Richard V. Somes' Topakk (Raven Banner, Nathan Studios, Fusee, Strawdogs Studio Production, 2023) is a non-stop crescendo of vicious, mean-spirited brutality. Somes puts his horror background to good use, delivering more gore and splatter than any slasher you’re likely to find. We’re talking bone-breaking, gut-ripping, face-stabbing, machete-wielding mayhem. And in addition to being the boldest, craziest action movie maybe ever, the story adds up to much more than a delivery system for fight choreography—though there’s plenty of room for that as well. The plot follows Miguel Vergara (Arjo Atayde), an ex-soldier suffering from PTSD after a mission he was leading went horribly wrong. Now employed as a security guard, he encounters Weng (Julia Montes), a young woman on the run, who breaks into the property with her wounded brother, Bogs (Kokoy de Santos). They are hunted by a corrupt police death squad. Miguel can either hand them over or fall back on his soldiering skills and battle them and his demons. But Topakk never feels unbalanced, more like a vibrant exploration of two genres that share so much but have rarely been combined the way that Somes makes it seem so natural. Topakk offers layers of competing interests meshed together to create a much deeper, more nuanced picture than initially expected. Somes, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jimmy Flores and Will Fredo, rarely spells out things in explicit fashion. Instead, they dole out just enough information to propel the narrative. Yet Somes knows how to load different action beats with varying levels of intensity (visually and aurally) so as not to perpetually exhaust the viewer. There is a focus on spatial coherency and a rhytmic ebb and flow punctuated as sequences build and release tension. Somes calibrates each of these beats to execute the desired effect whether it be to establish menace, develop story or convey emotion for every moment of bloodlust, there is a recognition of the immense toll this violence takes.
This toll is internalized by Atayde, his face quaking with dismay and anger, regret and determination until they all erupt outwardly. Atayde's facial acting is phenomenal, recalling silent-era stars as he conveys emotions on a collosal scale. These displays extend to his entire body, as the acts of violence and motion are at their core in all action cinema, the most raw physicalization of these feelings. Topakk packs an emotional punch, as the relatively few dramatic scenes feel relaxed and familial. I was also transfixed by Sid Lucero's Romero, the film's conflicted antagonist. He's a compelling figure just in general. It's truly astounding the way he dials in his intensely physical acting as Romero grows tired, sustain injuries and feels desperation, anger, or sadness. He shifts or maintains momentum and externalizes each beat with force. But action is the main draw and it delivers. Somes' visual grammar combines fluid takes of slaughter imbued with the nervous energy of improvisation. Gun fights, knife fights, slabs-of-meat fights — Topakk has it all. Bodies crack and bruise, and the word punishment finds a new visual definition. Indeed, the physical toll is so jaw-dropping it almost completely eviscerates the purpose of the journey. Somes films it all in unique style that showcases the remarkable martial arts talent on screen and creates a raw immediacy that places the viewer smack in the middle of it all. There’s a pulsing, primal sensation that captures the anger, rage and anguish, transmitting it to the audience. As fantastic and over-the-top as the action is, the film maintains a grounded connection between its audience and the players. Somes does an absolutely magnificent job of transforming such moments into kinetic and often shockingly brutal instances of pure cinema. The brutality of these interludes cannot be understated, ultimately and it’s difficult to easily recall a non-horror picture with this much blood and gore. Topakk is a sheer ballet of brutality, the grace of movement in service of grotesque violence.
Production Design: Richard V. Somes
Music: Jose Antonio Buencamino
Sound Design: Albert Michael Idioma, Jannina Mikaela Minglanilla, Andrea Teresa T. Idioma
Director of Photography: Luis Quirino
Editor: Jaime Dumancas
Screenplay: Jimmy Flores, Will Fredo
Written and Directed By: Richard V. Somes
