Rent Bounty Killer (2013)

Bounty Killer review by George Hooper - Cinema Paradiso

It seems like every year there is one of these B movie action thrillers that are trying to bring back the kind of camp 80s flair that has been sorely missing from movies for quite some time. However Bounty Killer has more than a few problems much like the other features trying to do the same thing as elements of the film take a turn for the serious and ruin the fun that these characters are trying to have.

The film follows Wanderer (Matthew Marsden) and Mary Death (newcomer Christian Pitre) two famous Bounty Killers, assassins that eliminate the people that brought about the collapse of the world as we know it. However when Wanderer’s name is called as a bounty he must find out why as Mary tries to track him down and finish him for good.

Much like Machete Kills, Bounty Killer is intent on getting as many laughs out of the audience as possible, be it through extravagant bloody carnage or through surreal comedy including a particular cannibalism line that had me chuckling. Marsden understands the films camp qualities and plays into them perfectly. Pitre on the other hand flip flops back and forth from camp to serious, never quite knowing which one to go with. It’s not hard to tell which side the film is leaning though as limbs fly everywhere with the kind of ultra violence you would expect in a Tarantino film.

The whole thing is an exercise in having a hell of a lot of fun as these two legendary killers slice, shoot and quip their way through endless villains in the name of justice, brutal guts covered justice. The film is still a little long, even at 90 minutes as after a while the gore lacks flair as the film runs out of ideas. It’s not often films like these can provide any kind of thrill and Bounty Killer manages it, in a kind of mindless way.