The Retaliators | |
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Directed by |
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Screenplay by |
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Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Joseph Hennigan |
Edited by | Randy Bricker |
Music by |
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Production company | Better Noise Films |
Release dates |
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Running time | 110 minutes[1] |
Country | United States |
Box office | $7,286[2][3] |
The Retaliators is a 2021 American horror film starring Michael Lombardi, Marc Menchaca, and Joseph Gatt.[4] The film also features appearances by musicians Tommy Lee, Jacoby Shaddix, Ivan Moody, Zoltan Bathory, and The HU.[5]
The Retaliators premiered at the London FrightFest film festival on August 30, 2021, later released in theaters on September 14, 2022, in the United States, and on video-on-demand on October 21.
The film follows John Bishop (Michael Lombardi) whose daughter is brutally murdered and he proceeds to seek vengeance for her death.[6]
Additionally, American rock band From Ashes to New, makes a cameo appearance as "Church Band" in Bishop's church. Tommy Lee has an uncredited role.[7][8]
With director, Bridget Smith of 'Sno Babies'[9] and Samuel Gonzalez Jr., the film began shooting in March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.[10]
The finished post production with Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein to score the sound track.[11]
The theme song for the film "The Retaliators (21 Bullets)" was written by Nikki Sixx and James Michael[12] and was released on August 5, 2022 as a lead track of the movie with the track featuring Mötley Crüe, Asking Alexandria, Ice Nine Kills and From Ashes to New ahead of the soundtrack release on September 16, 2022.[13]
Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach, who stars as Quinn Brady in the film, announced to Allison Haggendorf of Spotify that their song 'The Ending' will feature in the soundtrack. "When I heard about this film last year, I spoke to the creative team and I felt I had a vehicle to see if I could expand my range as an artist. Truly, I couldn't have imagined how much I enjoyed this experience and can't wait to find another film in the future"[14]
The Retaliators had its world premiere on August 30, 2021 at the FrightFest film festival in London, England, UK.[15][16] The film made its American debut with a small screening due to COVID on October 12, 2021 at Screamfest film festival held in Los Angeles, California and the film release was moved to 2022.[17] The film was released in theaters on September 14, 2022, in the United States[18] and on video on demand on October 21, 2022.[19]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 43 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "It may not offer much they haven't seen before, but strong-stomached exploitation enthusiasts will savor The Retaliators."[20] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 48 out of 100, based on six critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[21]