Review by Karl Verhoven

Decades after they murdered their way to the top, three old gangsters meet again on the verge of cashing in. They have different attitudes to their past. Donny has distanced himself for years, Alex is experiencing pangs of conscience, and Primo remains an irredeemable thug. “Tell the FBI we’ll be happy to give you a recommendation”, he taunts the persistent Agent Lopez, “and say hi to your partner for us… if you ever find her.” However, despite the way things seem, all is not well for the gangsters.

Writing team Ollie Masters and Rob Williams deliver a classic gangster movie with a supernatural tinge, drenched in film noir atmosphere via the shadowy art of Laurence Campbell. Flashbacks explain the bond between the three old men, while Lopez is also followed, making one last desperate attempt to bring them to justice. The wild card is Alex, Donny and Primo all having visions of skeletal creatures.

Flashbacks apart, it’s a clever touch setting everything over one wild and fateful night, where nothing goes as planned for anyone. Just at the point where someone’s beginning to feel comfortable Masters and Williams pull the rug, and everything changes, which is all the more impressive for them working with a cast where only five people really count. Secrets are slowly disclosed.

A veteran of many Punisher stories, Campbell is in comfortable territory as the bones are picked over. He creates a distinctive cast, shuddering horrors and smart visual metaphors. Lee Loughridge follows the cues by keeping the colours dark and foreboding.

All in all, great gangster noir.