As this reviewer is a bit of a stickler for all things Ray Dennis Steckler, and if you’re the person who likes their grindhouse from pink in the guts or raw on the slab, then director Ken Brewer (with co-writer Meri Gyetvay) drags us kicking and screaming until we wind up headless in Return to Death Park.
This picture plays fast and furious and seemed like a lot of fun to make, as did most of the Brewer’s Dead Franchise, with entries like Death Bitch and Death Park: The End. The world and the characters really play second fiddle to Brewers’ verité staging.
A killer, resurrected and given the tools of his former trade, he flees the morgue and could wait for a cold grave and trades it for the wilds and paths of Death Park. Once on site, he blends in with the landscape, then lies in wait for warm blood to shed.
Fortunately for our killer, a veritable army of bounty hunters descends upon the park. All looking to make the bust, bring down, or even cripple a murderous psychopath for the tidy sum of fifty thousand pieces of paper featuring dead presidents’ faces.
“A killer, resurrected and given the tools of his former trade, he flees the morgue…”
The teams of hunters vary in size and skill level, but they’re all money-hungry and itching for some action. So, the teams converge, splitting up and scouring the grounds. Some complain and lament their decision to take part, whilst others are busy spending cash that isn’t theirs yet. The whole time, our killer is bobbing and weaving and looking for strikes, as he jumps out, without warning, and takes steel to skin, hacking, slashing, and stabbing, as is his wont.
As the number of the pack hunters thins, a core group emerges and a mysterious giant, along with a dude and a black suit and sunglasses, just like The Matrix, in fact, the character (played by martial arts action man, John Ozuna) credits read: “Matrix Guy”.
A battle between old foes, and a final confrontation with a killer everybody’s looking for a piece of, is on the cards as brutality, insanity, comedy, and drive-in exploitation clash in a smashing good time for those who appreciate gritty, grainy horror shot in high resolution. There’s some casually clever banter among the characters, and the nonchalant delivery of some actors adds a layer of unintentional hilarity to certain moments.
Return to Death Park shows Mr. Brewer has lost none of the drive and devotion to his cinema, his stride undiminished among the turbulent clouds of change in the industry. He waves his indie horror flag high and proud, as he and his core cadre of collaborators continue making mighty massacres for all you adoring fans of the macabre. This is a cinematic legacy with an unstoppable force at its center. So, if you dig your blood, guts, and gore, don’t worry, there’s plenty more in store.
"…brutality, insanity, comedy and drive-in exploitation clash..."
