Prayer to a Vengeful God (2010)

Director:

Dan Eberle

Writer:

Dan Eberle

Genre:

Action | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

The story of a man caught in a whirlpool of grief and rage over the murder of his wife, Prayer to a Vengeful God is contemporary revenge drama, presented in an austere visual style, completely without dialogue. |

Cast

Dan Eberle	...	John Krause
Paul James Vasquez	...	Transient
Jennifer Farrugia	...	Jennifer Krause
Amanda Bender	...	Miscreant
Beau Allulli	...	Bearer
Leah Rudick	...	Gabby
Jillaine Gill	...	Urchin
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Aquillia Anderson	...	Club Dancer
Ravi Balehad	...	Club Dancer
Michael O'Neil Callaghan	...	Buyer's Strongarm (as Mike Callaghan)
Marco Chiriboga	...	Redhat
Eugene Dundon	...	Club Dancer
Evelyn Dwyer	...	Club Dancer
Sandra Fadayel	...	Club Dancer
Malchan Ganesh	...	Club Dancer
Jarret Garcia	...	Club Bouncer
Vicente Guerrero	...	Park Dealer
Tim Guetterman	...	Police Detective 1
Paola Hernandez	...	Club Dancer
Sauda Jackson	...	Police Detective 2
Ruan Libby	...	Club Dancer
Gayle Madeira	...	Party Guest 2
Valerie Michael	...	Club Dancer
Erica Mohan	...	Club Dancer
Richard Mohan	...	Club Dancer
Andrea Moix	...	Club Girl 2
Chuk Ogbonna	...	Drug Customer 2
Ariel Padilla	...	Nurse 1
Ariel Pavon	...	Doorman
Geoffrey J.D. Payne	...	Uniform Cop 1 (as Geoffrey Payne)
Danielle Primiceri	...	Nurse 2
Matthew Primiceri	...	Party Guest 1
Michelle Primiceri	...	Club Girl 1
Pablo Ribot	...	Doctor Ramos
Rob Richardson	...	Scav
Nina Rogers	...	Gabby's Daughter
Robert Saietta	...	Smalltime Buyer
Lenord Shanlan	...	Club Dancer
Steve Siegelbaum	...	Redhat's Big Friend
Jared Stone	...	Party Guest 3
Irvin Talawant	...	Club Bartender
Vixit Thamboun	...	Drug Customer 1
Casey Weaver	...	Annoyed Drug Customer
Scott Smitelli	...	Radio Announcer (uncredited)

Directed by
Dan Eberle

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Dan Eberle

Produced by
David Cornue	....	producer
Vicente Guerrero	....	producer
Tim Guetterman	....	executive producer
Antonio Hernandez	....	associate producer
Danielle Primiceri	....	producer

Original Music by
Bob Hart

Cinematography by
James Parsons

Film Editing by
Timothy McGonagle

Makeup Department
Danielle Minnella	....	makeup artist
Steve Siegelbaum	....	special makeup effects artist

Art Department
Gayle Madeira	....	artwork

Sound Department
Scott Smitelli	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Steve Siegelbaum	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Bobby Roe	....	digital effects

Stunts
Jonathan Berman	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Peter Lau	....	assistant camera
Marvic Paulo	....	assistant camera
Marvic Paulo	....	gaffer
Marvic Paulo	....	second assistant camera
James Smith	....	assistant camera
James Smith	....	assistant camera
James Smith	....	gaffer

Other crew
Chris Casilli	....	production assistant
Michael Hecht	....	production assistant

Thanks
Rachel Brown	....	special thanks
Liz Picarella	....	special thanks
Ari Taub	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Insurgent Pictures

Distributors

• Insurgent Pictures (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• Vanguard Cinema (2011) (USA) (all media)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Company:

Insurgent Pictures

Dan Eberle's Artistic Vision Remains Strong

John Krause (Dan Eberle) lives a successful life, but his wife wants a little something more, moonlighting in the world of sex and drugs. She makes a tragic mistake, and ends up a target of the local dealers. John becomes collateral damage, left for dead (but luckily only in a coma). Upon waking, he soon decides upon a course of revenge.

Eberle, who is also the writer and director, continues to blaze a trail of artistic genius. I had seen his previous film, "The Local", and was thoroughly impressed by his ability to make a low budget independent feature have the same level of style, quality and intensity as a Guy Ritchie crime drama. "Vengeful" is a different sort of film, perhaps more artistic, but the talent is equal to or better than that in "Local".

Besides Eberle, who is a skilled writer, director and actor, a few other stars stand out and should be given credit: first and foremost, the late Paul James Vasquez who plays the Transient. Vasquez has a way of combining a glamorous Fabio and a dirty, homeless thug into the same character.. and it works. It really, really works. Due to Vasquez's skills and physical stature, no one else could have filled this role, and Eberle is lucky to have a friend and teacher like this.

The other actor who stood out was Jillaine Gill, who played the Urchin. Her role is less defined -- no real name, no distinct alliances. Gill has called her role that of "guardian angel", which I think is appropriate, but what are her motivations and where does she come from? That Jillaine was able to play this part and make it so believably mysterious is a strong credit to her... I hope to see her in future Eberle productions and other films.

The making-of featurette (sent to me by Eberle, and I'm not sure where else this will be available) is a fifteen minute behind the scenes that refers to "power in silence". And I think that really sums up this film: it epitomizes the idea of less is more. By lacking dialogue, we are sucked in more, left to analyze more deeply on visuals and actions... and the varieties of interpretation come into play. There is a set narrative, but some aspects are ambiguous -- but this adds to, not takes away from, the film; you can watch it again and again.

I do not have the expertise to analyze and critique the technical merits of the film, but truly this is a professional film disguised as an independent one. Dan Eberle does what the big studios do without the aid of millions of dollars and A-list actors. But the fact of the matter is this: Eberle and crew do it better.