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Every once in a while, I get a screener for an Indie film that impresses me to the point that I tell other people about; in hopes that they will find a copy of the film and start spreading the good word about the film. Sadly, most movies that generate a massive amount of buzz end up being highly overrated. Recently, this happened with another “low budget” film; the insanely boring, Paranormal Activity. But I’m getting off topic… this movie, Patriotic Danger, is one film that not only deserves the hype, but also has the right to actually be called a “low budget” film (it was made on a $3,000 budget).

The film, which was also selected to be in the Queens International Film Festival, is about a man named David Striker (Masa Gibson). Striker, an exceptional government assassin, returns home to find his house broken in to and his girlfriend murdered. Before he even gets a chance to mourn his loss, Striker is attacked by the person responsible. Using his skills, Striker makes quick work of the guy and decides to take the fight to those responsible for these heinous actions. Along the way, Brandi (Katie Jones), a friend of Striker’s who happens to love guns, gets dragged into the situation and it boils down to the two of them taking on the people who want to take him out. In short, Patriotic Danger is a low budget revenge flick… and a fairly solid one at that.

Patriotic Danger is quite a surprise. Considering the fact that it was made on such a small budget, the end result leaves one amazed at what potential the film’s director, Matthew Shea (who also wrote, produce and edited the film), has. Shea’s story, though a bit on the clichéd side, is very well done. It’s nicely written and actually has some interesting characters. His direction is another strong point for Shea. His shot selections help keep the pace of the film moving as there is never a dull moment. The fact that Shea was able to make a movie on such a minuscule budget that easily rivals any theatrical movie that I’ve seen this year is mind blowing… I’m not even saying that because he was nice enough to send me a screener of his movie, but because it’s the fucking truth. I was literally more entertained by this 54 minute Indie film than any movie I’ve seen since, maybe, Star Trek came out in the theaters.

Unfortunately, Patriotic Danger does have its fair share of moments that end up hindering the movie. Already mentioned was the film’s clichéd story. Yes, the movie was well written, but this isn’t anything we haven’t seen before… and that even includes the “twists”. The acting, for the most part, is solid, but it isn’t solid throughout the entire movie. At the beginning of the movie, the acting is pretty bad; but that only lasts for a few minutes. It the middle, the acting is actually pretty good… but then at the end, the bad acting returns to taint the movie again. The final flaw Patriotic Danger has, which is something that I won’t dock the film for, is the special effects. I’m not going to lie… the special effects are really bad. No, they aren’t Troma bad… they are more like, “Hey, check out what I can do on Final Cut Pro” bad. To be honest with you, knowing that Matthew Shea made this movie on a $3,000 budget, I’m willing to cut the guy some slack in that department… If I wasn’t, I would be pulling the biggest douche bag maneuver known to man.

Very rarely do I recommend a movie, let alone an Independent movie, to people; the reason being that people have varying tastes in movies. Just because I think a movie is awesome doesn’t necessarily mean that other people would think the same thing. However, in this case, I recommend you find a copy of this Indie film (by clicking on the poster up top) and check it out.

Final Synopsis: Patriotic Danger is a solid Indie film that is well written, has some solid direction and is entertaining as hell. Check it out.

Points Lost: -1 for a clichéd story, -1 for some bad acting.

Lesson Learned: Some cute chicks have a house full of guns.

Burning Question: How many hours do you have to play C.O.D: Modern Warfare 2 before the United States government hires you to be an assassin?

Patriotic Danger
8/10

Tags: 2009, action, Alec Humphrey, Andy Hughes, Brian Stern, Chris Rocco, Dan Munns, Dan Wald, Darian Sunberg, drama, Eric Van Fleet, Gary Voegele, George Wilhelm, Ginalola Lowry, Independent, independent movie, indie, John Bennett, K. John Kirner, Katie Jones, Kyle Grove, latest movie reviews, Masa Gibson, Matthew Shea, Michael Kallgren, Mike Garland, New Independent Film Reviews, Nikola Predolac, Pat Hulse, revenge, revenge flick, Stacy Sauppe