Sweet Karma (2009)
Directed by: Andrew Thomas Hunt
Written by: Andrew Thomas Hunt, James Fler, Michael Paszt
Starring: Frank J. Zupancic, John Tokatlidis, Shera Bechard
Why on earth would DJ watch this, I hear you ask. What possible reason would draw me to watch this? The same fuckin reason you are thinking right now, that girl on the front is fuckin HOT!!! Well, that was one reason, I will admit, but this Russian revenge flick has been getting some superb reviews and has been building a bit of a reputation. It’s short and sweet, and does everything you want and then some. Put simply, this has been my finest 1 hour and 25 minutes spent so far this week.
Karma is a mute; she hasn’t spoken a word since birth. Her Mother died while giving birth, and Karma grew up with her sister and the 2 were in-separable. That is, until Karma’s sister takes a job with a people trafficking outfit in the hope of a better life. Karma never hears from her again, and when a body turns up, all fingers point to Karma’s sister, revenge is all the poor mute can think of and so she heads off to take the same job her sister did in the hope of finding her killer or killers.
The history of why Karma is doing this is all told in flashback, as the film literally jumps right in as Karma starts her revenge. She is one gorgeous woman, but i promise you this, you would NOT want to be on her bad side. There is a bizarre innocence to her tho, which helps make her even more attractive, but it also adds impact to the sudden bursts of horrific violence she dishes out. The fact she is a mute also makes her look cold and emotionless as she kills. In Sweet Karma, we have a whole new breed of femme fatale and she is a joy to watch. Turns out these people smugglers are a right nasty bunch (as if any are actually nice) and what they do is bring their girls to a hotel, get them to strip and use them as lap dancers and prostitutes. Karma arrives at the airport to meet her new “employees” with another bunch of girls, but sneaks of so she can follow them instead.
She soon learns who these people are and where they operate, and so she goes to the lap dancing club to stalk her prey. She learns one of the guys likes to sleep with her dancers after witnessing him rape one in his car because she was feeling unwell, nice bloke! As one of the girls gets ready for her pole dance, Karma appears, in white stockings, suspenders, bra and knickers and she gatecrashes the stage and performs possibly one of the sexiest strip dances i have ever seen in a film. It goes on for about 5 minutes and it could easily have gone on for 5 minutes more! She attracts the guys attention, and after her dance he takes her to the toilets for sex. Again, this is a wonderfully sexy scene but it ends in disaster. She has stashed a white powder in her bra, knowing the guy will find it and think its coke. He does, she sprinkles it on her chest and her snorts it, but it’s actually poison, and so begins Karma’s second kill. Her first kill is brief, she stabs a receptionist in the side of the head with a pen, this second kill is much more brutal and revenge is dished out in great fashion, all the while she is still wearing the white underwear. So, a pleasant way to go then!
The killing spree has begun, and they carry on for the next hour, one kill after another. It goes into full action mode come the end, but its all restrained in a classy sort of way. The poor girl does get her fair share of bad situations too tho, she is brutally raped at one point, only to have her revenge during the rape in another vicious kill. The violence is strong, bloody and at times quite sickening, but you know she’s doing it out of love for her sister. At times she looks desperate, she never looks like she’s actually enjoying it, but you can see it necessary for her to do it. The film makers clearly have aimed this at a male audience as there are shots after shots of his girl not wearing much. In a fantastic chase scene, she runs through the icy Russian streets in a white vest, pants and socks, so enjoy!
We are dealt a vicious twist at the end which was totally unexpected and not how you wanted things to turn out, but at least it shows originality and guts by the director who executes a near perfect revenge flick. There’s great music in this too, fast, dance music which helps the already relentless pace of such a short film. If you are into revenge flicks then you cannot go wrong with this film, its superb and everything feels just right. You feel the director is totally in control of what he’s doing, and he delivers a masterful film that will appeal to all hot blooded men. Enjoy!
Rating: 
