Two men on opposite sides of the wealth gap spend their days incredibly stressed and wishing for something better to come. Teddy lives in his car, daydreaming about cigarettes and the woman on the other side of his phone. Jun is bombarded with data leaks at his company that he is desperately trying to fix. When Teddy forces his way into Jun’s luxurious home, their world’s collide in a battle over Jun’s laptop. The proof is in the name, Relentless is an unending, unfeeling fight to the death.
A homeless man targets a well-off elite in a home invasion. But it will take an unhinged level of brutality to find out his true motive.
Relentless, IMDB
If you are looking for merciless fight scenes draped over an empathetic storyline, Relentless is the way to go. Multiple times throughout this film are we switching back and forth between who is more “right” in this situation. Teddy (Jeffrey Decker) is seeking revenge for having his prosperous life destroyed after a data breach allowed all of his wealth to be stolen. Jun’s (Shuhei Kinoshita) son was murdered, and his job leaves him soulless and broken. But all that empathy hardly has time to settle with the onslaught of violence and bloodshed the two dole out to each other.
There are many types of horror, and Relentless is firmly in the revenge category. While it doesn’t have any jumpscares, ghosts, or monsters, the scare factor here is how far someone will go to prove a point. Of course, there is the home invasion aspect that would rile anyone’s feathers, and the violence and gore rivals torture porn (although, much more realistic). Relentless is a never-ending brawl powered solely by grievances, anger, and need for karmic retribution.
And in the midst of all that malevolent energy is a hint of beauty. Relentless‘s cinematography is stunning, featuring well-lit night shots and tasteful close-ups. The gore is highly believable with dark red gashes and thick, mucousy blood. Action scenes felt powerful and were well-scripted. Not once did Relentless let up on the story, following Teddy and Jun as their blood and sweat drenched the city streets. There were even a few quick points of comedy thrown in there. A detail I especially liked was Jun’s tendency to calm himself via meditation; multiple times, in order to readjust his thinking and keep the plot moving forward, he sat quietly, blocked out the sound and replaced it with a metronome-like ticking, and breathed. Amongst all the fast-paced violence, this was a nice reprieve for the audience and a chance to catch our breath before the next beat.
Relentless is its title in every aspect. With a simple plot and few characters, it still builds a world that justifies all of the crimes committed between these two people, simultaneously showing us that just because it is justified doesn’t mean it can exist without its pound of flesh. Relentless is a cat-and-mouse thrill ride that begs the question — how far would you go if you were wronged?
Relentless is available to stream everywhere on digital and VOD. Drop by writer/director Tom Botchii on Instagram, and follow Saban Films and Mongrel Media for more.
