Hellfire Review: Asinine 1980s Action Throwback Provides Moderate Charm In Its Bloody Simplicity

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Isaac Florentine’s film feels like a classic 1980s action movie, complete with over-the-top violence. Stephen Lang plays a Vietnam veteran who’s a bit of a loner, reminiscent of Clint Eastwood’s iconic character but with a touch of the charm of Burt Reynolds. The film is clearly made on a low budget and doesn’t hide its strong, traditional beliefs about self-reliance. It’s a fantasy about a simpler America where a skilled, armed citizen can take the law into their own hands and defeat evil – even an entire town of it.

Okay, look, Hellfire isn’t going to win any awards, but if you’re just in the mood for a classic, low-budget action flick, it delivers. It’s a little rough around the edges – the writing is pretty basic, and honestly, everything feels a bit cheap – but there’s something kind of fun about that old-school vibe. The story is super simple, which actually works in its favor because it lets Lang do what he does best: get beat up, get sweaty, and blast through tons of enemies. Don’t overthink it, just enjoy the ride.

Isaac Florentine’s Hellfire Is As Sophisticated as a Chuck Norris Meme.

Lang is the kind of incredibly skilled and tough character who inspired classic Chuck Norris jokes. He’s a former Green Beret who mysteriously avoids sharing his name or background, but he’s resourceful and determined enough to defeat entire armies on his own. Luckily for the town of Rondo, Texas, he arrives just as a dangerous drug cartel starts to take control.

It’s probably an exaggeration to say so, but the story in Hellfire feels completely disconnected from reality. Initially, the plot seems fairly standard – a wanderer decides to protect the people of a small town, a common theme in Westerns and Samurai movies. However, if you look closer, the movie quickly goes from being sweet and endearing to utterly wild and unpredictable.

The film Hellfire is set in the 1980s, though you’d likely miss that detail if not for the opening title. The movie doesn’t offer any other clues about the time period. This lack of attention to detail is a recurring issue, and it’s particularly evident with the villain, Jeremiah (played by a subdued Harvey Keitel). He’s portrayed as a flamboyant gangster living in a lavish house, which feels out of place in the otherwise economically depressed town – even the local bar has a makeshift cardboard sign. His drug dealing business and overall east coast persona simply don’t fit the setting.

Jeremiah and his family are running a surprising drug operation right out in the open: they’re shipping cocaine inside regular beer cans from their brewery. It’s shockingly easy for them to do so, and it appears the whole town is controlled by this drug trade. The local sheriff, Dolph Lundgren, isn’t stopping them – in fact, he’s actively helping to hide it, and he seems to be the only law enforcement officer in town.

When a stranger arrives in town, the saloon owner, Owen (Chris Mullinax), gives him the nickname “Nomada,” which quickly catches on. Nomada offers to help with repairs around the saloon in exchange for a place to stay, but Owen’s daughter, Lena (Scottie Thompson), is uneasy about his arrival. The town is controlled by a powerful and suspicious mafia who routinely turn away newcomers, and she fears Nomada’s presence will bring even more trouble.

People expected Florentine’s film to have a supernatural twist, hinting at dark secrets within the town. However, the story is surprisingly straightforward: the townspeople overreact to the presence of an elderly homeless man. Despite initially trying to leave after one night, Nomada intervenes when he sees Clyde, Jeremiah’s son, physically abusing Lena, and decides to take revenge on everyone involved, becoming a one-man force of retribution.

This movie doesn’t offer anything new – the action feels like it’s straight out of any action film from the past six decades. While the fight scenes are decently filmed, everything else is poorly done. Hellfire is incredibly brightly lit, almost as if it was filmed in a drugstore. The music is both forgettable and sounds like it was created by artificial intelligence. And the sound effects, surprisingly, feel as fake as those from the classic Batman TV series with Adam West.

Look, Lang really throws himself into this one, and he’s committed, but honestly, Hellfire is only as good as how much you enjoy basic action movies. The character of Nomada is… well, he’s basically a caricature of the stubbornly self-reliant poor, refusing even simple help like a blanket. And when the violence kicks in – and it really kicks in – it’s treated with this almost flippant disregard, like it’s nothing. It can be exciting, sure, but it’s also incredibly relentless, and you quickly find yourself wishing these characters would just…move on. It gets tiring fast, and you’ll probably be daydreaming about them just disappearing down the highway before the credits roll.

Hellfire releases on digital and VOD on February 17th, 2026.

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2026-02-14 17:08