Left for Dead purports to be the UK's first independent action martial arts

Martial arts

Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....

 feature film. Directed by Ross Boyask and produced by Phil Hobden

Phil Hobden

Phil Hobden is a filmmaker based in the South of England. He is also notable as a screenwriter, film producer, journalist and media campaigner...

, it paved the way for a number of independent action films to follow, including Soul Searcher, The Silencer and The Purifiers.

Synopsis

Left For Dead is a revenge thriller set in a city called Hope, where a crime lord called Kincaid rules with an iron fist. Williams, a former hitman for Kincaid, is attacked and left for dead when he tries to leave the organisation. He teams up with Kelso, a kickboxer who had his hands smashed by Kincaid, and together they must fight to exact revenge on the criminal empire that holds their city in an iron grasp.

Cast

Mostly the filmmakers cast unknowns in the film. Original Kincaid actor Gordon Alexander left the production after 2 months due to 'creative differences'. He later went on to star in the critically hammered Brit art house action film The Purifiers.

Left for Dead also features the first on-screen performance from Bourne Ultimatum star Joey Ansah

Joey Ansah

Joey Ansah is a British actor and martial artist.-Early life:Joey Ansah was born in London, England of mixed ethnicity, the second son of celebrated Ghanaian fashion designer Kofi and his Devon-born wife Nicola. He lived in London for the first 10 years of his life before emigrating with his...

 in a very small combat role.

Actors and stunt performers Jon Foo and Joey Ansah

Joey Ansah

Joey Ansah is a British actor and martial artist.-Early life:Joey Ansah was born in London, England of mixed ethnicity, the second son of celebrated Ghanaian fashion designer Kofi and his Devon-born wife Nicola. He lived in London for the first 10 years of his life before emigrating with his...

 have cameo roles as one of the fighters.

Production

Left For Dead was shot over 18 months in Brighton and Eastbourne, East Sussex and debuted at Cannes 2004 with a packed market screening in the Riviera building. It was quickly picked up by sales agent Barbara Mudge and her Beverly Hills-based company Worldwide Filmed Entertainment LLC.

Self-funded, the film was the work of UK director-producer team Ross Boyask & Phil Hobden. Starring Glenn (Take Three Girls, The Silencer) Salvage, Andy Prior, Adam Chapman and a host of the UK's most talented action martial arts stars, 'Left For Dead' has action choreographed by Gordon Alexander (Accidental Spy) & Independent Stunts (Blood Myth, The Silencer)

The film was shot for under UK£10,000 and has been released in over 15 countries to date, including the UK, Canada, USA and Thailand.

Critical reaction

'John Woo Styled action in a UK Setting'
Kim Newman

Kim Newman

Kim Newman is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's Dracula at the age of eleven—and alternate fictional versions of history...

- Empire Magazine

'If this film had been made in the 70s Tarantino would cite it as an influence'
Mike Leeder

Mike Leeder

Mike Leeder is a film producer born and raised in the United Kingdom, but based in Hong Kong since 1990. He has built a solid networrk and reputation in the Film and TV industry throughout Hong Kong, China, and the rest of Asia....

- Impact (action entertainment magazine)

Impact (action entertainment magazine)

Impact is a monthly magazine published in the United Kingdom since 1992. It is likely modeled on its French "older brother" "Impact" started in 1986. It covers the field of action entertainment: including Hong Kong action cinema, worldwide martial arts films, Hollywood productions, anime, comics,...

'Taking low budget action cinema to new levels of delirium and viciousness, Left For Dead happens to be an amazing adrenaline rush of a film'
Matthew Sanderson, Rumourmachine.com

'Left for Dead is one hell of an action movie... pushing the action to extremes while maintaining an engaging plot' 4/5
Mark Pollard, Kungfucinema.com

'bloody and violent martial arts action... the fights come at you furiously... Left For Dead, thankfully, differs from the norm' -6.5/10
Gregory Conley, yourvideostoreshelf.com

‘Sets a whole new standard for digital video production... the UK movie scene just got its butt kicked!’ 4.5/5
Dean Meadows, VENGEANCE Magazine