MoniKa

Director - Steven R. Monroe (I Spit on Your Grave)

Starring - Jason Wiles (Zodiac), Cerina Vincent (Freaks of Nature), Jeff Branson (Supernatural)

Release Date - 2012

Genre - Action/Crime

Tagline - "Vengeance is eternal"

Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     My no horror July is almost over and I can finally get back to my beloved genre.  Until then I have a few other films to check out.  So far this month I've checked out a western, some sexploitation, several blaxploitation flicks, a few comedies and now I'm moving over to some action flicks.  The first on the chopping block is the grindhouse inspired action film from the same director who helmed the I Spit on Your Grave remake.  The film looked fun so I decided to give it a chance.  I got the movie sometime ago to review but never could work it into my schedule but that time finally presented itself.  Sadly, it was not the film I was expecting and was let down.     

     The film follows Reagan (Wiles) who meets the beautiful MoniKa (Vincent) at a seedy motel he is meeting his friend Double (C. Thomas Howell) at.  They hit it off and start partying before returning back to her room for the night.  The next morning he wakes up and can't find her.  Double shows up and tells him that Monika was shot and killed the night before.  Reagan does not believe him but soon finds her dried blood and police tape in her room.  He panics and goes out.  We then learn that MoniKa took on a drug lord and stole his money when one of his goons rants out his boss' plans to her sister before killing her.  With MoniKa dead, the goonds are looking for their cash and traces it back to Reagan and Double.  They kill Double and try to catch Reagan but MoniKa shows up and shows him where she keeps the money.  She then loads up and takes Reagan to take down the drug lord and his goons before more innocent people die.  

     I love a good, gritty action film that is grindhouse inspired.  These films are often character driven pieces with some solid story and some action tossed in for good measure.  Sadly, MoniKa was not that.  The acting in this one is great.  Everyone deserves a round of applause. Jason Wiles was great as the lead.  He showed a wide range of emotions that you typically don't see in a male lead role.  He also delivered some pretty intense performances in several scenes that really hit all the right marks.  Cerina Vincent was great as well.  She's strong, sexual, and very talented.  Casting did a great job casting her as the title character.  Without her they would not have a film.  Sadly, the characters they portray are not that well written.  The story for this one could be fun but tries to do more than was needed.  This whole supernatural angle felt half-assed and does not get the desired effect.   This should have been left out and the story should have been more straight forward.  The characters feel underdeveloped as well.  We needed more development for these characters for us to really enjoy the story.  Finally, this one is full of action.  Mostly gun fights but they are still plentiful and fun.  It's done in such a way that it does not get boring.  It also has some solid blood and several on screen kills.  Sadly, just as many kills are done off screen which ruins the look the film had going for it.  Overall, MoniKa could have been a memorable film but the story is all over the place resulting in an unnecessarily confusing film that should have been mindless action.