Bring Him To Me opens in select theaters and on-demand on February 23 from Roadside Attractions.
Horror thriller “Scurry” was the most recent project attaching actor Barry Pepper to Aussie director Luke Sparke a few years back. Invariably the pair ended up awaiting their forthcoming collaboration which now brings us to the Occupation sci-fi franchise helmer’s most recent effort, Bring Him To Me, starring Pepper alongside Jamie Costa.
Boasting a taut thriller with complex characters and slick cinematography, Sparke’s Bring Him To Me lends a screenplay by Tom Evans, host to a tale of greed, guilt and retribution. The lead characters – played by Pepper and Costa – don’t have names, a fact later acknowledged in a jocular moment between Passenger (Costa) and the more terse and focused Driver (Pepper). Their chemistry takes a bit of time to muster, particularly well into the first half of the film with Driver being tasked to bring Passenger to a secluded hideout for questioning.
It’s also in the first half the movie toggles back and forth in time, revealing the events that led to the main timeline, wherein we firstly see Driver waiting outside a shop where a pair of masked gunmen pull a hit-and-rip from a ruthless money launderer named Frank (Sam Neill) and his son. The incident is a crucial bookmark that brings things full circle in the overall plot as revelations of betrayal begin to surface, and with Driver belegaured with his assignment and uncertain with the intentions of his employer, Veronica (Rachel Griffiths).
The action soon unfolds with Driver and Passenger on the run from two motorcycle gunmen on their tail midway into the movie. Clearly the chickens have come home to roost, and Driver will have to make a choice that could affect his life, as well as that of Passenger, and the estranged families awaiting them both. From that point on, it remains to be seen if Driver can make the choice he needs to before its too late.
The result is a violent, cataclysmic unfolding of events unraveling dark truths that will ultimately put Driver in the driver’s seat for a harrowing fight for survival. Bring Him To Me starts off crackling and continues with a slow brew, and steadily begins to press down the gas, thrusting audiences into a noir-drenched, high-speed thrillride with some handy surprises along the way. Complimentary performances by our leads and co-stars Neill and Griffiths, and by Zac Garred, Liam McIntyre and Jennings Brower bookend a solid, dramatic offering that promises a high-octane action drama with an edge-of-your-seat finish.
