Movie Review: All Superheroes Must Die (2012, Blu-ray)

Writer/Director/Actor Jason Trost surprised a few of us here at the Cheese with his excellent film The FP. The independent jack-of-all trades is back with his own take on the superhero sub-genre with the extremely dark All Superheroes Must Die from Image Entertainment.

All Superheroes Must Die follows the plight of four superheroes led by Charge (Jason Trost). Each of the heroes has just woken up in a different location after being drugged and given a tiny wound on their wrists. As it turns out all of these superhuman’s have lost their strength thanks to a criminal mastermind named Rickshaw (played by veteran actor James Remar, The Cotton Club, The Long Riders).

Naturally, chaos ensues as Ricksaw kidnaps hundreds of the city's civilians, places them in different locations around the city to make it that much more difficult for our powerless heroes. To make matters worse the group has to tackle a few of Rickshaw’s psychotic henchman. Blood flows plenty here as All Superheroes Must Die isn't your standard superhero flick - it's downright bleak at times. If you're wanting to plop the kiddos in front of the TV for this one be prepared some very graphic violence. Big kids will have a blast though.

Remar is tremendous as Ricksaw. So many name actors half-ass their performances when doing low budget or micro-budget features, that's not the case with Remar who's as maniacal as ever.  The acting is overall pretty serviceable with Trost and Lucas Till putting in the other strong performances in the film. My only gripe with this low-budget wonder is that it would have been cool to have a longer running time to fill a few holes. It's a scant 78 minutes but I will admit that it does go by fast.

All Superheroes Must Die is a pretty special film considering the meager budget of $20,000 dollars. It doesn't look like The Avengers but it makes for all the high-concept superhero action with a clever storyline and fearless writing. Trost is definitely a rising star ,so give this one a look - you won't be disappointed. Recommended.