Streaming Sleepers: In HELLFIRE, A Faith-Based Action Thriller Dripped In Vengeance
We nary hear from Isaac Florentine these days. I take it that’s mainly since the releases of films like Acts Of Vengeance and Hounds Of War aren’t huge draws for the director whose career comes with the likes of Scott Adkins atop the marquee for a resume brimming with DTV martial arts action film favorites.
Needless to say, Florentine’s work of late stands as something of a change of pace, which is always healthy. His latest, Hellfire, continues that trend with actor Stephen Lang whose lead role adds to a list of geriatric badasses in cinema, with credits like the Avatar franchise and niche thrillers like VFW, and the first and second Don’t Breathe films to name a few.
From a script by Richard Lowry, Hellfire finds Lang’s stoic protagonist, “Nomada,” adrift and wandering into the small town of Rondo, hungry and tired from his tread, albeit visibly unsettled and unwelcome by a few of the townsfolk. The latter includes Lena (Scottie Thompson) who runs the local saloon with her father Owen (Chris Mullinax), the latter who nonetheless welcomes “Nomada” for his tentative services in exchange for money to keep going.
It isn’t long, however before “Nomada” discovers the true reason for the town’s angst, when the son of a notorious drug manufacturer and trafficker named Jeremiah (Harvey Keitel) comes to terrorize Owen and procure Lena’s affections against her will. Finding no help in the town’s corrupt Sheriff Wiley (Dolph Lundgren) and bo choice but to play his part in defending the town, “Nomada” sets out to equip himself with the tools necessary to take on Jeremiah and his loyalists, including his most sturdy enforcer, Zeke (Johnny Yong Bosch).
As far as intent goes, Hellfire comes with smatterings of faith and religion between segments with the role of Lena at the core of these themes. The film’s intro segues into a scene with her praying for a savior to come, which tells you almost everything you need to know about a film whose title – by definition – devotes itself to theological vocabulary and context.
The good news is that the film avoids being too preachy to enjoy, which basically leaves ample room to take in an escapist, bluegrassy Western actioner with a proven lead in Lang, who shows he can still hold his own in an action flick. Lundgren doesn’t show up too much and basically comes full circle with his character near the end, and the same goes for Keitel in his portrayal as the main villain who also gets his just desserts, especially considering the absolute massacre that occurs well into the film’s second half of his doing.
Kudos to stunt double Brett Metter for taking the wrecks and leaps where it counts to make Lang’s performace work, particularly when going toe-to-toe with the amazing Bosch in the second of his two releases in 2026, the first being Spades. The final fight sequence, which Bosch also choreographed among the other action scenes and gun battles in the film, is the cherry on top of the film and basically checks most of the boxes if you’ve spent years in front of any of Florentine’s films over the years.
I won’t dance around the fact that I couldn’t really care less about the film’s faith-coded adjacency. Not my speed. Still, I’m sold on a good action flick enough to warrant a rental or a stream wherever available. Hellfire, while not the same as many of Florentine’s peak action greats, carries a solid thriller with a strong cast, fun action, a worthwhile look at Bosch whose I’ll always support. Will it hold all the Boyka fans over until the next Undisputed should there be one? We’ll just have to see what Florentine does next to answer that question.
Streaming Sleepers is a column attributed to newly or quietly-released titles on legitimate VOD/SVOD and/or Digital platforms.
Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!
