Rating: **
Review Date: 1/14/18
Director: Joe Lynch
Music: Bear McCreary
Cast: Salma Hayek, Hiroyuki Watanabe
Everly (Salma Hayek) was kidnapped four years ago and forced into a life of sexual slavery by a Japanese crime lord named Taiko (Hiroyuki Watanabe). When she attempts to escape one evening, her apartment becomes a bloody battleground of death and destruction as dozens of Taiko's men (and women) come to kill her. The only way out is to kill everyone who stands in her way.
It's a terribly unpleasant film, and I only gave it two stars because it's semi-competently made. I'm not quite sure what convinced Salma Hayek to star in this sadistic torture porn atrocity, and even though the action revolves around her, it's not a particularly satisfying example of female empowerment and revenge. The writing isn't very good, and the dialog only serves to pass the time between shootouts. The tone is grim and nasty, and the black humor is cruel and ineffective. The gunplay is decent and the cinematography is above average, but I can't recommend the film based on that. Salma Hayek gives an appropriately fierce and feisty performance, and does the best she can with the material she has to work with (which isn't much). It was obviously a low budget production, as it was shot in Serbia and nearly the entire film takes place on one set. Unless you enjoy seeing Ms. Hayek tortured and abused, you're better off avoiding this film.