Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Leofwine_draca RETRIBUTION is a low budget and rather gruesome horror film of 1987, given a splendid DVD presentation by the team at Code Red. The story is nothing special and sees Dennis Lipscomb's mild-mannered protagonist being possessed by the spirit of a gangster which causes him to go on a supernatural killing spree. It's one of those films where you end up twiddling your thumbs in between the kill scenes, but the gory special effects are imaginatively used and there are some bizarre highlights here, which I won't go into. I did find Lipscomb to be a rather creepy character even before the supernatural stuff takes place and the budget isn't perhaps quite up to the job at times, but this is reasonable fare for horror fans.

Scott LeBrun Co-writer / director Guy Magar offers up a sufficient amount of razzle-dazzle in this low budget revenge saga. It's got plenty of atmosphere and special effects, plus an always grim feel to its story. It also gives a rare starring role to Dennis Lipscomb, a veteran of supporting and character parts (in movies like "WarGames", "A Soldier's Story", "Crossroads", and "Under Siege") who'd previously headlined the independent productions "Union City" and "Eyes of Fire". While his performance might not be to all tastes, it can't be argued that he truly gives his all to the role. He plays George Miller, a wimpy, depressed painter who survives a suicidal jump off a building only to find out that there's a scary reason that he survived. Somebody else who perished at the same time (on Halloween night, no less) is determined to get back at those that messed him up, using George's body as his instrument of revenge. Magar makes this a visually arresting experience at all times. For one thing, staging the opening sequence on Halloween night is great because it's a weird image to see a bunch of Halloween masks taking in the spectacle in front of them. Some strong violence is suggested without being shown in any great detail, which could understandably frustrate and disappoint some genre fans, especially as there's a little bit of invention here: one victim is shoved inside an animal carcass and sawed up. The score by John Carpenter associate Alan Howarth is very nicely done. Overall, the story is still reasonably entertaining no matter how familiar its theme may be. Better performances than usual for this sort of thing help, with Leslie Wing as a caring psychiatrist, Suzanne Snyder as your friendly neighbourhood hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold, and singer / actor Hoyt Axton as an investigating detective. (However, if you're an Axton fan, be advised that he doesn't get to do all that much and doesn't even show up until over an hour into the movie.) You may also recognize George Murdock ('Barney Miller') and Harry Caesar ("The Longest Yard" '74) among the supporting cast. At an hour and 49 minutes, this does go on longer than your typical horror movie, but it's nice that Magar actually cares about his characters, making them more than one-dimensional and focusing on adult protagonists and antagonists instead of teenagers. This is a true horror movie, and a fairly intense one, and deserves another look from devotees of the genre. Eight out of 10.

ObscureCinema101 One really good episode of TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE that I remember is "Dead Man's Shoes," where an average Joe finds a pair of shoes and decides to put them on. The shoes, however, belonged to a recently deceased mobster, who decides to possess the man and seek revenge on those who sent him to his grave. RETRIBUTION is just like that, only a lot bloodier.George is a depressed painter who's had it with life. On Halloween night, he jumps off the roof of his apartment building and dies. However, he is brought back by some paramedics, but something isn't quite right with him. Whenever he falls asleep, he has dreams of killing people in gruesome ways, and when he awakens, these people are actually dead. You see, he is now possessed by a mobster who not only shared his birthday, but he was gunned down at the same time George realized he can't fly, so now, the mobster is killing those who killed him. Can George stop him before the killing begins again? RETRIBUTION is a decent enough watch, but it could have been a whole lot better. Considering this was released in the trash-tastic year of 1987, they managed to have a really intriguing plot, great actors, and good gore effects. Unfortunately, they underplay everything except the actors.Yes, there is a lot of talking and a lot of character building, which is both a good and a bad thing. Good, because we actually begin to like and connect with the characters. Bad, because it keeps us away from the good stuff.The kills in RETRIBUTION are all gory, all inventive, and there aren't many of them. There are only four people who gunned down Vito (the mobster), and he doesn't even get his revenge on all of them. There is some great build-up and suspense with the deaths and the "possessed George" is frightening enough to work.There are a lot of scenes where George's possession takes hold, like when they go to a spiritualist, or when he paints several portraits of the charred Vito (which looks eerily similar to Freddy).Don't get me wrong; RETRIBUTION is from being a bad movie, it's just not all that great. I liked all the characters, I liked the gore, and the scares were good, it's just that each of these is either underplayed or overplayed. It's "technically" a lot better than most late-eighties direct-to-video garbage; it's just not as entertaining as it should be.Still, it's worth watching.

babydave201183 BY FATE TWO MEN ARE BORN ON THE SAME DAY. BY DESTINY THEY DIE AT EXACTLY THE SAME MOMENT BY A SUPERNATURAL ACT, THEY BOTH COME BACK TO LIFE. ONE GOOD ONE EVIL ONE BODY. George Miller is a timid, gentle man whose failure as an artist drives him to attempt suicide by leaping off the roof of his seedy hotel. Vito Minelli is a small time crook whose treachery results in his brutal execution at the hands of his underworld associates.Being a true horror fan i have come to know whats the difference between a good horror film and a bad one, and this is a great horror film. A real rare gem of a film. Probably one of the best horror films i have seen and delivers frights and gore at the barrel full. A pretty rare film now and just as hard to get hold of but i recommend anyone who enjoys this genre as much as me to do what you can to get hold of a copy.