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Hyena
Good policing doesn't necessarily mean doing everything by the book. But as the business of crime in London turns to favour the Albanians and Turks, how does a "good" policeman survive?
Release : | 2015 |
Rating : | 6.2 |
Studio : | Film4 Productions, Number 9 Films, |
Crew : | Production Design, Director of Photography, |
Cast : | Peter Ferdinando Stephen Graham Neil Maskell Elisa Lasowski MyAnna Buring |
Genre : | Drama Thriller Crime |
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Reviews
Good concept, poorly executed.
A Masterpiece!
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.
I'm guessing the low 6.2 overall rating for this film is due to the amount of 'unnecessary' violence which turned some people off, but if you're looking for an invigorating and hard-punching British gang/police flick, look no further... it's a very enjoyable film.The main issue is the film's degree of realism, and would this plausibly happen in real life? The answer is yes, it's very plausible in an exaggerated sort of way, with only a few plot-holes to keep the pace moving.I'm also guessing the stereotypical Albanian hit-man and his bad-fitting track suit combination could make a few people reel away from this film - it adds nothing new, granted, but if you like violent British films like 'Starred Up' or 'This Is England', you're equally going to like this.It's seedy, mildly depressing, bleak, hopeless, very violent, graphic... extremely hard-hitting - what's not to like about this film if you enjoy the genre? A heads-up if you've been put off by the negative reviews. Recommended.
"Hyena" is a punishingly bleak, violent trudge through a London underworld of sex traffickers, drug dealers, rapists, gangsters, and police who are indiscernible from them. It's the kind of thing that makes you feel dirty. It reminded me a little of that Aussie flick, "Snowtown", except that had a reason for existing, other than just the dubious pleasure of wallowing in the mire.Its protagonist is a crooked cop who cooperates, a little too helpfully, with gangsters involved in the traffic of sex slaves from the Balkans. At some point he may decide to redeem himself - or does he? It could be that that's just a cliché for movies like this, so we expect it, a la "Bad Lieutenant". He does try to help one of the sex slaves escape, but for the rest of the movie he is really just acting in his own interest.The movie doesn't bring you close enough to the character to make him interesting like in that movie, though, or other gritty character studies like "Pusher", or of course, the daddy of them all, "Taxi Driver". He's just another scum bag. If there is goodness in him, that makes him worse than the others. They don't know any better.The movie is continually violent and shocking, with dismemberments, decapitated heads, graphic rapes. It doesn't feel realistic or necessary. This movie is like a deliberately sick carnival ride going from one grotesque exhibition to the next. When it's over, the challenge is answered and you can get on with your day. It might shock you while it's happening but you won't be thinking about it for long afterwards.
Detective Sargeant Michael Logan is a corrupt cop and finds himself getting involved in a turf war between Albanians and Turks on the seedy streets of London's underworld And that's really it as far as plot goes but regardless of this I was dying to see HYENA since I'm a massive fan of Johnson . Not Gerard Johnson the director but Matt Johnson the composer here once known and revered as The The who made some of the greatest , innovative and diverse music of the 1980s . This innovation meant he wasn't the most popular or best selling artist in an era dominated by manufactured plastic pop by the hit factory of Stock , Aitken and Waterman and by the early 1990s The The were releasing fewer stuff that was increasingly under promoted and Matt and his collective haven't released any material via mainstream means since Naked Self in 2000 . In other words if you want to hear any new material you'll have to go out of your way . The good old days of popping in to Woolworths to buy a new release are long gone . You can download stuff via ITunes and Amazon but the material would have to be available in the first place !!!!! SUGGESTIVE SPOILERS !!!!! On the surface HYENA isn't all that different from another recent watch FILTH which has the same premise of corrupt cup finding redemption of sorts but that film suffered badly by being sourced from Irvine Welsh and when you've seen one Welsh film adaptation you've probably seen them all . HYENA is different and a rather difficult watch in some parts with rather disturbing parts such as a rape scene which doesn't leave much to the viewer's imagination . Gritty doesn't really do it justice . Gerard Johnson obviously doesn't have a big budget to play with but he does show imagination such as a police raid at the start of the film being directed in an extremely trippy manner . Since it's a character driven story revolving around a corrupt cop it's important that you cast correctly and Peter Ferdinando is very good as Logan and deserves to be better known . He is ably supported by the "usual suspects" of actors you'd expect to see in an independent low budget British movie but that said I've watched a lot of low budget indies where the cast are uniformly dreadful and one wonders why Johnson gets it right here when so many others have been getting it patently wrong ? Nice , moody soundtrack from Matt Johnson too that compliments the visuals and gives some of us hope that his career hasn't come to an abrupt jarring end like the ending of HYENA which is rather frustrating
I liked the film, but I hated the ending. The best scenes of this film, are in the middle. The films really needs to be longer and fix the ending. It seems like they rushed the film. This film has themes , which are standard in British crime films. I like the setting in London. Narrow alleyways, roads. London is a big place that feels like in any big city. Crime could happen any time. The room that the trafficking victim. feels like a dungeon. A cop trying to stop drug trafficking is more like a criminal himself. It takes time to realise that he is the cop. In the beginning I thought he was a thug just breaking into a nightclub. Later on I realised the night club was suspicious. The traffickers are from Albania. There not just here for the drugs, also for the young woman. Not the most of original ideas, but nearly a true story. One disgusting scene when an overweight man is trying to sex with the young woman. Drugged the woman before having sex with her. They are trying to sell the woman.