Recoil (2011)

Directed by: Terry Miles | 90 minutes | action | Actors: Danny Trejo, Serinda Swan, Steve Austin, Lochlyn Munro, Camille Solari, Noel Gugliemi, Patrick Gilmore, Keith Jardine, Tygh Runyan, Adam Greydon Reid, Patrick Sabongui, Connor Stanhope, Robin Nielsen, Tom McComas, Daniel Boileau

‘Recoil’ by director Terry Miles would be very easy to knock down as a film that lacks the necessary ingredients. The entanglements, film locations and characters are so clear that there is hardly any storyline, and the cold-blooded acting of main character Ryan Varret (Steve Austin) gets bogged down in a form of grumpy disinterest rather than making the character tougher. But of course, ‘Recoil’ won’t be made with the idea that viewers would get a message from it. Let alone an artistic or cinematic floor. ‘Recoil’ is a typical revenge film and should be judged that way. A series of settlements and fights make this relatively short film into one whole. The violent incidents that result from the prototype good guy versus bad guy setup should provide the most satisfaction.

‘Recoil’ is set in the village of Hope. The village does not know much more than a motel, a gas station and a shadowy club. Like the limitation of filming locations, we also don’t get to see or know anything about possible villagers other than those who convey the story to the viewer; the members of a shady motorcycle club, an attractive motel owner (Serinda Swan), a grumpy gas station owner and the local corrupt sheriff. When heavyweight Ryan Varret lands in the village, it’s soon clear that he’s settling a ‘count’ from the past with the bony members of Hope’s motorcycle club, led by Drayke (Danny Trejo).

Trejo’s furrowed face will not soon be forgotten. He will probably be the most famous of the cast. Trejo has previously appeared in films such as ‘Heat’ and ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’. The actor has a curious past. As a child, Trejo was addicted to drugs and lived a criminal life. He spent eleven years of his life under lock and key. In the famous San Quentin prison, he won several boxing titles. An investment in the future, as it turned out. Those unfamiliar with Trejo’s past may be able to read from the actor’s deeply lived face that there is clearly a dark past behind it.

Trejo offers added value especially for the less good action films. Not so much because of his acting talent, but simply because of his type. As if Trejo was born for the genre. A typical case of someone who now successfully uses the weaker moments in his life as strength.
Frankly, ‘Recoil’ needs that extra dimension that Trejo carries with him. The sinister atmosphere of the film is not least to its credit. Furthermore, the enthusiast can simply enjoy the various shooting and fights where a deputy ‘ouch!’ is in place.