Avarice

It’s slick, slim, and deadly. Filmmaker John V. Soto brings back the bow and arrow in the thriller Avarice. A skilled archer, Kate (Gillian Alexy) prepares for a major tournament while dealing with tensions at home. Her husband Ash (Luke Ford), a workaholic, is busy at his investment firm, and their daughter Sarah (Téa Heathcote-Marks) is struggling with anxiety over her parent’s potential separation, which has led to a family therapy session. After barely losing an archery tournament, Kate is resigned to return to her family, hoping to reconnect at a remote house, though the strain in Kate and Ash’s relationship remains.

At the AirBnB, their futile attempt to repair the family is shattered when a pair of intruders arrive. They tie up Kate and Sarah and abduct Ash, demanding that he transfer $10 million from his company’s accounts within three hours or else. The villains are just following their leader’s orders and use Kate and Sarah as leverage to get what they want. Kate is now alone in the house with her daughter, and her only hope is to rely on her archery skills and resourcefulness to fight back, protect Sarah, and rescue her husband.

“…must rely on her archery skills and resourcefulness to fight back, protect Sarah, and rescue her husband.”

Avarice is about as solid and tidy as an indie action thriller can get. Archery is the story’s hook, and the action is built around it. Storywise, it’s grounded. The events could happen in real life, and Kate, our hero, could pull off rescue…for the most part. Maybe I’m overstating things, but it’s all in good fun.

Since the pandemic, Film Threat has received many impressive low-budget action films reminiscent of action flicks from the 1980s and 1990s. These films are all about action and creating sympathetic characters. Director John V. Soto starts his take with tension and stakes, then leads our unsuspecting family into a trap. The villains are shrewd, and the x-factor of survival is a bow and arrow. Speaking of archery, Avarice shows us how bows and arrows could be used to foil a home invasion, and Soto makes a shot to the chest look devastating.

Avarice delivers a sharp, thrilling bullseye, grounding tension with the unique flair of archery-driven action. John V. Soto crafts a sleek, fast-paced survival story, and Gillian Alexy shines as the resourceful hero, turning a bow and arrow into a weapon of vengeance. With its retro action vibe and tightly wound stakes, Avarice proves that the most straightforward tools sometimes make for the most satisfying thrills.