The Night Comes for Us

This action thriller about the toughest gangs of the Asian underworld balances on the border between bloody entertainment and unpleasantly violent cruelty, when imaginative and technically perfect action shootouts and trick-based, make-up and choreographically embellished contact fights change from a juicy attraction for the hardy to an extremely brutal mutilation show. In terms of recent films it is perhaps comparable to The Raid 2, but it goes a bit further (the director was officially allowed to have free reign by Netflix, which he made exceptional use of). In the first half the story is a slightly chaotic jumble of constantly dying characters fighting each other on two sides of a barricade, between which they run all over the place and undercut each other, to the extent that the viewer loses interest in the protagonists and stops caring about how the film is going to end and is just looking forward to the next action sequence. Fortunately, this settles down in the second half. Who is against who is clearly defined, and the rest is a feverish massacre with physically intense action passages, which there are not that many of, but they are long and hellishly dense. (06/10/2018)

One big slaughter. The storyline here is just a pretext for putting puppets into scuffles. And other puppets (of both sexes) into even more scuffles. The relationship drama about friendship and betrayal here seems like being stabbed in the stomach – the knife is pulled out with a wince and no one cares about it five minutes later where there is yet another fight. For example, The Raid 2 followed a certain esthetic in its composition, where colors played an important role. The same was true of John Wick 2. This is just dirty, dull slaughter with some delicious gory bits. And while I enjoyed those immensely, it’s not enough to give the whole movie more stars. (30/10/2018)

A brutal splatter romp, with a story, so to speak, about a hitman who rethinks his priorities at the last minute and doesn't shoot a little girl, then goes on to kills dozens of punks to protect her. It's an impressive fighting game, unspoiled by the traditionally extremely fast-paced Asian action full of incredible stunts. But unlike The Raid 2, which it wants so much to resemble, it doesn't have the epic breadth of plot or the refined visual aesthetic. All that's left is a similar brawler, with a poorer plot but a hell of a style and finally more space for Julie Estelle. (05/02/2019)

A bloody action flick from Indonesia with shooting, stabbing, cutting, chopping, breaking and beating aplenty – all happening as a truly sublime and jaw-dropping choreography of rough fights. The pacey direction is full of little gems and entertains from start to finish. I don’t know what else to say. In short, it’s a must see – an absolute must for The Raid 1 and 2 fans. [Sitges 2018] (07/10/2018)

Slaughter filmed in a highly cultivated style. The story is just chaotic filler between action scenes full of raw meat, bones and blood. The characters have strange motivations and frequently behave illogically, but that doesn’t really matter too much. Friends from The Raid simply had a bit of fun together and give us several unforgettable fight scenes and painful moments served on a silver platter. Uwais seems to quite enjoy his unconventional role, but his performance is more or less standard. Julie Estelle reserved for herself the best fight involving two lesbian killers. Girl power! (29/04/2019)