The Wonderful World of DTV – The films of Steven C. Miller
With the recent release of Steven C. Millers Marauders (2016) on V.O.D and limited cinema release, I noted that there was a definite rise in quality from the usual DTV fare. From his first film, Miller has consistently been getting better as a director, and considering the quality of his films in regards to their budgets, it is only a matter of time before he is directing bigger budget features. In regards to this I thought it would be good to look over his film career to date, so when he does become even more successful, we can remember where he started.
Automaton Transfusion – 2006
This was Miller first feature length film. A horror film concerning the United States Army re-opening a project that was developed in the 1970’s, to re-animate corpses. The original plan was for the Army to have the corpses fight their war for them. Unfortunately, they didn’t count on the re-animated corpses proclivities towards human flesh. 30 years later when the experiments start up again, it is up to a group of High School students to save the day.
Made in 2006 on a budget of $30,000, the first screening of the film was at the Scream fest Film Festival. From this the film was eventually purchased and released by Dimension Extreme, a subsidiary of the Weinstein Company, in 2008.
Miller had originally made another version of the film a number of years earlier while he was still in school. That version of the film only amounted to a trailer. The feature length version of the film was shot in just 9 days. Unfortunately, it does show in the finished result, with there being a number of factors that detract from the viewers overall enjoyment of the film.
As director, Steven C. Miller does an admirable job as director. This of course is nowhere close to being the best example of his work, as the film was made on the cheap and shows in the film, with the film being shot digitally. Miller also edited the film, and even at 70 minutes, sometimes drags, although the more action orientated and gore scenes are well done, and appear to have the most attention paid to them.
Written by its director, the script of Automaton Transfusion is sadly one of its poorer aspects. Due to budget restrictions, Miller probably had no choice but to scale the film back, which results in a slower pace and poorly drawn characters. He does get some elements right in his script, and you can see the other genre films that he has been influenced by, but he doesn’t have the money to do those films justice this time round.
The main cast of the film don’t make any lasting impressions, and there are no stand-out performances, with each character being poorly written. Due to the supremely low budget of the film it appears that Steven C. Miller didn’t exactly have the greatest choice of actors, perhaps even using his own friends and acquaintances.
Rowan Bousaid who plays Tim's other credits are all mainly bit parts and walk on’s, such as his role of Rental Agent in A Walk in the Woods (2015), which is one of his better credits. Certainly better than Kung Fu and Titties (2013).
The same is true for William Howard Bowman who plays Scott in the film, who has a number of credited roles in a number of films you probably haven’t heard of, other than perhaps Dear John (2010).
Juliet Reeves London, credited in the film as Juliet Reeves has also mainly just appeared as an extra or walk on for the most part of her career, although they have been bit parts in higher profile films such as Dallas Buyer Club (2013), The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) and The Big Short (2015). Although she is certainly better than her co stars in the film, it would appear that Miller cast her more for her looks than acting ability.
Garret Jones, who plays Chris has the shortest credit list of the main characters, appearing in only three films, with Automaton Transfusion being his first credit, then going on to work on the higher profile horror film Devils Dungeon (2009), acting alongside established actors such as Tony Todd, Graham McTavish and Michael Rooker. His last credited film did have him working again with Steven C. Miller, on his horror film Under the Bed (2012).
The one element that can’t be faulted is the special effects work. Rick Gonzales and his team do excellent work in the film, with a number of memorable scenes throughout the film. Gonzales is a veteran of special effects work, going back to the early 1980’s. He has assisted on George A Romero’s classic Day of the Dead (1985), Invasion USA (1985) and a number of lower budget features, such as The Woods Have Eyes (2007) and Dead by Friday (2012), which are sadly beneath his talents.
I would recommend Automaton Transfusion to fans of Steven C. Miller and perhaps zombie movies, but to watch with lowered expectations. From this Miller would only get better.
Scream of the Banshee – 2011
Scream of the Banshee was a major rise in quality from Steven C. Millers previous Automaton Transfusion. Co-produced by Syfy and distributed by After Dark films as part of their After Dark originals series, and just from a visual standpoint, Miller was already showing major signs of improvement. This also gave him a chance to work with more established actors than in his previous film.
Originally premiering on the Syfy channel in America, Scream of the Banshee focuses on the work of Professor Isla Whelan (Lauren Holly), an archeology professor who along with her two assistants unwittingly release a creature that can kill someone with the power of its scream. By releasing this “Banshee”, they have doomed themselves to a terrible fate. They have no choice but to track down a crazy and discredited professor (Lance Henriksen), and ask for his help.
Miller, now working from another writer’s script, turns in a much more professional film than his previous effort, getting good performances from his cast and creating a good atmosphere when it comes to the more horrific scenes of the film. Although not as gory as Automaton Transfusion, Scream of the Banshee still has a number of violent scenes, and deserves the 18 age rating that it carries in the UK. Miller also does double duties once again, working as the film’s editor. The film also moves with a much better pace than his previous work.
The film was written and produced by Anthony C Ferrante. Ferrante has worked in Hollywood as a writer, producer and director. He is not exactly the best writer in the world, with Scream of the Banshee probably being one of his better films as a writer. He has written other horror films such as the terrible Red Clover (2012), also released by After Dark films, and the equally as poor American Horror House (2012). He is probably best known as the writer/director of Sharknado (2013) and its three sequels.
As mentioned before, performances are all decent. This is none of the lead actor’s best work, but none of them phone it in either. Lauren Holly turns in a good performance as the lead character. With an acting career beginning in the 1980’s, she has acted in numerous films, most famously in the Bruce Lee biopic Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993) and Dumb & Dumber (1994). She also appeared in the schlocky Turbulence (1997) which is closer to the tone of her performance in Scream of the Banshee. Of late she will be most recognisable to audiences for her role as Jenny Shepard in the television series NCIS (2003).
Lance Henriksen, although given second billing on the promotional material for the film, only appears for a limited time. With the time he is given he does his usual good work, but the role is similar to hundreds that Henriksen has played through the years, and definitely beneath the great work that he has done in the series Millennium (1996) or as the villain in Hard Target (1993). Still it is miles better than his work in Pumpkinhead: Ashes to Ashes (2006) and its even poorer sequel Pumpkinhead: Blood Feud (2007).
One other actor in the film of note is Todd Haberkorn, who puts in a better than expected performance as Otto. Haberkorn is credited more as a voice actor, mainly in anime shows such as Pokémon (1998) and Attack on Titan (2013).
The Aggression Scale – 2012
In my opinion, this was the first great film to come from Steven C Miller. Playing like a crazed version of home alone, it doesn’t skimp on the tension and violence and is only slightly let down by its apparent low budget.
The film falls into the home invasion category, with Mob Boss Bellavance (Ray Wise) sending hit men to recover money that was stolen from him. Unluckily for them they happen to invade the house of the Rutledges’, and have to contend with their mentally unstable son, Owen (Ryan Hartwig). It turns out Owen has a history of violent behavior and decides to turn the tables on the home invaders.
Another rise in quality for Miller after his previous movie, even though it does look lower budget than Scream of the Banshee. Miller gets great performances from a relatively unknown cast, with there being only a few recognisable faces in the cast, such as Ray Wise and Dana Ashbrook. Miller ups the tension with the home invasion scenes and unlike a lot of horror/thriller films, the majority of these takes place during the day. There are a number of violent scenes throughout, that although don’t have the best special effects involved, are quite disturbing, due to the fact they are mostly carried out by a very young boy. Miller once again performs editing duties, pacing the film well in its 91 minute run time.
Considering the young age of lead actor Ryan Hartwig, he does an excellent job. The role doesn’t call for him to have much emotion, due to the character of Owen’s psychological issues, but he is totally convincing as a young psycho in training. The film should have lead on to better things for Hartwig, and even though he has appeared in bigger budget fare such as World War Z (2013) and Just Before I Go (2014), they have amounted to no more than bit parts.
Fabienne Therese plays Lauren, Owen’s sister. Although she is good in the role, the character can be quite annoying throughout the film. She fared better in John Dies at the End (2012), which she had appeared in earlier in the year. She would also go on to have parts in Starry Eyes (2014) and Southbound (2015), both of which use her to slightly better effect.
The film also works as a reunion for Twin Peaks (1990) co-stars Ray Wise and Dana Ashbrook. Wise plays the villain of the film, Bellavance. Wise if his usual great self, even though he does have limited screen time. This is just one of the many B movie’s he has appeared in. Most people will recognise him from Robocop (1987) or the afore mentioned Twin Peaks. More recently he has made appearances in a number of television shows such as Mad Men (2010), Agent Carter (2015) in addition to his many film roles. One noteworthy role is in Adam Green’s Digging up the Marrow (2014), as a man out to prove the existence of monsters. This is one film fans of the genre shouldn’t miss.
Unlike the seemingly ageless Ray Wise, Dana Ashbrook is a long way from his Twin Peaks days. Since then he has worked mainly in television, with a few movies in between. Viewers may have spotted him more recently in the shows Dawson’s Creek (2002) or Crash (2009). His role in The Aggression Scale is decent, but really only amounts to a henchman. He does get considerably more screen time than Ray Wise, but sadly doesn’t make as much of an impression. Both Wise and Ashbrook are reported to be returning to the revival of Twin Peaks, which is due in 2017.
One last co-star worthy of a mention is Derek Mears, who plays Chissolm, another of the hit men sent to the house. Cutting quite an imposing figure, he also gets quite a number of good lines throughout the film, and his character makes more of an impression than the previously mentioned Ashbrook. Fans of horror movies may not instantly recognise Mears, as he is under prosthetics a lot of the time. Most famously he took over the role of Jason Voorhees in the remake of Friday the 13th (2009). He also played the classic Predator in Predators (2010) and Edward in the underrated Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013). For a better viewing of what he actually looks like other than the Aggression Scale, I would recommend Hatchet 3 (2013), where he goes up against everyone’s favourite Jason, Kane Hodder.
The Aggression Scale was written by Ben Powell. As mentioned previously, there are certain characters that come across as underwritten, which could be more to do with the restrictive nature of DTV movies. He does create an interesting scenario and the film is gleefully twisted, in that we are rooting for a psychopathic teenager to kill people in extremely violent ways. Some of the traps that are used in the film could have been a bit more imaginative, but again I am not sure if this is the problem of the writer, or that they had to be scaled down due to lack of finances. This was Powell’s second film as writer after the underwhelming Satanic (2006). After The Aggression Scale he has only written two other films, the horror movie The Sand (2015) and the television movie Diagnosis Delicious (2016), which doesn’t seem to share anything in common with his previous work.
Under the Bed – 2012
Steven C Miller’s second film of 2012 is a gore filled take on Amblin films from the 1980’s, with a little bit of Little Monsters (1989) thrown in as well. Just as enjoyable as The Aggression Scale, there are also certain similarities, being that a majority of the film takes place within a house. It also revolves once again around a damaged teenager. Fortunately the teenager in question isn’t as damaged as Ryan Hartwig was in The Aggression Scale.
Unlike The Aggression Scale, which was more of a thriller, Under the Bed is a straight up horror film. The film is about Neal, a teenager who has been living with his aunt after the death of his mother. He has recently returned to the family home to live with his father, younger brother and step mother. Although he is initially welcomed by them, his father begins to be extremely hostile towards Neal. This is due to the implications that Neal had burned down their house, which killed his mother. Neal eventually tells his brother Paulie the real reason their mother died. A monster lives under their bed and can only be repelled by the light. With Paulie now being stalked by the monster, like it had done with Neal in the past, they decide to come up with a plan to deal with the monster for good.
Steven C Miller gives Under the Bed a much slower build up than his previous films, with a good portion of the film focusing on the relationship of the two brothers. Unlike other films of its ilk, the relationship seems natural, and unlike a lot of movie kids such as Fabienne Therese in The Aggression Scale, the two of them are likeable. The real horror section of the film comes in the last thirty minutes. Up until this point, you could be wondering why the film comes with an R rating (15 in the UK). Once the monster comes out of from under the bed, there are a number of gore filled scenes, incorporating both practical and digital effects. Again, Miller works as editor, and keeps the film to a brisk running time of 87 minutes.
This was the first lead role for Jonny Weston, who plays Neal. He had previously made a few appearances in a few television shows as well as the cult hit John Dies at the End. Weston plays Neal just on the right side of moody, not going overboard into annoying territory, and once you find out why he acts the way he does, he is pretty much forgiven. Weston went on to star in the higher profile Chasing Mavericks (2012), alongside Gerard Butler as well as the more recent Taken 3 (2014), Project Almanac (2015) and Insurgent (2015). Personally, even though these films are much higher profile, Under the Bed has been the better role for him, with the rest pushing him into the background, other than Project Almanac where he was at least the lead.
Young Gattlin Griffith is also impressive in his role, and comes across as a believable terrified child. Under the Bed doesn’t fall into the trap of having kids acting older beyond their years as a lot of other Hollywood movies do. He also has good chemistry with Weston, who he shares the majority of his scenes with. Griffith has actually had the longer career than Weston, putting in good work in a number of shows, such as Cold Case (2003) and How I Met Your Mother (2005) as well as appearing in Clint Eastwood’s Changeling (2008) and the more recent Labor Day (2013).
Peter Holden plays the boy’s father, Terry. Although he acts well enough in the film, his character comes across as a complete arsehole, and sometimes makes the monster seem a better alternative than living with him. His behavior in the film borders on the abusive. When the monster finally makes itself known, you end up hoping the father will be the first to die. Holden has appeared in numerous television shows and movies throughout his career, but only as a guest star. Eagle eyed viewers may recognise him from movies like The Social Network (2010) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012).
Musetta Vander who plays the boys stepmother, Angela is a much more sympathetic character and acts more like a parent than their father. Vander acts well in the part, but her looks are a distraction, as it is quite unbelievable that she would settle for someone that looks like Holden (no offense), especially with the baggage that his character has. Unlike Holden you do hope that she makes it out of the film alive. Hailing from South Africa, Vander has had a career spanning back to the mid 1990’s. Most people will probably recognise her from the god awful Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997), where she played Sindel. She has also appeared in bigger budget films Wild Wild West (1999), O Brother Where Art Thou? (2000) and (2005).
The film was written by Eric Stolze. Before Under the Bed he had written a few short films and television episodes. The only feature he was credited for was a co-writing credit on I Heart Shakey (2012), a family comedy starring Broken Lizards Steve Lemme. Considering his lack of experience, he does a number of things right that more established writers always seem to get wrong. As mentioned before, the kids are written as normal kids, and are actually relatable. A lot of recent horror films, for example The Conjuring (2013), and Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015), fall into the trap of the younger characters being extremely annoying, to the point that you stop caring. The only issue with his writing is the slightly overblown character of the father, and the less than subtle change into a full blown gore-fest.
There have been some complaints by critics that the film is about an actual monster instead of being a psychological horror, with the monster being a delusion created by the boys, somewhat similar to the overrated The Babadook (2014). I am glad that the film did not go down this route, and turned out to be an actual monster movie.
Silent Night – 2012
Miller’s third film of 2012, and to date his most fun. A loose remake of Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984), Miller knows his audience and delivers exactly what you would expect. Superior in nearly every way to the original, the film only has the most basic links to the original film, mainly a serial killer dressed as Santa Claus.
Although the plot is the usual slasher movie fare, it does find space to include scenes that are inspired by the real life Covina massacre in 2008, where Bruce Jeffrey Pardo entered a Christmas party and killed nine people before committing suicide in his brother’s house.
Made on a considerably larger budget than any of his previous movies, Miller creates an atmosphere of dread, more reminiscent of the great slasher films of the 1980’s. Like those films, Silent Night has everything you have come to expect from a slasher film, gore, nudity and a certain amount of comedic elements. He also elicits great performances by the lead actors. The film is very violent, with imaginative kill scenes throughout. The gore effects in these scenes are well done, only let down by a few poor CGI shots, the most memorable of these being someone being fed through a wood-chipper foot first.
This was the first film of Steven C. Miller’s career that he didn’t edit himself. Editing duties this time were taken up by Seth Flaum, who does a commendable job throughout. Flaum has been working as an editor since the late 1980’s. This was the first horror film he had worked on since William Friedkin’s The Guardian (1990). He has worked on higher profile films throughout the years, Posse (1993), The Replacements (2000) and The Whole Ten Yards (2004) just being a few of them. Of late he has worked on mainly DTV movies, with Silent Night being a bright spot amongst them.
On the acting side, everyone is great, although some performances are a bit campier than others. Jamie King seems to be making herself a bit of a scream queen of late, with roles in the remakes of My Bloody Valentine (2009) and Mother’s Day (2010) in addition to starring in Silent Night. King is great in the role of Audrey, a police woman thrown in at the deep end, and getting no support from her supposed superiors. Her character comes across as capable but out of her depth with what is happening, and she plays it totally straight. Considering the great work that King has done, not only in these films but in others such as Sin City (2005) and the Pardon (2013), she really should be a bigger star.
The total opposite from Jamie King is the brilliant Malcolm McDowell, who plays the town sheriff. During his career he has been guilty of phoning performances in, but seems to be having great fun in Silent Night. His character is quite ridiculous at points in the film, and McDowell hams it up with gusto. Some of his one liners throughout the film are hilarious and he certainly adds a bit of levity to the overall film. His character isn’t the most sympathetic, especially when he is speaking with King’s character, but he is definitely the best thing in the film. McDowell’s career has had many ups and down, his most famous work arguably being A Clockwork Orange (1971), although he has put in great performances in, Aces High (1976), Time After Time (1979) and the more recent Gangster No.1 (2000). During this time he also has been guilty of starring in bottom of the barrel stinkers such as Cyborg 3: The Creation (1994) or Ringer (1996), where you can tell by his performance that he really doesn’t care.
Fans of the television show Gotham (2014) will no doubt recognise Donal Logue. His role in Silent Night is essentially an extended cameo, but he does add some levity to the film exactly when it is needed. His character is a mess, but Logue manages to make the character likeable, in a kind of sleazy way. Logue has been doing this for much of his career, most notably in Blade (1998) where he played the villainous Quinn. As well as his many film credits he has also done excellent work on television, starring in the underrated and sadly short lived Terriers (2010), Copper (2013), Sons of Anarchy (2008) and also played King Horik in the excellent Vikings (2013). Every one of these shows are highly recommended.
The film was written by Jayson Rothwell, who also acted as one of the executive producers on Silent Night. Hailing from Britain, Rothwell has a number of writing credits to his name. He wrote three films directed by a fellow Brit, director Simon Fellows. Blessed (2004), Second in Command (2006) and Malice in Wonderland (2009). Each of these films are very different from the other, but are all DTV movies. His script for Silent Night is the only one that stands out, with his others being pretty generic. Silent Night has well developed characters, that even though are over the top at some points, are relatable. As well as being a writer, Rothwell has also directed the comedy Zemanovaload (2005), which he also wrote.
Submerged – 2015
Steven C. Miller’s first film in 3 years. It is also the first of his films that moves totally away from the horror genre, being more of an action thriller. His earlier The Aggression Scale is possibly the closest in style to Submerged, but even that film still fits under the horror genre. It has had some unfavourable reviews, which is unfortunate as it is a good thriller. Admittedly it isn’t as enjoyable as Silent Night, but considering the budget and the limited setting, Miller does excellent work.
The majority of the film takes place in a limousine that has been submerged underwater after being forced off the road by a gang of kidnappers. Throughout the film there are a number of flashback scenes that shows how the characters have ended up in this predicament, which helps break up the film, and takes it away from the limousine. Miller is once again editing his own material, building up the tension well in the scenes in the limo when the characters start panicking and turning on each other. He also has them contend with the kidnappers who continually try to get into the vehicle. There are also a number of small but well executed action scenes peppered throughout the film.
The majority of the cast are lesser known actors, mainly from television and DTV movies, with the odd cinema release between them. Jonathan Bennett makes for an engaging hero. Bennet plays Matt, who works as a chauffeur and a bodyguard. We find out during the film that Matt has some personal problems, which are related to his troubled brother. Bennet does well in the film, and seems capable in the films action scenes. This is the closest to an action hero Bennet has played so far, with only his roles in the ill advised The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning (2007) and the war drama Memorial Day (2011) giving him a chance to take part in any action, although the two of these films can’t really be considered action movies. Bennet is also openly gay, and is good to see a Hollywood production cast him as the macho hero and not have his sexuality be an issue in his casting.
Tallulah Riley should be recognisable to UK viewers, showing up in a number of television shows and movies, most notably her roles in Agatha Christie’s Marple (2004), St. Trinian’s (2007) and its sequel St Trinian’s 2: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold (2009). Unfortunately her role in Submerged doesn’t rely on her to do a great deal, basically playing the damsel in distress. It seems the majority of her roles have been based more on her looks than acting ability.
Rosa Salazar is another actress in the film that is sadly underused, although she does come off as sympathetic compared to some of the other characters in the film. Salazar was used to much better effect in the same years The Scorch Trials (2015) and is also scheduled to show up in the films sequel Maze Runner: The Death Cure, which has sadly been delayed. Manga and Anime fans should also look out for her, as she has most recently been cast in Robert Rodriguez’ planned Alita: Battle Angel.
Samuel Hunt (credited her as Caleb Hunt) should probably be best known to audiences for his role in the television show Chicago P.D. (2014) or the soap opera Days of Our Lives (1965 onwards), which coincidentally Jonathan Bennet also appeared in. Hunt plays Brandon, a friend of Matt’s. Hunt is good in the early parts of the film, but should have been reigned in towards the end, as he starts chewing the scenery and goes way over the top. He goes from normal to Heath Ledgers Joker in the blink of an eye. His character becomes extremely annoying, to the point you are longing for his character to be killed.
To add a bit of name recognition to the cast, there are small roles for Mario Van Peebles and Tim Daly, the closest the film has to stars. Both of their roles amount to nothing more than extended cameo’s, although Van Peebles gets the better role of the two, and even gets involved in the action towards the end of the film. Peebles has been in a good number of DTV movies, a lot of them beneath his talents. Although not a starring role, Submerged uses him better than films like Love Kills (1998) and Judgment Day (1999). Daly has done better work in the past, but has also done worse. Daly has been working consistently since the early 1980’s, mainly in television, with the odd feature film in between. He has put in memorable performances, especially in the television movie In the Line of Duty: Ambush at Waco (1993), where he played real life criminal David Koresh.
Rounding out the main characters trapped in the limousine are Giles Matthey as Todd, Cody Christian as Dylan, Willa Ford as Carla and Denzel Whitaker as Eddie. All of them perform well enough, but seem to be there to pad out the cast than play actual characters.
Scott Milam was script writer and co-producer on the film. The script is one of the poorer aspects of the film. It gets you from A to B but has badly drawn characters, and some poor dialogue, and if it was not for the film being told in a non-linear fashion it would have been completely generic. Milam did better work in his script for Mother’s Day (2010), which also had multiple characters involved, but were much better written. It could also be due to the fact that Mother’s Day had more competent actors such as Rebecca De Mornay, Jamie King and Frank Grillo. Milam hasn’t written anything else to date.
Extraction – 2015
Millers second release of 2015, and his first proper action movie. It is also the first of his films to have a major Hollywood star headlining, even if it is a slumming it Bruce Willis. The plot has Willis’ character, a CIA agent, being kidnapped and the efforts of his son trying to rescue him.
Next to Silent Night, Extraction is Miller’s most enjoyable film. As well as being released on the same day as Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), it has had some unfair reviews since its release. It appears that a lot of critics didn’t know what kind of film to expect. The film plays more like an action thriller from the late 1980’s or early 90’s. There are some silly scenes and kooky characters throughout. The main issue they had was that Bruce Willis only appeared in a number of scenes, with Kellan Lutz being the true lead of the film. Miller should hold his head high, as compared to the other DTV films Willis has made around the same time, this rises above them, with decent production values, well shot action scenes and a good leading man in Kellan Lutz (no matter what the critics say). My only issue is that the action seems to die down towards the finale, and ends more on a whimper than a bang. Considering the excellent fight scenes throughout, it is a shame that the films climax is a lackluster car chase.
The film was produced by Emmet/Furla/Oasis Films, who specialise in low to medium budget films, mainly in the action thriller genre. The most successful and well known films they have produced would probably be Rambo (2008), End of Watch (2012) and Lone Survivor (2013). They have also produced some bottom of the barrel stinkers in their time, the worst of these being the Christian Slater starring Hard Cash (2002) and the remake, The Wicker Man (2006).
On the cover art, Bruce Willis name is out front, but during the opening credits Kellan Lutz gets top billing, which is how it should be. Starting as a model, Lutz is unfortunately best known for his role of Emmet Cullen in the film Twilight (2008) and its sequels. Although Twilight was his breakout role, it has somewhat hindered him, just like Robert Pattinson, in going for other roles, as the Twilight series carries around a certain stigma. He has tried to break free of this by appearing in supporting roles in films like Immortals (2011), where he played the God Poseidon, and The Expendables 3 (2014). He has been the lead in Java Heat (2013, alongside Mickey Rourke and as the title character in The Legend of Hercules (2014). Both of these films used him well, but were critical and financial failures. Extraction is the best of his lead roles. Although he will never be called the best actor around, he does well in a very physical role and certainly proves more than capable of being an action star, even if it is in DTV movies like this. Lutz was reported to be working with Steven C. Miller again on a film called The Feud, but there has been no news concerning this lately, so it is unclear if it is still happening.
Bruce Willis is undoubtedly the main draw for most viewers, even though he only appears in a number of scenes. Apparently filming his scenes in one day, Willis’ screen time amounts to just under 15 minutes in total, with a lot of that taking up with him just talking. He does get to use a gun once at the start of the film, to outline his badass credentials. He isn’t terrible in the role, but considering that he is Bruce Willis you know he is capable of more. It is also slightly unbelievable that Willis and Lutz are related. Extraction isn’t the first DTV film that Willis has appeared in and also not the first where he appears in just a handful of scenes. Of late in his career, the majority of films he has appeared in have followed this pattern, such as The Prince (2014), Vice (2015) and Precious Cargo (2016), all of which have been DTV. His last lead role was in Red 2 (2013), although he does have a remake of Death Wish (1974) in the pipeline.
Since her breakthrough in Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire (2011), Gina Carano has been steadily been building up a decent resume. Most of her roles have called on her background as an MMA fighter, with the majority of her roles in films like Fast & Furious 6 (2013) and Deadpool (2016) are supporting characters. Other than the afore mentioned Haywire, her only lead role has been in John Stockwell’s In the Blood (2014). She had also appeared in Heist (2015), another Emmet/Furla/Oasis Film. Unlike that film, Extraction does give her a chance to take part in some action in the film, although not as much as I would have liked. She is mainly a sidekick/love interest to Lutz’ character in the film. She is definitely better at punching heads than delivering lines, as some of her non action scenes seem a bit off. Not enough to distract from the film, but something she will have to work on if she wants to become a major star.
D.B. Sweeney appears as Willis’ friend and fellow CIA officer Ken, or Uncle Ken as Lutz calls him. Sweeney can always be relied on to give good support to the leads, pretty much carrying out the same duties in Extraction that he did in Taken 2 (2012). He does get more to do than in Taken 2, and plays a more integral part to the story as the film goes on. Like Carano, Sweeney also appeared in the film Heist (2015). It seems Emmet/Furla/Oasis like to use the same actors in their productions.
One other noteworthy performance is Lydia Hull who plays the slightly crazy Kris, a friend of Carano’s character. She adds a bit of comedy to the film, and appears to be stoned in most of her scenes. Like a lot of other people in the cast, she also appeared in Heist.
The script is the work of two writers, Max Adams and Umair Aleem. As well as co-writing Extraction, Adams also co-wrote the afore mentioned Heist and Precious Cargo (2016), which he also directed. Precious Cargo was based on a short film he wrote and directed in 2008. The feature length version was once again produced by Emmet/Furla/Oasis films. Extraction is the only credited writing job Umair Aleem has to date.
Miller once again stands aside as editor, with the job being taken on by Vincent Tabaillon. Tabaillon has worked on a number of larger action films, assisting with editing films such as Transporter 2 (2005), The Incredible Hulk (2008), and Now You See Me (2013) amongst others. He is exactly the type of editor a film like Extraction needs, cutting the action well and keeping the film fast paced with a suitably short running time.
Marauders – 2016
Back into thriller territory, if any criticism can be aimed at Marauders is that it is too ambitious for a DTV movie, with an overly complex plot and a number of characters you have to keep track off. Miller, working well with his cinematographer Brandon Cox, turns in his most professional looking film to date. It is also his most serious, with none of the levity of Silent Night or Extraction, and certainly none of the craziness of The Aggression Scale. There are some good lines delivered by the cast that raise a laugh, but that’s about it. The film has more in common with Heat (1995) and the more recent Triple 9 (2016), than any of Millers earlier films. It will never live up to Heat, but it is more of an A picture than anything Miller has directed in the past, and should have had a larger cinema release.
The main plot concerns a group of bank robbers committing a series of brutal heists. As an FBI team starts to investigate, a larger conspiracy becomes apparent, which includes the owner of the bank, ex soldiers and a group of corrupt cops.
Bruce Willis is once again the largest face on the poster, although he is in Marauders even less than the previous Extraction. He also looks extremely old throughout, and makes you think that Willis’ action movie days are behind him. This is as far removed from John McLane as you can get. It has been reported recently that Willis is once again working with Miller on another film, First Kill. Unlike their other pairings, it appears as if Willis will actually be the lead actor this time.
Luckily the film has an ace up its sleeve in the excellent Christopher Meloni, who seems to relish the role of a tough FBI agent. He walks through the film being a dick to pretty much everyone, which can be pretty funny at times. He even threatens Bruce Willis at one point in the film, which I never thought I would see. He equips himself well in the films action scenes, although there aren’t as many as expected. Meloni is probably best known as Chris Keller from the HBO show Oz (1997) or for his Emmy nominated role in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999), where he played detective Elliot Stabler. Lately he has had more of a chance to prove himself as an action hero, mainly in the films Man of Steel (2013) and I Am Wrath (2016).
Dave Bautista is obviously most famous as a wrestler, but as of late has been building up quite the acting C.V, especially since his breakout role as Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). Bautista’s role is limited in the film, although he is surprisingly witty. I did expect him to get more involved in the action, although he does get to have a brief fight sequence towards the finale. His role in Marauders certainly uses him to better effect than his role as Mr Hinx in Spectre (2015), which wasted him in a non speaking role. Like a lot of others who have acted in Emmet/Furla/Oasis films, Bautista also appeared in the film Heist.
Most famous as Vincent Chase in Entourage (2004), Adrian Grenier is sadly the poorest aspect of the film, and lets the side down. It could be due to miscasting, but his role as an FBI agent comes across as unbelievable. He seems especially uncomfortable in the scenes that require him to act tough, and it can be laughable when he tries this next to someone the size of Dave Bautista or even Christopher Meloni. It would appear that Miller enjoyed working with Grenier, as he has cast him again in his following film, Southern Fury (2017). This time he will be co starring with Nicolas Cage and John Cusack. For his sake I hope he does better work than what he has in Marauders.
The best of the supporting players is Johnathon Schaech, who plays corrupt cop Mims. His character is really put through the ringer in the film, and he is one of the only supporting characters to have a complete arc. He really gives the performance his all, much better than a DTV film would normally have, and it would hopefully lead to better work for him. As of late he has appeared in Ray Donovan (2013) and as Jonah Hex in Legends of Tomorrow (2016), a role which is rumored to continue in the next season. He has also starred in his fair share of DTV movie’s such as 8MM 2 (2005) and the unfairly maligned Road House 2: Last Call (2006). For some particular reason he is un-credited for Marauders, but make no mistake he is definitely one of the stars, and it is a crime that he doesn’t get more recognition for his work in the film.
Marauders was again the work of two script writers, Michael Cody and Chris Silvertson. To date this is Cody’s only writing credits. Silvertson on the other hand has written and directed a number of films, none of which are very memorable, other than the Lucky McKee directed All Cheerleaders Die (2013), and even that is probably at the bottom of Lucky McKee’s directorial achievements. As a director, I Know Who Killed Me (2007), starring Lindsay Lohan, is probably the only film some people would have heard of, and even then I am not sure they would admit seeing it. Marauders would definitely stand as the high point in his career.
Editing is once again carried out by Vincent Tabaillon, who does his usual excellent work, giving the film a somewhat slower pace than the frenetic Extraction.
