Revenge is a very strong motivator, and has become an easy go to for fiction. Everyone understands a revenge story, even if it's not an emotion they themselves have had. So when Hellhound begins with an ageing hitman being hired for one final job before his retirement to take revenge on someone's behalf it's a quick and easy in.
Louis Mandylor plays Loreno, a man with violence in his past. Having killed his first person when he was just fourteen, he's no stranger to death. But, seeing an old friend having settled down into the quiet life it's something he wants for himself and decides that he's going to do one last assassination job, then head off into the sunset. He's hired to travel to Thailand, to find a woman and her boyfriend/pimp, and kill them. The two of them tricked an elderly businessman into signing over his expensive home to them before he 'jumped' off a balcony. Now his daughter wants them to pay in kind.
Thus begins what should be a simple hunt and kill assignment for Loreno, however, when one of his targets manages to get away from him it begins a violent and bloody story that will rack up the bodies as Loreno becomes determined to finish the job.
The story in Hellhound is simple, with the few twists in the tale being neither too surprising, not too original. It follows a more simpler action formula from films from the 80's than it does more modern blockbusters, and for that it's fairly enjoyable. This isn't a film that's going to pull the rug on you part way through; it's an action movie about a hitman and that's very much what you get. The script is fairly simple and to the point, with the villains being quite arch and disgusting, whilst the heroes, killers themselves, discuss the morals of what they do and what god might think of them so that you know even though they murder people for money they feel a little bit bad about it.
Action is important for a film like this, and the violence in the film is fairly well done. The fights are choreographed well enough, and there are a few fancy camera tricks and moves during these moments that show that some degree of effort is being put into things and it's not just content to sit back and play it easy. that being said, there's nothing in the movie that really sticks out as too memorable, and the action scenes, whilst solid, aren't unique enough to really stick out in your memory.
The performances are fine, and quality does vary somewhat. This is a film without many real names attached to it, and whilst some of the cast do have long credits to their names they tend to be in smaller roles. As such, there's no real star draw for Hellhound and you're unlikely going to be coming to it thanks to an actor being in it. The performances we get are done well enough, and there's no real sense of anyone taking it easy or phoning it in; which is something that you can come across in lower budget movies.
Overall, Hellhound is a perfectly fine action B-movie. It's not going to become anyone's favourite film, and you're probably not going to remember it long after watching it; but whilst it's on your screen it'll keep your attention and will be entertaining enough to stop you from turning it off; which is a lot better than a lot of the cheaper movies today.
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