Suppose John Woo found the script for Logan or The Professional. He hires the Raid guys for the choreography, then gets Tom Savini to do some gnarly makeup effects. However, Woo passes the director's chair to someone with the unhinged, gory charisma of a young Sam Raimi or Peter Jackson. That is the best way I can describe Netflix's new Indonesian splatter-action bonanza, The Night Comes for Us. Acquired by the streaming giant just last month, the film debuted without fanfare, as is tradition. I got a dime on the film from an action enthusiast friend who deemed it a "heroic bloodbath." Boy, was he underselling this one.
The only strike against The Night Comes for Us is its disorienting nonlinear timeline. There's no need for that. There's not much to the plot anyway. Ito (Joe Taslim) is an enforcer for the Six Seas, a ruthless crime syndicate in Southeast Asia. During a mass execution, he grows a spine, kills his brethren, and saves Reina (Asha Kenyeri Bermudez), a young girl orphaned in the massacre. By doing this, he breaks the cardinal rule of the Six Seas, who has him marked for death. Arian (Iko Uwais), Ito's friend and colleague, is called in by the organization to terminate with extreme prejudice.
I put a strong emphasis on "extreme" because as soon as the plot gets set up, the blood and gore never stops. The Night Comes for Us is one of the most violent action movies ever made. Reunited from The Raid, Taslim and Uwais ooze pulsating cool and emotion in their performances. While that is a wonderful thing, The Night Comes for Us is almost like watching porn. You have a story at the heart of it, but don't lie, you came to see the business. The business that The Night Comes for Us gets into will leave you breathless.
Director Timo Tjahjanto knows exactly what the audience wants to see. You will see objects used as weapons that you never thought could be weapons. Mobsters are maimed by knives, meat cleavers, shotgun blasts, champagne bottles, pool balls, cattle bones and more. Tjahjanto co-directed the brilliant Safe Haven segment of V/H/S/2 with Raid maestro Gareth Evans, and the connection shows. Throughout that two hours, the intensity rarely quiets down, especially when he introduces its female leads. You've got The Operator (Julie Estelle), a biker with a cloudy moral code. More outrageous are Triad assassins Elena (Hannah Al Rashid), and Alma (Dian Sastrowardoyo), a Mia Wallace cosplayer with a garroting gadget that would end the James Bond franchise.
This movie is insane. Fucking insane. You have to take my vague word here. I'm keeping the descriptions as such because you need to watch this thing pronto. What Fury Road and Mission: Impossible – Fallout did for western action, this does it for Asia. Tjahjanto ramps up action sequences early on that you can't possibly imagine he can top, then one-ups himself almost every time. The script might be a bit emaciated, but with its vivid cinematography, expert handle on action, and visceral impact, this one's a masterpiece.
I'll leave you on this note. Remember the upgrade of bloodletting in the Japanese cut of Kill Bill: Vol. 1? The carnage of The Night Comes for Us takes that extra minute and multiplies it by a hundred. It's fun for the whole family.
