Day of Vengeance: The Straight2DVD Review

At the start of Day of Vengeance, Jake Reid (Tony Kitchin) comes to Covelo, CA (a real town about a 3.5 hour drive north of San Francisco) to find some answers about his outlaw father’s death in a shootout there 15 years ago. But where is Jake from? What is his background? We never really find out. Jake is like Clint Eastwood’s Man With No Name, but more of a Doof With No Name. I never understood if his father was from Covelo or just passing through? And where did Jake grow up?

These are questions you would never ask the Man With No Name, because you knew right away he was a badass and you wanted to see him do what badasses do best, chew bubble-gum and kick ass (especially when they are all out of bubble-gum).

But when we first meet Jake, he is clad in a bright green polo shirt, khaki cargo shorts, and brown shoes with white tube socks. And a backpack. I would have given him some badass props for leaving the backpack slung on only one shoulder, but he quickly goes with the dual-shoulder look, just like his mother would have told him to do to prevent scoliosis.

And how does he get into town? Horseback would have been too obvious, but I would have been happy with a motorcycle. Hell, even a ten speed. But Jake arrives in town by thumbing it. The ol’ Bruce Banner (a real man who one-shouldered his backpack, I might add), but with Jake’s attire, it just looks like mommy forgot to pick up Junior after school today. But that’s okay, because Jake isn’t the hero anyway.

Though he is plastered all over the poster, DVD, and DVD menu artwork, and while he may be the catalyst for the plot, Laura (Alycia Tumlin), the daughter of a man connected to Jake’s father, is the true hero.

It’s an interesting role reversal, though it isn’t fully explored if it was really intended. Jake is the plucky reporter-type (complete with notebook) who comes to town to investigate a cold case, and Laura is the, at first, reluctant local who is comfortable with the past remaining in the past, but in the end, must save the day.

In fact, Laura is pretty tough. After a brief introduction, Jake and Laura’s first real scene and discussion takes place in the middle of a field plinking glass bottles with Laura’s own .357 revolver. She is a good shot and Jake is not. I even think Laura recognizes Jake’s lameness. She thwarts his romantic advances twice, punching him the first time, and walking out on him the second time. Sorry, soldier, no luck here.

It is during that target practice scene that Jake explains why he is in town. His crook dad was part of a botched robbery and no stolen loot was recovered after the the final shootout which left almost everyone dead. Jake believes the loot (i.e., MacGuffin Bucks) is hidden nearby and wants to split the cash with Laura because, wait for it, her father was killed by his father during the shootout (her father was an innocent casualty). Oh, and her father was killed right in front of her (as a kid), so chew on all that for a second.

“Hey, um, my dad killed your dad, but he hid some money beforehand, so if you help me find it, we should split it.” Huh? Jake’s motivation does not endear him to the audience at all, but he isn’t played slimy enough either, so you are left confused. You want to feel for Laura, but she isn’t given enough screen time to evolve as a character. Maybe she was supposed to be a femme fatale, but there wasn’t even femme in the mix, so she just came across as blah.

I won’t reveal any more of the plot (that was all in the first 20-30 minutes), but a subplot about stolen water really made me miss Chinatown. I know in these thrillers everyone is supposed to be a suspect because everyone is supposed to be greedy and desperate, but no one appeared to be at all. Sure, there was money, and a few people wanted it, but when I finally saw the stash of MacGuffin Bucks, I thought, “That’s it? Where’s the rest?” Motivation was lacking on a lot of levels.

So yes, I had some issues with the story… and the performances. Kitchin as Jake has almost zero screen presence. I’d have to say David Fine as Sheriff Masters was my favorite. Much of the rest of the cast (not all) appear to be local talent, which is fine as this was an independent picture.

There are technical issues with the production too, but I’m willing to give the filmmakers some slack on those (rather than on the script) since this was done in Robert Rodriguez’s “Mariachi-style” (i.e., fast and cheap) as the director Isaac Pingree noted in an interview this past May. He also discusses how they bought a (used?) DAT recorder on eBay that constantly malfunctioned, which explains the poor audio quality in the film.

I believe it was a mistake to film DOV in Super 16mm as they did (instead of digital), because as Pingree also states, most of the budget was eaten up by the film development. Sure the exterior day shots look nice, but haven’t we all seen plenty of the California hills already? It’s like M.A.S.H. all over again, or most films shot in California. Still, the Director of Photography did a good job with the tools he had.

And finally…

This is where I tell you whether or not DOV is worth 98 minutes of your time. I say no. There is nothing inventive or imaginative here done with the camera, the sound, the story, or any other part of the production. Nor do the sum of the parts equal something greater.

This is, however, a terrific first “calling-card” film for the movie’s young crew that demonstrates their technical capabilities. Many film school graduates cannot claim this same level of accomplishment. It’s a testament to their hard work and knowledge that DOV is as good as it is.