Hellfire caught my attention because of the cast: Stephen Lang, Dolph Lundgren, and Harvey Keitel. All character actors who have had rich careers, peaked, and now do these low-budget films to either keep their chops sharp or their bank accounts full. But this one looked promising. I wasn’t disappointed: Hellfire is an inventive addition to the action genre, hitting all the marks, tweaking cliches, and shooting around deficiencies.
Stephen Lang stars. He’s an intriguing figure, and I’ve appreciated him in small parts in Manhunter and Last Exit to Brooklyn, as the villain in the first Avatar film, and in a commanding performance on Broadway in John Patrick Shanley’s play Defiance. More recently, he’s been the blind guy in the Don’t Breathe movies. Mr. Lang appears bigger than he is: he’s actually on the shorter side and stealthy, traits that serve him well against the beefier assailants he faces in Hellfire.
The town of Rondo, Texas, is terrorized by a drug operation run by piano-playing patriarch Jeremiah (Mr. Keitel). A stranger comes to town, a nameless wandering hitchhiker (Mr. Lang). Turns out he’s a former Special Forces. He employs his specific set of skills to challenge the gang leader Clyde (Michael Sirow), who has eyes for local beauty Lena (Scottie Thompson). It’s pretty standard stuff, what you’d expect from an 80s action star like, say, Jean Claude Van Damme. And speaking of '80s action stars, Dolph Lundgren plays a Texas sheriff (!) in Hellfire, pretty convincingly, adding texture to any setup he’s in.
The fight scenes start off standard as well, but stunt coordinator Heather Burton (also credited with special effects) makes a few stand out: one in an abandoned factory (where a shoot-em-up amongst abandoned refrigerators looks like a tribute to Jackie Chan’s Drunken Master movies), and in a restaurant kitchen (including creative use of a cheese grater). Mr. Lang, the avenging vet with no name, parries and punches and grunts and tucks and rolls. Much of the dramatic weight is assumed by Ms. Thompson, who is known for work in TV series like NCIS. Her Lena is the tale’s fulcrum, and her fashion model features are a welcome visual diversion from the dominant macho motif.
Then there’s Harvey. I worry about Mr. Keitel. Mortality takes its toll, and the actor who defined Mean Streets, Bad Lieutenant, and The Piano, to name a very few, is a cherished national resource. His Hellfire scenes are few, his energy is low, and he’s put together and propped up. Shoestring movies like this exploit his name, but at least director Isaac Florentine gives him real lines to read and uses him to his best advantage.
Despite its limitations, Hellfire works. Stephen Lang’s wanderer looks poised for a franchise; the fights are cleverly staged. Even the music, mostly reworkings of recognizable tunes in the public domain, is effective in its simplicity.
_____________________________
Hellfire. Directed by Isaac Florentine. 2026. From Saban Films. On VOD and digital platforms. Runtime 95 minutes.