A B-action thriller that doesn't overreach its modest scale, Bring Him Back Dead almost successfully blends film-noir and martial-arts elements. Almost. In the end, it's pretty much a passable bloodbath, but filmmaker Mark Savage gets a few twists in the tale.
A diamond robbery goes wrong, leaving a squad of masked marauders escaping into the woods (principle filming location was Oneonta, New York state) with the precious loot, but also a wounded man and a lot of infighting about what went wrong and what they should do next.
Alex (Gary Daniels), the most conscience-stricken of the gang, was only in this caper to pay for the hospitalization of his stricken son and never expected casualties. The ringleader, Trent (Louis Mandylor), is similarly committed to getting the diamonds to a crime lord (Daniel Baldwin) because of the drug offenses of his sexy daughter (Katie Keene). When Alex and Lisa bolt, their former comrades commence hunting them down.
Flashbacks and third-act revelations uncover a patchwork of double-crosses that might entertain low-expectation viewers who only tuned in for the kung-fu, kickboxing and gunplay. As with the much more lavish Expendables franchise (which also featured Gary Daniels), part of the appeal here is watching the action stuff handled by veteran genre performers well past middle age. It is nice seeing Daniels, Baldwin, and Mandylor enthusiastically mix it up with the younger newcomers.
General film collections with space on public library shelves for yet another so-so crime-actioner could do worse. An optional purchase.