Rene Perez, Mr. ‘Death Kiss’ himself, is back with another mixture of bone crushing action and ‘pay it forward’ philosophizing, as a lethal ninja assassin (Chase Bloomquist) embarks on much soul searching after contemplating whether his 5 year old self would be proud of the fact that he grew up to become a lethal ninja assassin. Haunted by visions of his 5 year old self looking none too pleased that he grew up to become a lethal ninja assassin, the ninja’s conscience is further pricked after his scumbag boss (John ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’ Schneider) sends him off to kill a lady doctor who has found a cure for malaria. Thankfully, a cute goody two shoes neighbor (Emily Sweet) is on hand to bake the ninja some cookies, and through her he learns to be the kind of lethal ninja assassin that his younger self would be proud of. Soon the ninja discovers the valuable life lesson that shooting lots of bad people, staring meaningfully at waterfalls and giving large amounts of money away to ill children will help make you a better person.
If you’ve ever seen any of Perez’s other films you should have a good idea of what to expect here. All of Perez’s trademarks are present and correct, guys beating the bejesus out of each other amidst breathtaking Shasta county backdrops, over the top gore (people always got time to bleed in Rene’s movies), familiar faces from his other films (Eva Hamilton, the guy with the Mohawk from Death Kiss), sincere yet heavy handed moralizing worthy of an episode of Walker: Texas Ranger, gentlemanly protagonists who avert their eyes at the sight of boobage… and yes there is a grunting, mask wearing Leatherface type character here as well. If you’re not on board with Perez’s movies yet, this is unlikely to win you over, but if like me you unashamedly dig his distinct brand of cinema then The Dragon Unleashed reliably serves up more of the same.
