There is nothing more compelling in film than the “revenge” genre. It haunts an aspect of almost every storyline in the history of movie making, from “The Wizard of Oz,” to “Snow White,” to “A Nightmare on Elm Street” to “Fatal Attraction.” I just noticed in my examples, all of these movie’s vengeful characters were the antagonists. Perhaps I shouldn’t have started off that way, but at the same time it proves my point; different people, good or bad, want vengeance. Sometimes they both do. However, it’s typically the protagonist or hero that we’re always pulling for. There’s nothing more gratifying than seeing someone who has been pushed so far to the edge, they finally push back. Those of you who grew up in the 80s, how often did you get a rush of excitement in those silly teen comedies when the nerdy anti-hero finally pulled one over on his jock-ish tormentor and everyone cheered in unison and lost their respect for the bully, dethroning him of his popular status for eternity? Hell, I still do. Be it “Just One of the Boys” or “The Karate Kid,” there’s nothing that sends a rush through your body quicker than the bad guy getting his due. And then we have harsher revenge scenarios like those in “Death Wish,” “I Spit on Your Grave” and “Kill Bill” where we experience a deeper satisfaction when justice is served. And though revenge my be a dish best served cold, it’s a dish that’s passed around and often comes back into your hands; that’s one aspect that a lot of revenge films fail to tackle. Though vengeance can be seen as noble in some respects, it always carries ramifications. Recent films like Chan-wook Park’s “Oldboy,” and “Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance,” as well as (my favorite revenge film) Shane Meadows’ “Dead Man’s Shoes” show how vengeance comes full circle. After the release of “Dead Silence,” I briefly spoke to James Wan online and I told him that with (his upcoming revenge-thriller) “Death Sentence,” he had some big shoes to fill. He promised me that the film would deliver on a different level than most revenge films, and I have to admit…he was damn right.

I’m not going to give anything away from the movie that I shouldn’t, so I’ll go about as far as the trailer did. Kevin Bacon plays Nick Hume, an average man with a great job and a better family. He has a loving wife, his glory-boy son, Brendan, who seems to be a high school hockey prodigy, and a younger son, Lucas, who is stuck in the shadow of his brother’s success. After a successful hockey game, Nick and Brendan stop at a gas station where a random gang initiation goes down, fatally wounding Brendan. Nick is able to see the attacker before he gets away and is soon able to pick him out in a police line up. Because Nick is the sole eye-witness to the murder, the criminal will only get a 3 to 5 year sentence. Instead of allowing that to happen, Nick decides to take the law into his own hands. And as cliché as that may sound, it’s bloody-fucking-awesome. He follows his son’s attacker from court, who he learns is a street punk named Joe Darley. After a long battle of conscience, Nick makes his move and attacks Joe, resulting in a near-accidental stabbing that leaves him dead. Though he’s still a nervous wreck, Nick seems somewhat relieved by his actions and tries to move on. Unfortunately, what he doesn’t know is that Joe is the brother of Billy Darley, the gang’s leader, who is far more vindictive than Nick could have imagined. Though you think they would be even now, Billy can’t accept that idea and sends Nick a message: “You just bought your whole family a death sentence.” Trying to avoid police investigation and further harm to his family, Nick decides that he has to solely put an end to this feud before anyone else he loves is hurt.

I’ve seen other reviews online that seem to think “Death Sentence” is nothing more than a movie about people killing people. Either they just don’t get it, or I’m completely wrong and they’re all right. Regardless, I think “Death Sentence” is a perfect revenge film. It’s like “Dead Man’s Shoes” on cocaine. Every actor in this film gives an amazing performance, especially Bacon who emotes perfectly in every situation the film gives him. I don’t know what else critics expect from a revenge film, but if they’re prepared to say it’s solely people killing each other then they not only missed the film’s emotional and unique standpoint on the topic, but they obviously don’t know what a revenge film is. Everything is handled realistically in the film, mainly due to Bacon’s character. He’s just a normal businessman thrown into a world of violence in which he didn’t expect to find himself. Now he’s trying to fight off gang members with guns, leap out of a car that’s plummeting from a parking garage rooftop, and more importantly, trying to cope with all of it. He doesn’t handle any of these situations like some sudden family man turned badass. He cries, he throws up, he shakes. He doesn’t know what he’s gotten himself into. All he knows is that if he doesn’t make it stop, he and his family are going to live in fear for the rest of their lives. It’s this uneasy motivation that drives the heart of the film. He’s not a violent man, but at this point, what else can he do? I think this is perhaps the aspect that went over critic’s heads.

The film is also driven by plenty of other things. The score for one is magnificent. It’s often somber and mournful and then heart stopping and panicked. The set designs are outstanding and as the film progresses, its color schemes becomes grittier and grittier. As I said before, all of the acting is amazing. Every character handles their situation flawlessly, especially when it comes to dealing with death and grievance. The cinematography is A-Plus and exhibits plenty of unique styles and movement during the more action oriented scenes. Wan’s direction is exactly on the mark and could easily be his best effort yet. He proves yet again that he refuses to be trapped as a new director. In every film he’s made so far, he proves that he has a brilliant eye for style and storytelling. I can’t wait to see what he dreams up next.

When it comes down to it, “Death Sentence” is an uncompromising and visceral experience. Its motives and characterization have a grungy poetry to them that follows through every step of the film. During the last scene of the film, the expression on Nick Hume’s face seems to say everything: “Was it all worth it?” I think more critics should put themselves in his position and then ask the same question.

The Hidden Message: As I said in my hidden message for “Dead Silence,” you can’t ditch your roots, baby. Wan has even more subtle references to his previous works in “Death Sentence.” The “Billy doll” from "Saw" makes an interesting appearance in a clever way, the residing judge at Joe’s trial is played by “Dead Silence’s” Judith Roberts (who played Mary Shaw) and her podium states her name as “Judge Shaw,” and finally “Saw” actor Leigh Whannell has a cameo in the film as “Spink.”