In the well-crafted revenge thriller Echoes of Violence, a woman (Michaella Russell) entangles an Everyman (Heston Horwin) to help her escape a series of deadly hit men (the first one is played by Chase Cargill). Loyalties change and lethal new skills (and a novelty weapon) are revealed as her position pivots from defense to offense.
The woman has been done a very evil wrong, and she’s clawed herself to some degree of safety, she launches a campaign of vengeance. Michaella Russell is a compelling enough screen presence to drive the story.
Russell is South African and, in real life, found navigating the US immigration system to be fraught with frustration. That experience (not as horrific as in the movie) inspired Nicholas Wood to make the villain an immigration attorney.
The venerable Frank Oz is effective in a turn as the main villain’s even more monstrous father.
Echoes of Violence is the second feature for writer-director Nicholas Wood and demonstrates that he can bring originality to a genre film.
I screened Echoes of Violence for its world premiere at Cinequest, and it made made my Best of Cinequest 2021; you can stream it during the festival for only $3.99 at Cinequest’s online Cinejoy.