By now many of my frequent readers know that my love for the cast of “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” knows no bounds. Actress Amber Benson (Tara on the show) has always had a special place in my heart, so I was delighted to hear she had a new indie film out there. I found it on Amazon Instant Video, gave it a watch, and here’s what I thought.
Dust Up is written and directed by Ward Roberts. Other cast members beside Amber Benson include Jeremiah Birkett (“Windfall”), Aaron Gaffey (The Jackhammer Massacre), Devin Barry (Crashing), and Travis Betz (Legend of The Sasquatch).
“A one-eyed vigilante (Gaffey) with a dark past has vowed to change his ways, trading his machine gun for a yoga mat. But when he encounters a beautiful young mother (Benson) in deep trouble with a cannibalistic drug lord and his evil goons, he realizes that justice must be served. Teamed up with his smooth-talking Native American hipster sidekick, our hero rides into the bad ass brawl of the century.”
First and foremost, I do need to clarify that Dust Up ended up not being a horror film. It’s more of an action-comedy. Sure, it has a half lizard/half man and has enough gore to keep the blood fans at bay, but really – those are the only two “scary” elements. Still, the dry and outlandish humor mixed with intriguing characters and gun violence made this feature film enjoyable to watch.
And never did I expect to see Amber Benson serving as a makeshift Princess Leia. I mean, both physically and literally chained, half naked to a vile, evil creature. I guess I can mark this down as a plus, right?
Out of the four main characters, I think most people will gravitate to three…and not really give a damn about the fourth guy. And the baby! While all the shit is going down, I found myself wondering about the safety of the baby. The last quarter of the film was basically a heart attack for me as I worried for a fictional baby caught between drug lords and a ragtag bunch of hipsters. It’s an odd combination, I know.
All things aside, and considering Dust Up is not a horror film, I’d give it a 8 out of 10. It was still damn entertaining!
