Bring Me The Head Of The Machine Gun Woman (2012)

The DJ in a bar run by a gangster named Che Longana (The Sausage) overhears something he isn't supposed to and realises his boss is going to silence him. In desperation he offers to capture an assassin who has been causing Che Longana grief... the deadliest - and sexiest - hitwoman in Chile, known as The Machine Gun Woman. With a $200,000,000 bounty on her head he's not the only one looking for her.

BRING ME THE HEAD OF THE MACHINE GUN WOMAN wears its influences on its sleeve (even having callouts to directors that influenced Ernesto Díaz Espinoza in the credits). The most obvious influence is Robert Rodriguez, with EL MARIACHI, Desperado and MACHETE all being tangible presences. The film has a Grindhouse aesthetic similar to the duology by Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, and offers a nod to video games like Grand Theft Auto at the same time.

It is an affectionate homage to action movies of the 70's and 80's whose tongue is in its cheek, but not too far in. The script puts a smart twist on genre clichés that makes its characters more three dimensional than you might expect, and the film avoids being entirely predictable as a result.

The cinematography is stylish and energetic, making what was presumably a small budget go far if not long - the film is only 73 minutes, which is exactly how long it needs to be. Action scenes are not particularly numerous but they are well filmed. The eclectic soundtrack adds to the film's style.

There's a lot of fun to be had here if you enjoyed the Grindhouse films, or the films they were inspired by.