In a sign of US indie cinema emerging from lockdown, here is the latest piece of Shasta County kick-assery from director Rene Perez, he of Death Kiss, the Playing with Dolls series and more recently the controversial and heavily suppressed The Insurrection. This time its a non-profit, available for free on YouTube, fan film based on G. I. Joe. A franchise I have to admit to having no real history with, aside from catching one of the Hollywood adaptations a few years ago...the one with The Rock in...which I recall being a confusing mess of ego and CGI crash, bang wallop. In comparison the Perez take on G. I. Joe is quite coherent and accessible. Even if you are not au fait with G. I. Joe though, Snake Eyes is actually an ideal primer into what Perez's brand of cinema is all about. Namely a guy in a cool ninja outfit taking on dozens of goons, the utilization of real life martial artists, female eye candy, and extreme gore mixed with old fashioned gallantry (our hero thinks nothing of smashing in other men's skulls or blowing away male faces and genitalia, but also sends flowers to his special lady and can't bring himself to punch out a female opponent). Despite the bruising he took for The Insurrection, Snake Eyes also finds Perez in unapologetically boat rocking form, politically. Whereas the pre-pandemic The Insurrection touched a raw nerve by predicting that leftish 'deep state' figures were about to unleash a virus onto the populace, as a means to justify forming a totalitarian government, Snake Eyes takes place after such a plan has been initiated. Making this as much a thematic sequel to The Insurrection as a G. I. Joe homage.
As is par for the course for Perez, Snake Eyes is also an unapologetic love letter to 1980s action cinema, with Perez simultaneously channeling all those Miami Vice era vibes with his soundtrack, composed under his regular alias 'The Darkest Machines'. So, if this 20 minute freebie floats yer boat, be sure to check out his prolific feature film output, with normal service set to resume soon with 'Righteous Blood', a western starring Michael Pare, Emily Whitcomb and frequent Perez collaborator Joseph Camilleri.
