Bullet Points: Dead End II: A Justified Kill

I can’t remember the last time I watched the sequel to something without first watching the original. Well, rules were meant to be broken because here I am watching a sequel to a short film I’ve never even heard of. Let’s do this!

• The Poster: The first thing I noticed about Dead End II: A Justified Kill was that it has a very busy poster. Especially for a short film. I’m not familiar with any of the folks involved in the film except for Bryan Larkin but that means nothing at this point.
• What’s goin’ on: The Contractor (Bryan Larkin) and Young Gun (Julian Gaertner) are on a mission in China to take down some human traffickers. Sounds good to me. The film opens with a brief scene of an exchange of money and ladies. Human traffickers have to be among the easiest of villains to kill on screen without remorse. The only thing that could make it easier to accept is if they were Nazi human traffickers. Either way, these two killers are in town to take out the men responsible for the trafficking.

• The Kill: Whatever casino they are in must have some cameras but Larkin and Gaertner only put their masks on as they enter the rooms for the kill. Realism aside, it’s one hell of a way to start the short film as we get to see just how serious these dudes are about killing traffickers. Bloody and brutal, the boys get the job done.
• The Innocent: We’re also introduced to a young Chinese girl who makes her money on the street as a pick-pocket. She lives with a druggie who treats her like crap. The young girl ends up in the right place at the right time (depending on who you ask) and witnesses the two men attempting to take out more of the trafficking assclowns.

• The Chase: In what has to be the highlight of the action, the two killers chase their targets through the streets and alleys in an attempt to carve them like a fresh-from-the-oven turkey. If I could give them one piece of advice it would be to invest in a couple of pistols. It would make the killings go much more smoothly. Instead, the men run a 5K chasing the guys and then get carved up trying to accomplish their mission.
• Production value: I have no idea how much money went into this production but it looks fantastic! The film has some really great shots of the city and you’ll never believe you’re in a low budget situation. The actors, action, and the effects used also look great. If someone told me this was a 5 million dollar short film then I’d be a little surprised but I could see this being something in the realm of $150-$250K. Either way, it looks amazing and the crew did a wonderful job giving the short film a real unique feeling from the very first scene.

The Verdict: I am all in on Dead End. I would love to see these guys get a chance to put their films on Netflix as a series about two guys traversing the world f*cking up bad dudes. As I said before, I never watch a sequel before the first one but this one jumped right into the action and I don’t need a reason to see human traffickers get their comeuppance. I highly suggest you find out where you can take in Dead End II: A Justified Kill. It’s well worth the effort.