Review: BEYOND FURY (2019)
Darren Ward may not be a household name, even among fans of British indie films. But anyone who has seen A Day of Violence will remember his name, along with a scene involving hedge clippers and an unfortunate man’s manhood. Now eleven years after that, he’s back with Beyond Fury, another ultraviolent crime film.
Michael Walker (Nick Roberts) is not a man you want to piss off. But while he’s out with his pregnant girlfriend Claudia (Dani Thompson, Cute Little Buggers, I Scream on the Beach!) that’s just what a bunch of goons do. Words are exchanged, and a gun is drawn. Taken back to a garage, Walker puts up a fight, shoving one off his attacker’s knife through his face. But a few lengths of pipe take the fight out of him, and he passes out after seeing Claudia stabbed through the stomach. Which spares him seeing what they do with her corpse.
But, as is usually the case, they made a very big mistake. They didn’t make sure Walker was dead. Now the former mercenary is out for revenge. But Russian mobster Ivan Lenzivitch (Giovanni Lombardo Radice, Crucified, Baphomet) doesn’t want Walker identifying his enforcers, or more importantly his son Spider (Gary Baxter, Day of the Stranger). So he sends some muscle to the hospital to finish him off. Walker is going to have to fight another war, and this time, it’s personal.
Granted, the plot isn’t anything game-changing. The cops assigned to the case, Detectives Scott (Harold Gasnier, The Witches Hammer) and Andrews (Joanna Finata, Death Walks) are of no help. So Walker has to take on the Russian mob with only a bit of help from old friends Gemma (Tina Barnes, Bane, Cold Earth) and Reverend Tony Mortimer (Dan van Husen, Captain Apache, Avalanche Express). But it provides plenty of excuses to stage bloody action scenes.
Although more likely inspired by the Italian poliziotteschi of the 70s, Beyond Fury plays out like one of the later Death Wish sequels. If it was directed by Maniac’s William Lustig. Over the top villains and even further over the top violence abound here. You thought the hammer scenes in The Raid 2 were rough? Wait until you see what gets done with one here. There’s more gore on display here than in most horror films. All rendered with excellent practical effects.
Beyond Fury does have a couple of issues. At 113 minutes, it’s a bit overlong and could have used a bit of trimming. There are several dialogue scenes that really wouldn’t have been missed. Especially as the film’s other problem is some horrible acting. The leads and main supporting cast are all good, and Radice is an absolute delight. But several of the bit parts are filled with folk who sound like they’re reading from cue cards.
Despite those flaws Beyond Fury is an excellent action film for those who have the stomach for its harsher scenes. And it makes a fitting, twenty-three years later sequel to Sudden Fury. To bad David Warbeck wasn’t around to take a role in it. You can check the film’s Facebook page for availability and distribution information.