User reviews

Heat After Dark is the directorial debut of director Ryuhei Kitamura that despite got all the right ingredients to make a fun yakuza flick with wacky characters and over the top John Woo shootout scenes from what I see in the synopsis it turned out to be rather boring and dumb at best. It definitely far from the worst of Kitamura filmography because in my opinion that title belongs to Longinus (2004) but I still think this movie for the hardcore fan of the director only, the general viewer that like his American movies can skip it

This is Ryuhei Kitamura's (director of "Versus") first theatrically released film. Overall, I felt it was a dissapointing film by a talented director. It runs too short at about an hour, we don't get to know any of the characters long enough to even care what happens to them.

The action is a mixed bag, some scenes are quite intense, while others are just plain stupid (the cop fighting one of the bad guys). We really don't get explanation for the main villain's actions, he just does what he does and acts like his head hurts.

The music is good at first, but it quickly becomes annoying and I considered hitting the mute button and just reading the subtitles. Not only that, but Kitamurai is too infatuated with over-the-top gun sounds. Every time someone waves a gun or picks one up, we're met with a series of "click-clack-chick-click" noises.

While, it's not horrible to sit through, I doubt I would ever watch "Heat After Dark" again if given the choice. It does have a bit of the style found in Kitamura's infinitely superior "Versus", but overall it's just an undeveloped director's first gig, and plays as such.

4/10

Heat after Dark is basically, about two friends that try to bury a dead body in the woods. It turns out that the guy is still alive and gets away from the two friends. Once the guy gets away, the real plot takes off.

This was about four to five years before Versus, and the viewer should keep that in mind while watching and deciding to watch this movie. Don't expect a big action extravaganza that Kitamura is usually known for. While there is a lot of action, it does have a slower pace(which is what he was going for). It's more to do with the genres of crime cinema and pulp fiction then action/horror/martial arts. High on style, but short on time, the movie is better viewed as an appetizer to more full length films. Fans of Versus should probably stay away, while fans of Kitamura will like this just fine. People would enjoy this more if they watched it for what it is and not what they want it to be.

Ryuhei Kitamura has recently become a God amongst directors with his innovative, sleek, Gory, evil dead style films suck as Versus, Aragami, & Azumi. This earlier effort is Goreless, low budget but still engrossingly original. Gore is replaced by smoke, anyone who gets shot (how ever many times they get shot is countless) has smoke appear from the bullet wounds. The editing reduces pace but still keeps pumping. The style is reserved to capture the longer feel of takes from westerns, many beautifully composed shots of two men versus a cool gunslinger with 2 revolvers and the traditional long dustcoat. The plot is thin as is always the case with Ryuhei Kitamura, the plot is always more a comical relief for the audience that plays in the background of amazing choreographed sword/fist or gun fights well connected together. This is just guns and some men in a remote woods with some big bad gun slinger that won't stay dead, simplistic, stylish and rare, but the net offers it. If your thinking of watching this and havn't seen Versus, go buy now.