Hey gang, Valkor here. I wasn’t always a fan of indie films; there was a time when I despised the genre because I was all caught up in the glitz and glam of Hollywood productions. When I started reviewing films for TOV, I’ve learned to embrace these types of films and I make it my business to put a new indie film on the TOV spotlight before I’d consider one from Hollywood. I mean if the story is engaging enough it doesn’t matter what side of the fence the film is from. And with that out the way, let’s dive into new film “3 Knee Deep”, oh and beware major - and I mean MAJOR spoilers ahead.
"3 Knee Deep" kicks off with head Jamaican gangster “Ghost” (William Lee), who along with his cohort Viktoria (Nadia Stahiv) and fellow confidant Sammy (Michael Ventre), are in the midst of piecing together a deal that would make Ghost very rich – rich enough to get him out of the drug game – he simply has to let go of his stash of a ton of cocaine. The deal is met with some conflict from Viktoria, who ends up killing Sammy and Ghost is knocked out by a bunch of masked thugs.
When Ghost awakens, he’s in prison garb and locked up in a ranch-style prison cell out in who knows where alongside another man, who claims he’s a special agent and he states that he knows why the two were kidnapped – so that these kidnappers can get their hands on that cocaine stash. The prison is run by a militant type named Cole (Bill Koruna), who kills the special agent and starts a series of tortures on Ghost to try and get him to reveal the location of the stash.
And it’s not only Cole who is looking for the cocaine but there’s a mixed bag of interested parties who are looking for both Ghost and the drugs and it’s all about who will find it or him first! Ahh hell, let’s just dive right in! With the help of a special agent, Ghost escapes the encampment and heads to a warehouse in Jersey City (Woo!) where the drugs are hidden. He takes out the baddies who have locked on to the warehouse plus two corrupt cops who were looking to make a major score. And just when you think it’s over, it’s revealed there was an even bigger player involved, who set the whole thing up, who in turn Ghost hunts down and kills.
The Good:
I was about to put an “N/A” here but then I remember that there was something I enjoyed about this film – one actor: Crystal Russell aka Octavia, whose presence is so strong that it demands that you pay attention. And I’m all for it, especially when she’s double-fisting pistols. She’s the kind of woman you definitely want to be on her good side.
The Bad:
When I read the synopsis for “3 Knee Deep”, it sounded like such a great idea. But in the end, it doesn’t translate all that well as a film; for starters, you have all these different entities looking for Ghost and his stash, which spreads the story out too thin and it doesn’t give us enough time to get involved with anyone because we’re focused on areas that aren’t necessary. Did we need the nerdy kid? Did we need the computer geek? Not really on both counts and at times I totally forgot about them until their return. Hell once Viktoria is arrested, we don’t see her again until the end of the film and by then she’s dead – and she’s the one that kicked things off! Then there’s the past connection with Octavia and the cop – unnecessary! We can deduce they would have some criminal/cop relationship due to numerous arrests, but anything more than that was unneeded since we don't get to see it anyway. Finally, the major bad guy at the end – talk about literally out of nowhere, he really needed a much broader presence, at least, midway to show his hand in all of this. But his appearance at the end feels like an afterthought because at one point I thought the film was over only to find out there was more to it, and yet I really wanted it to have ended sooner – and it should have ended sooner too.
The Fuck:
Ghost takes out four guards, who had guns pointed right at him! What’s worse about that scene? He even does a little twirl before taking out one of them. Are you kidding me??
The Ugly:
N/A
3 Knee Deep is available now and it was a good idea that wasn’t very well executed - it definitely needed more polish before release. And while there might be some good in this picture, it’s not enough to redeem it. And out of TOV 5 stars, I’m giving 3 Knee Deep a 1.5.
