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Witness Review
Image Credit: Newark Studios
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Bryan C. King– Lance Scott
Katie Sargent– Lori Hall
Brett Barsky– Fitz
Anthony Weston– Jamal
Suzie S. Ziser– Karen Duvall
Tamara Kostadinova– Becky
Franklin Correa– Jack
(check out the rest of the cast here)
Directed by Franklin Correa
Screenplay by Franklin Correa
Distributed by Newark Studios and Tubi
Rated TV-MA
Runtime– 47 minutes
Witness official Facebook page
Witness, written and directed by Franklin Correa and now available on the Tubi streaming platform, is a nifty little mega low-budget action flick with some impressive martial arts brawls. It’s a little rough around the edges (the movie has some serious sound issues at times), but what it lacks in polish it makes up for it in energy and two top notch performances. Clocking in at around 47 minutes, Witness doesn’t waste time getting to where it wants to go, which is always great to see.
Witness stars Bryan C. King as Lance Scott, a badass martial artist and former professional fighter that finds himself on the run from a local crime boss after Lance’s best friend Ray Fitz (Brett Barsky), a corrupt U.S. marshal, is murdered. The crime boss, Karen Duvall (Suzie S. Ziser), wanted to hire Fitz for some sort of nefarious criminal scheme, and Fitz refused, so Duvall had Fitz shot dead. After taking out two of Duvall’s henchmen with his deadly martial arts skill, Lance tries to get help first from the pregnant Becky (Tamara Kostadinova), and then local reporter Lori Hall (Katie Sargent). Lance is told that he needs to get away from the city (the story takes place somewhere in New Jersey, at least I assume it’s New Jersey) and into witness protection before Duvall’s crime business finds him, but Lance wants to avenge his dead friend first. While all of that is happening, Duvall sends out Jamal (Anthony Weston), her deadliest henchman, to find Lance, kill him, and anyone else he interacted with. Will Lance be able to stop Duvall, or will Duvall prevail and continue to grow her local criminal empire?
When Fitz is killed and Lance goes on the run, Witness develops a real sense of urgency because Lance needs to find safety and figure out what the heck he needs to do while also dodging Duvall’s henchmen. As Lance tries to understand what Fitz was involved in from both Becky and Lori, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before the violence that snuffed out Fitz will get Lance, too. Yes, Lance dispatches the first set of Duvall henchmen fairly easily, but you know that it isn’t likely going to be that easy going forward. Duvall could send anyone out to kill Lance and his friends/acquaintances at any time. Is Lance going to be able to prevail? Will Lance be able to take on Jamal, who we see at the very beginning of the movie kill a woman Duvall wanted dead? Just how many henchmen will Duvall send after Lance, and will she burn the city down to get him?
The fight scenes in Witness are quick and brutal and show off Bryan C. King’s real deal martial arts skills. Would it have been cool if we had a few longer fight scenes? Absolutely. But the quick fight scenes that we do get help add to the movie’s tension, as there’s a real sense of impending danger at all times. Lance was able to take out these guys, sure, but will he be able to take out the next attack? And when the heck will that next attack happen?
The opening theme to Witness is nothing short of fantastic. The movie’s composer, David James Willox, puts together a top notch theme that is no doubt inspired by the music of John Carpenter (the font used on the movie’s credits also resembles the classic John Carpenter font used in many of the director’s movies. I don’t know the name of that particular font, but if you’re a Carpenter nerd you will notice it immediately). I wish more low-budget genre cinema in general understood the importance of having a good theme. A good theme will only make your movie better and more memorable.
The movie’s sound is all over the place. When the scene takes place outside, the sound is soft and it’s hard to hear what the characters are saying. When characters are inside, no issues, but when the story moves to a public park? You need subtitles.
Bryan C. King does a great job as Lance. He’s a full on badass, yes, and a former pro fighter (he was a kickboxing champion at one point in his life), but he’s also a reluctant hero. Who the hell wants to go on the run from a crime boss’s henchmen because that crime boss killed your best friend? Lance doesn’t, but he finds a way to succeed when he’s forced into action against his will. Lance would much rather just be a “regular guy,” because being a regular guy is way easier than running from vicious criminals.
Katie Sargent does a nice job as Lori Hall, the reporter that knows just how big of a crime boss scumbag Duvall is. She’s interested in justice, which is exactly what you want with a reporter in this kind of story. And Tamara Kostadinova is quite good as Becky, the pregnant woman that finds herself in danger. It’s really messed up what happens to her.
Anthony Weston is such a phenomenal piece of garbage as Jamal, Duvall’s deadliest henchman. Jamal is an amoral killer, which is probably advantageous when you’re working for a crime boss (crime bosses tend to be amoral killers, too. It’s probably better to be like the boss than not). The skeleton gloves Jamal wears are cool looking right up until you realize who he is and what he does. And the bit where he licks the blood off of the knife he just used to stab someone? Grossest shit you’ll ever see.
And Suzie S. Ziser is hilarious as crime boss Karen Duvall. At first, you think that Ziser is overacting because she seems to be way too animated when interacting with Fitz or her henchmen. You wonder to yourself if she’s trying too hard. As the movie goes on, though, you start to dig Ziser’s performance, and you totally understand why Duvall is the way she is. She’s “worked hard” to build her criminal empire, and she doesn’t want anything to mess that up. The woman is under a lot of pressure, man. Her final scene is perfect.
And kudos to writer/director Correa for his brief appearance as Jack, Lance’s other friend. Lance talks to Jack over the phone, and the entire time they’re on the phone Jack is in the midst of taking a massive dump. It’s funny and kind of weird, yes, but it helps the plot along and that’s wonderful. On top of that, how often do you see a movie director taking a dump in their own movie? I can’t remember the last time I saw it happen. Has Lloyd Kaufman done it yet?
Witness is a fun and worthwhile 47 minute movie. It could use better sound and longer fights, but it mostly works and that’s what’s most important. I liked it, and if you’re a fan of mega low-budget action cinema of any sort, you should definitely check out Witness. You have a spare 47 minutes in your life. I know that you do.
See Witness. See it, see it, see it. Witness is currently available on the Tubi streaming platform.
So what do we have here?
Dead bodies: Six
Explosions: None.
Nudity?: None.
Doobage: A berating. Kidnapping. Bullet to the head. A pretty cool opening titles sequence and theme. Martial arts training. A phone conversation. Guy on a motorcycle. Head nodding. Talk of options. Another bullet to the head. Mega palm thrust to the face. Body slam. Neck breaking (or chest crushing. It could be either, really). A skull cap. A public meeting. More phone conversations. A full on breakdown. Theft. Serious gut stabbing. Serious throat slitting. A full on public showdown. More neck breaking. A kip up. Off screen neck breaking. A news update.
Kim Richards? It depends on how you want to look at it.
Gratuitous: A tunnel. “Personal things.” “And Franklin Correa.” “Watch my hands!” Franklin Correa taking a loud shit. Franklin Correa wearing a Force to Fear T-shirt. A woman eating Tostitos chips with Tostitos branded dip. A bad guy wearing skeleton gloves. A bad guy licking the blood off of the knife he just used to stab someone to death. A “Play at Your Own Risk” sign. Jersey News.
Best lines: “Go do your thing, Jamal.” “Get rid of this piece of shit, Jamal.” “You know, just because you’re a cop doesn’t mean we can’t kick your ass.” “Boys! There’s too much hostility here!” “Where the fuck is my money?” “Goddamit, Ray, what did you get yourself into?” “I’m taking a fucking shit, man.” “Come on, boss, I’m on a break.” “Give me the bag!” “It’s a one way ticket to hell. Tell the devil I sent you.” “You don’t know Lance Scott, former kickboxing champion?” “Is it over?”
