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Bounty Killer
Director: Henry Saine

Post-apocalyptic action movies are abundant in this day and age, from Terminator: Rise of the Machines to Death Race, it’s not hard to find one if you’re a fan of the genre. It can, however, be tough to find a good one. One that blends action with solid characterization and a narrative that makes sense from start to finish. One like Henry Saine’s “Bounty Killer“.

Sophie and I went to see Bounty Killer yesterday, and we both felt that it was a triumph of the genre film, gory action, and fun action.

Scott: I wanna start off by saying that this was a great action movie, and I can’t wait for it’s general release because I want to see it again. This is gonna be one movie that I’ll pick up on BluRay to add to my collection.

Soph: Yeah i feel the same. This was the perfect movie to see with some buddies, yelling and cheering at the screen.

Scott: The Fantasia crowd certainly didn’t hurt. Everyone was into the movie in the theatre.

So the roots of Bounty Killer start in two of my favorite places; the internet and comic books. Jason Dodson and Henry Saine started a Kickstarter project to fund the release of the Bounty Killer graphic novel.

From there, they went on to make a short film, which led to the production of the full length feature. One thing that I did like about the feature film was the use of animation. The art was slick and stylized, but also helped to set the tone for the movie; a fun, blood splattering romp through a war-blasted world.

Soph: It almost reminded me of Darwyn Cooke`s New Frontier look. It looked really nice and streamlined. And the rest of the movie had a really wicked look as well. The wardrobe and costume design, make up and sets all stood out and set each other off really well. I`m not sure what kind of budget they had, but it just looked so believable as far as futuristic and post-apocalyptic movies go.

Scott: Yeah, Cooke is a good call. Maybe with a bit of J Bone tossed in. It was very cool looking design.

That brings us to the meat of the movie, the plot. Spoilers to follow, but we’ll try not to ruin anything for you. but if you wanna stay pure, maybe skip this next part. Okay? Good.
In the year 2042, the world is a barren, blasted hell. Corporations had conquered the governments and began a war with each other, resulting in billions of casualties and the destruction of the major cities. A new world order arose in The Council of Nine, and with the support of the population, bounties were placed on any identified corporate criminal, bounties collected by a new breed of hero-warrior, the Bounty Killer.

The movie revolves around two BKs, the stoically handsome Drifter (Matthew Marsden), known as the best Bounty Killer in the world, and the short-skirted, long-legged Mary Death (Christian Pitre), the celebrity and hottest star working for the council. The opening action sequence shows them to both be deadly killers while truly enjoying their work as they raid a corporate event to claim a bounty on a top executive. As they kill their enemy’s guards, they flirt as they fight, and through the blood-soaked haze, you can tell they make a pretty good team.

Soph: He`s not that handsome. Not my type anyways. I found his character a bit weak actually. Not as in skills, more like… personality. Maybe actor`s portrayal, but either way… meh.

Scott: Psh. He was totally dreamy, in a Wolverine-y, Mad Max kind of way. Anyways, Drifter is joined by Jake (Barak Hardley), a wanna-be gun caddie (like a golf caddie, but for guns) with stars in his eyes and a dream to work with Drifter. I wanna say that Jake is one of my all time favorite point-of-view characters. He reacts like any normal person would in reaction to some of the insane situations he’s put in, and I just loved it.

Soph: Yeah he was really cool. He`s also the character that made me wish i was in the movie. Hahaha, he just seemed so fun.

Scott: So this rag-tag crew drives through the desert, chased by face-painted gypsies and evil Gary Busey. They kill a bunch of them, and they try to save the world and the love they share. There is an awful lot of blood sprayed around (Barak Hardley said at the Q&A afterwards “Everyone is around in the morning to spray more blood in your beard, but at the end of the day is anyone there to help take it out?”), and a couple of shiny cans of Pabst make an appearance. I give a solid six-pack out of six. Soph?

Soph: I definitely recommend this one. It`s funny, cheesy in a “we`re not taking ourselves too seriously” way, the actors did a great job and the script is all kinds of fun. I give it a 5 out of 5 Sophie Wishes She could Still Kick Butt Stars.

Fantasia continues until August 7th. Be sure to catch a few films there, because time flies when you’re… killing guys with a stop sign ax.