It took a while to get good grip on what was happening with director, actor and martial artist Vincent Soberano with Blood Hunters: Rise Of The Hybrids. At long last however, Soberano has affirmed his stake in cinema with at least one other project along the way while in the meantime, the aforementioned new action horror already has a first teaser trailer sampling a bit of the narrative inspired by Filipino folklore. Soberano is joined by Sarah Chang, Monsour Del Rosario and Mayling Ng for the story of a tactical unit set to hunt down the Queen of the Aswang. That’s all we have for now while this years first teaser should be enough of a reminder until further notice
I want to believe that The Gate is still a thing that exists. Talk of a feature film still sits on the back of my mind following a rousing directing effort from Kellie Madision whose 2016 proof-of-concept DEFINITELY proved the hell out of itself. It samples the tale of an supernatural MMA fighter who sets out to rescue her sister from the clutches of a dark criminal organization, and with story centric with Pencak and MMA for its blistering fight choreography and performance hosted by Lady Bloodfight star Amy Johnston who leads the project and has since been attached to carry the feature. Folks who’ve seen the short know that none of the public praise shown for it is hyperbole and for that, I sincerly hope The Gate feature film isn’t all wishful thinking at this point.
Speaking of Indonesian-peppered action, I caught up with actress and director Livi Zheng a few months ago who reassured me of a project that initially got the ball rolling last year with a teaser. That project is Insight, marking Zheng’s second narrative thriller since debuting in 2015 with Brush With Danger from which her co-star, actor and martial artist Ken Zheng also joins in with the involvement of The Raid franchise favorite Yayan Ruhian getting in on the action pertinent to the tale of a martial artist and a clarvoiyant solving crimes. Progress has been slow to pass on this one so keep this one on your wishlist and I’ll touch back on it in due time as updates come.
UK film production outlet Evolutionary Films took to the crowd last month at the Urban Action Showcase and Expo where it earned multiple acclaim for director and action film favorite Ross Boyask latest, Vengenace. Eliminators cinematic adversary, the WWE’s Stu Bennett takes point along with action star Gary Daniels for the telling of a former soldier-turned-merc intent on bringing down the arbiters of a deadly conspiracy that involved the death of his best friend. The film won Bests in Actor, Action and Feature Film overall which clearly sends a message to fans looking to add to their collection this year.
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| Evolutionary Films |
Folks looking forward to more UK action this coming year can look toward Redwood helmer Tom Paton in this regard. Currently in post production with upcoming action horror sci-fi, Black Site, the film debuts actress and martial artist Samantha Schnitzler in the role of a soldier and member of a clandestined militarized organization forced to fend off extemist loyalists bearing down on their facility to release their beloved captive: an evil deity that killed her parents during childhood. Mike Beckingham also stars.
Stay tuned for the next five!