A Hard Place is a wild indie gorefest
by Nav Qateel
Written by Michael J. Epstein and director J. Horton, A Hard Place tells the story of a group of criminals trying to lay low after a botched heist, but instead, they stumble into the middle of a war between two monstrous factions. No one said being on the lam would be easy.
Rarely have I seen a low-budget film with such a large ensemble cast. A Hard Place features a number of actors rivaling those in 1950s biblical epics like The Robe or Ben-Hur, many of whom get a line or two, and little else. This type of dialogue dispersion seems to be common in crowdfunded films, where filmmakers often need to write lines for everyone who purchased an on-screen perk. Still, Horton manages to deliver some Tarantino-esque banter to as many of the minor characters as possible, with varying levels of success. Jennifer Michelle Stone’s character, Candy, even feels like a female riff on Mr. Blonde from Reservoir Dogs.
The film opens with what appears to be an extremely low-budget zombie flick starring Bai Ling (The Crow, Nixon), but it’s soon revealed that we’re watching a movie on a drive-in screen, as two of the protagonists chat inside a car. Meanwhile, the rest of the gang is carrying out a heist, while Candy murders someone without much provocation. After regrouping, Zenia (played by Lynn Lowry of The Crazies) convinces them to retreat to a “safe” location she knows. That’s when the real fun begins.
Set mostly in an isolated ranch house, an ideal setting for this sort of creature feature, the group encounters a mysterious woman named Naja (Ashley Undercuffler), who is clearly hiding something. After a tense run-in with the ever-volatile Candy, an injured Naja ends up helping them fend off what’s coming next. Soon after, humanoid plant-creatures begin attacking, only for a group of shotgun-toting locals to show up just in time to save the crew.
It turns out the locals are all related and occasionally drop cryptic lines that don’t make sense, until the final act, when everything clicks into place. It’s a satisfying bit of long-game writing. The plant creatures are called the Guardians; the locals are the Caretakers. These two factions have been locked in a long, mysterious conflict. Why they’re fighting remains ambiguous (though the question is raised), but what’s clear is that the criminals have arrived at the worst possible time, just as a major battle between Guardians and Caretakers is about to erupt.
The Guardian makeup stands out as a highlight, especially the leader, who’s set apart with long hair. Most of the special effects are practical, with only light use of CGI during the Caretaker morphs, an impressive feat in today’s CGI-saturated landscape. In classic monster movie fashion, the Guardians move slowly and don’t seem like much of a threat speed-wise. I did find myself wondering why the victims didn’t just briskly walk away, but, let’s face it, that’s part of the fun in this genre.
With such a large cast, Horton faces the challenge of keeping the audience engaged and the narrative on track, and to his credit, he largely succeeds. When reviewing a film with a limited budget, context is everything. While financial constraints may force certain shortcuts, the passion behind this project is undeniable. Horton impresses with what he’s able to accomplish, and many of the actors rise to the occasion, with a few clear standouts.
My main criticism is the lack of sustained tension, especially when the Guardians are first introduced, but that may well be due to time and budget limitations. Still, there’s enough ambition and personality here to make A Hard Place worth a look. It’ll be interesting to see what J. Horton delivers next.
Nav’s Score: 7/10
