Writer/director/star Tobias Jon throws Gifted Pain into the ring like a scrappy underdog that refuses to stay down. We meet Christopher (Tobias Jon) long after life has already landed a few unfair shots, and he’s been quietly keeping score ever since.
Christopher (Tobias Jon) is a quiet loner in urban England, still carrying the burden of a childhood tragedy that doesn’t let him off the emotional hook. As a child, he would escape into the world of old-school martial arts movies while his parents argued. This happens day after day until tragedy strikes, and his parents perish in a house fire. Throughout his journey to adulthood, martial arts movies were what comforted him through his pain.
One day, his solitary life is rudely interrupted when he collides with Beth (Sarah Jane Duncan), a university student desperate to pay her way through school by working not-so-legal gigs at a local nightclub. The club is run by mob goons, Steve (Dylan Baldwin) and Mike (Toby Moth), and Beth is there to provide “services” for their clients. With Christopher there just for drinks, he sees Beth in trouble. When fear turns to rage, something clicks inside his brain, and he channels all those martial arts movies, turning into a kung-fu/karate power machine. He immediately dispatches the bad guys while putting a target on his back.
“…something clicks inside his brain, and he channels all those martial arts movies, turning him into a kung-fu/karate power machine.”
In the aftermath, Christopher takes Beth back to his place for safety. We learn the mob boss (Michael Maloney) has a claim on her, and if she doesn’t continue working for him, he’ll come for her and her mother. With newfound skills and confidence, Christopher decides it’s time for him to pay off Beth’s debts.
Gifted Pain is a very fast-paced, low-budget indie action movie. The visual style and production values are akin to B-horror movies. The sets are just locations around town, with minimal lighting and sound—yet there’s enough grit and determination to make a fight-heavy flick look halfway decent. I give writer/director/star Tobias Jon some credit. He at least tries to show how it’s possible for someone who has watched martial arts movies since birth to become a black belt overnight. If this were true, I should be able to become a Michelin-star chef.
Ultimately, Gifted Pain is all action, with a loose plot thread that puts our hero and his girl on a dangerous adventure. The fighting is good and shot well. Of course, Hollywood does it better because they have insurance. I know the fights are shot safely, but most of the time, they don’t feel safe. And credit to Jon, the acting is halfway decent. Michael Maloney is so good as the villain that he makes everyone look good.
In the end, Tobias Jon’s Gifted Pain plays like a bruised-knuckle love letter to low-budget action—messy around the edges, but committed where it counts. It may not be slick, but it’s got the gritty determination to prove you don’t need a studio machine to have fun.
"…Hollywood does it better because they have insurance."
