Black Creek, 2025.
Directed by Shannon Lanier and Mike Möller.
Starring Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton, Don “The Dragon” Wilson, Patrick Kilpatrick, Keith Cooke, R. Marcus Taylor, Eliza Kelley, Brandy Futch, Benny Urquidez and Keith Vitali.
SYNOPSIS
A sheriff’s sister seeks revenge against the terrifying leader of a group of outlaws after discovering he brutally murdered her brother, his wife, and other family members in a gritty southwestern town.
Just lately, there’s been a little bit of a nostalgia-fuelled comeback of sorts for Cynthia Rothrock. A mention on Cobra Kai in its penultimate season may have teased the prospect of a guest spot, but that sadly never came to pass. However, the recent old-school brawler The Last Kumite, which packed a punch, featured Rothrock. Lady Scorpions was also a solid straight-to-streaming flick with Rothrock and her on-screen daughter teaming up to get her granddaughter back.
All that ties in nicely with a very pleasing recent slew of Blu-ray upgrades for some of Rothrock’s peak era classics from Hong Kong and her heyday in the Western video stores, too. After a handful of wilderness years with the occasional walk-on, it’s been nice seeing Rothrock becoming more front and centre again and doing what she’s always been the Queen of…kicking mofudgers in the head.
Last year, she decided to take more control and become the creative force behind Black Creek. Co-writing and producing the film, born from a successful crowdfunding campaign, this one has been a passion project for Rothrock. The question is, has it made a difference?
Cynthia does her best Clint Eastwood, crossed with Bruce Lee (or perhaps crossed with herself, more to the point). She’s a gunslinging, stony faced ass kicker, adept with guns, fists and feet. She rides back to town to find her Sheriff brother and most of his family have been wiped out, but when she realises her niece is still breathing, she’s not only hell bent on revenge but rescue. The man in her crosshairs is Sinclair, played by one of her great collaborators, (the late great) Richard Norton.
Making good use of the Wild West town set location, the film rarely ventures out from it (besides suitably dusty locales). There’s some nice amber-infused cinematography and fair costume work that at least brings the era to life. Occasionally, the low budget and undoubtedly tight filming schedule (because these things inevitably are) do show. It’s got rough edges, but it’s also got a gleeful grindhouse vibe that rolls into that with largely success. It almost feels like a film that might have played between Death Proof, Machete, Hobo with a Shotgun and Planet Terror. Rothrock’s first line gives you the tone from the off: “What are you chicken fuckers doing on my brother’s property?” as she approaches a posse of goons soon to be dispatched.
Rothrock and Norton aside, the film also features roles for Don “The Dragon” Wilson (taking on a Miyagi-esque role), Keith Cooke, Patrick Kilpatrick, Benny “the Jet” Urquidez and Keith Vitali, who’ve all cut their teeth to varying degrees as on screen brawlers (as well as their real life Martial arts exploits). There’s so much late 80s, early 90s straight-to-video talent here, you’ll almost smell that Ma and Pa store, or feel the icky stickiness of the Blockbuster carpets. They all get a chance to shine, but Norton in particular revels (as he always did) in his bad guy role. The synergy with Rothrock is also there for all to see. They’re the Torvill and Dean of face punching.
As for her majesty, the Queen of action, Rothrock still kicks ass. Her fight scenes are the highlight, and her showdown with Norton is suitably impressive. She displays a mixture of her repertoire, including weapons work and the patented Rothrock stinger, which may never have been more brilliantly utilised than here. Some of the side character fights or mass brawls don’t quite come off, perhaps a mixture of time, some speeding up in the edit, and the inevitable difficulty that comes with delivering crowdfunding perk roles. There’s often (he says from experience) an inescapable shoe-horned feeling that comes from any perks involving bought roles, but it is what it is.
Fans of the 90s-era B movies, martial arts cheese fests and grindhouse action will likely get a kick out of this one. It sensibly keeps tongue in cheek, but doesn’t forget to have a little heart and sincerity where needed. Is it Rothrock’s finest hour? No, but it might be the one she’s poured the most into since she put herself through the Hong Kong cinema wringer 40 years ago. She delivers the batterings more convincingly here than many of her generation of male action contemporaries have been lately. Rough edges and an excessive runtime aside, this one hits the sweet spot and delivers a good time. Perfect Friday night, pizza and beer fare and still a joy seeing Rothrock do her thing.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
