetic and feature tons of stunts and great moves from the main players. Give this man a proper budget and see what he does!

Death List is one of the most enjoyable films I've seen in a long while.

[MovieScoopMagazine · 10/10 · 26 December 2008]

Night (Ara Paiaya) is an assassin who's betrayed by his boss and left for dead (aren't they always?). He's rescued and rehabilitated by a crime-fighting organisation who send him to Hong Kong. There he's trained by a mysterious martial arts master in a wonderful mixture of Yoda's training of Luke Skywalker and the Penguin scene from The Blues Brothers. Returning home, Night decides to clean up the streets and seek vengeance on his former boss. This leads to scene after scene of fighting action that sees some insane stunts, violence and inventive use of surroundings made popular by Jackie Chan. This action involves swords, guns, cars and even a forklift truck, and the balance between action and comedy is perfect; I found myself laughing more in the film's short hour length than in many other films that are twice as long.

Ara Paiaya is in his own words 'the star, writer, director, editor, producer and tea maker'. He is self-taught in all areas and when you consider the results, this is very impressive. During his commentary it's obvious that he's a very passionate individual who would walk through fire to see that a film is completed. As he had complete control of the movie, there is the feeling that what you are seeing is what he wants you to see. Unlike other directors, who get laundry lists of cuts and changes to make during and after production, Death List is exactly how he conceived it. Extras, extras everywhere! I honestly expected Death List to have the bare minimum, but there are deleted scenes with commentary, outtakes (which really should be entitled 'When Stunts Go Wrong!'), trailers, cast interviews and a number of scenes from his earlier films. One of these scenes has Paiaya coming face to face with Robert 'Freddy' Englund, which is odd, and I'm hoping that this is a tease of something to come. It's Paiaya's contribution to the features that makes me love this film, as he really did do everything. 'Dubbing Death List' reveals that Paiaya did the voices for almost every character in the film, which is an insane but nevertheless cost effective approach. His interview and commentary are excellent, revealing many secrets about the film, why it was made and just how much hard work went into its creation. Considering Paiaya did so much, it's not surprising that he's very proud of his work and there's a Kevin Smith vibe when he discusses it.

Death List is a great film for so many reasons and I'm hoping to see more of Paiaya in the future, as he's certainly talented. With the huge popularity of Jackie Chan across the world, it's not inconceivable to predict that this film and any others he makes will have a wider audience and, given a better budget, he'll be able to create an even more polished end product. Death List is still impressive though, despite the rough edges, and if you think you need wires, CGI and a multi-million dollar budget to pull off great action scenes then this is the perfect film to prove you wrong!