Joe (Phil Gwilliam) has his hand strapped to a table, sitting opposite the well-spoken Mr. Trent (Doug Bradley). A crime lord of ill repute, Mr. Trent has a bone to pick with Joe, and while threatening Joe’s family is almost compulsory in situations like this, Mr. Trent also has a more interesting idea on how the two can solve their dilemma.
Beyond a slick, professional look, smooth edit and a score that evokes the right moods out of all the right sounds, A Hand to Play truly excels because of Doug Bradley’s performance as Mr. Trent. He’s menacing and charming at the same time. Distinguished and gentlemanly, on the verge of a psychotic reaction. Bradley may best be known for his role of Pinhead in the Hellraiser series, but his performance goes a long way to show that most of what made Pinhead so frightening had little to do with the makeup, but Bradley’s very presence.
If this were the opening to a feature film, you’d have the audience hooked. A Hand to Play does a great job of leaving you with a desire for more. More of Mr. Trent, more exploits and stories surrounding how that man got to be who he is, and where he is going. I’d line up for that one.
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Thank you Mark and Film Threat for a great review. I had a lot of fun making this movie and had some great talent helping out. Doug and Phil were fantastic to work alongside and hopefully we will do it again. Paul McGowan is currently coming up with ideas regarding a feature with Mr. Trent and I have some ideas where I think the character should go from here too.
Thanks once again