Grindhouse Scarlett

Grindhouse Scarlett

Bruce Von Stiers

Dean Meadows has worn many hats in his filmmaking career. From producer to director to screenwriter, Dean's work has spread out over a few films and several years.

This year finds Dean with a newly completed action film. One that he wrote the screenplay for, produced, and directed. The film is titled Scarlett Cross: Agent of D.E.A.T.H.

The film is done in kind of a grindhouse style. There is a lot of violence, a bunch of blood and a bit of nudity.

The production company was Pentagram Picture Ltd along with Fleabit Filmhouse International and Promethean Events.

There are four individual stories in the film, each one having an assassin as it's focus. These stories, while separate, help facilitate the fifth and final story in the film. The stories are called Chapters.

The first chapter is Way of the Assassin. There are a couple of red robed people bringing a third person, in a white robe to an altar. There is a guy in a chrome plated mask who apparently is the leader. He talks about a human sacrifice, which the young woman in the white robe seems to be it. They take her robe and she's naked underneath. So, here's the start of the nudity in the film. But things aren't as they appear, and the woman kills all three of the other people after a bit of martial arts tomfoolery. The woman is played by Maria Lee Metheringham. She has extensive acting credits and has several producing, directing and screenwriting credits as well.

A second assignment comes her way. This time the target is a woman. But she's not sure about the assignment. Her boss, Logan, talks her into it. Logan is played by Jon Sutton. This time the assassination doesn't go as planned. We do learn that the target is Scarlett Cross, an assassin herself, and the title character. Scarlett is played by Kat Clatworthy. Kat is currently in production for the film Cowgirls Don' Lie.

The second chapter is about a professor who has a formula that can cure all the diseases on earth. But someone else wants the formula. Ninjas and a bodyguard fight it out in a forest. The bodyguard is played by Tayah Kansik. Her most recent roles include the action films B.R.I and The Bouncer. Again, all is not what it seems. The professor was played by Nathan Head.

The third chapter kind of gives some insight into Scarlett Cross. It seems she has horrible nightmares and is seeing a psychologist for it. She has had some kind of accident, causing her to lose her memory. And we find out Scarlett is an assassin for a super-secret British government agency. I hadn't mentioned this before, but this is a British production. It was filmed in England and Wales. Although pretty much a straight scene, there is a twist at the end. The psychologist is played by Jemma Clarke.

The fourth chapter has a serial killer nun, a porno crime boss and a Yakuza assassin. The nun is played by Panda Marcella Edgecombe-Craig, who has extensive acting credits along with several producing and screenwriting credits. The assassin is Hannah Farmer. And stepping in front of the camera, Dean Meadows plays the porno crime boss.

Then the fifth and final chapter in the film ties everything else together. Scarlett has to fight to the death against other assassins. But does she prevail? That would be too much of a spoiler. Let's just say there is a few twists in this ending chapter that you might not see coming.

Other actors in the film include Dean Williams in multiple roles, David lee Pickton, Ailsa Roanne, Damion Slater-Campbell, Lesley Karen Johnson, Bella Major and Anastasia Cane. Sky Rose slides in as the agency boss Reaper.

The film had some decent acting. But the action / fighting sequences could have been a bit more realistic. Overall, the camera work was good. The editing was okay, keeping the scenes in the framework of the grindhouse styling.

I liked the film. Aside from the few things I mentioned above, it was a fairly decent film. And I got a kick out of some of the sideways humor that slid its way into a few of the scenes.

Scarlett Cross: Agent of D.E.A.T.H. is currently available on various streaming platforms. But if you want to see it on the big screen, it will be an official selection at the Urban Action Showcase and Expo International Film Festival on November 5 th , 2022. The showing will be at the AMC Enpire25 Cinema in New York City.

If you might be interested in checking out the film, it has a new trailer on YouTube. That video is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHUmCwUS04E

And the film does have a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/scarlettcrossmovie

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