Joe Castro helms this social commentary on the horror of drugs, and it’s quite a departure for the ‘effects whiz’ turned director.
The story sees Jack embark on a downward spiral when he becomes haunted by the death of a friend as a result of a drug overdose. He quickly becomes paranoid and begins offing people with the titular weapon, to the horror fans gory satisfaction.
This is most likely the biggest budget Castro has ever had to play with, so it was great to see what he can do with the right equipment and a little more money to play with. The cast are all pretty good and the effects are obviously a highlight too.
The main problem I had with the film however was its script. It does make sense, but it’s structured in a way that we don’t really get to root for any characters, as hardly any of them are present throughout. When we finally meet some nice characters, we’re not too far from the finale, so I was a little disappointed by that.
OVERALL SUMMARY
Jackhammer will most likely appeal to fans of Castro’s other films, as it’s more of the same, but darker and more adult.
