Review: Hell Hath No Fury

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2021
Images from the Internet

Hell Hath No Fury
Directed by Jesse V. Johnson
Well Go USA Entertainment
94 minutes, 2021
www.wellgousa.com/films/hell-hath-no-fury

Hell Hath No Fury’s premise is hardly new, but it is also not so common that it can be dismissed. A group of American soldiers, with the help of a local, go looking for lost money/gold. This is the essential plotline of the recent Army of the Dead (2021). I even remember Tarzan Triumphs (1943) where the titular Ape Man saves the native’s gold from the Nazis.

Nina Bergman

But we are where we are now; it’s World War II, and this film focuses on Marie (Danish/Russian/Gypsy actor/model/singer/boxer, Nina Bergman), who worked with the French Resistance against the Nazis (again with the Nazis) until the end of the French occupation. And like the character in Inglorious Basterds, is believed to be a collaborator due to her affair with German officer, Col. Von Bruckner (German martial artist Daniel Bernhardt).

With many flashbacks, the main crux of the story focuses on the Spring of 1945, after Marie is denounced as a collaborator for her affair, and her head has been sheared (which Bergman did for the role), a common way to signal that she has been deemed a traitor. The “present day” part has Marie and four US soldiers of questionable personal merit, led by Major Maitland (Australian Thai Kickboxer Louis Mandylor doing a splendid Southern US drawl), in an old graveyard looking for five bars of Nazi gold, made from teeth and rings (etc.) acquired in concentration camps from Jews. A little politicking can go a long way, and I am glad they did not try to ignore that. After all, again, Nazis (or as I like to call them, future Capitol insurrectionists; but I digress…).

There is very little past development for most of the characters, other than Marie and Von Bruckner. But even then, other than their relationship and some of Marie’s family history, everyone is kind of a blank slate, with their main characterization being greed for the gold. But on the good side, this lack of background is an aid in some of the action, because sometimes it is hard to tell who is the good guys and who is the bad guys (other than the Nazis, of course).

Daniel Bernhardt

While this is a story of the relationship of the major characters, from Mare and Von Bruckner, the four Allied soldiers – a surprisingly integrated group for its time – as well as a French Resistance Fighter, the tensions are not surprisingly high. How far will the greed take them? Will it be double-crosses like The Treasure of Serra Madre (1948) or the opening scene of The Dark Knight (2008)?

Marie is truly the most complex of all the characters, with both the most to win or lose and her willingness to do what it takes. Von Bruckner is also complex in that, yes, he’s a Nazi, but they also show a tender side in his relationship with Marie. Of the four Americans, Maitland is the most sympathetic as the leader, most of the others being of questionable character. The remaining French Resistance fighter is all over the map, seemingly changing sides at the drop of a hat for various motives. This all leads to a powder keg of emotions and allegiances that can, and often do, go in many directions.

While this is a pretty straightforward World War II flick as far as motivation goes, there is a bit of a supernatural element with the spirit of the brother of one of the characters coming to argue with him whether he is in a good situation or not. While this “ghost” is kind of superfluous, I am really glad he’s in there, keeping the live brother to be seen as more than just possible body count.

Speaking of body counts, despite there being a main cast of seven, the count is rather high with peripheral kills. Because it is 1945 and not in some multi-dimensional pseudo-science like with Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) or Wonder Woman (2017), the equipment for killing are conventional war weapons: military issued guns, knives, grenades, and dynamite. For a small budget film (it is listed as $5 million on IMDB, but I think that is questionable), a large amount of it must have gone into weapon effects and explosions. This is more along the classic, straight-forward war lines of The Dirty Dozen (1967), Von Ryan’s Express (1965), or The Great Escape (1963). There is no posturing like, say, the GI Joe franchise or anything by Michael Mann, but just to-the-gut action.

Louis Mandylor, Bergman, etc.

One thing that is abundantly clear, however, is that the cast is as solid as it gets. The acting is top notch throughout, with Mandylor and especially Bergman giving their all with total commitment to the roles. This could have easily have been another cheesy war film with unrealistic banter and kills but there is a lot of blood without being over the top glorification of violence. Yes, ferocity does have its place in the film proper, but this is as much a tense in-the-moment as a killing field.

Jesse V. Johnson, who also has worked on some A-line films as a Stunt Coordinator, proves he knows his stuff, and I look forward to more of his directing action.