‘White Crow’ VOD Review
Stars: Julian Gamm, Carl Wharton, Andrew Rolfe, James Graeme, Hannah Al Rashid, Joseph Campbell | Written and Directed by George Threadgold
Writer/director George Threadgold (Dinner at Vanessa’s) has revisited his three-part web series White Crow and expanded it into a feature film with several of the same cast members. The film begins with JD (Julian Gamm; Vampire Resurrection, Video Shop Tales of Terror) narrowly surviving an attempt on his life related to his former employer the shadowy agency known as White Crow for whom he was one of the most lethal assassins.
He immediately seeks out his old boss Patrick Adams (Carl Wharton; Ripper’s Revenge, The Mummy: Resurrection) looking for answers. He doesn’t get them, but we do learn some details about his association with White Crow, something that seemingly reaches back to his childhood and suggests this is as much a personal matter as it is a professional one.
Back in London, news of JD’s activities are causing enough consternation in the higher ranks of White Crow that Charles Mason (Andrew Rolfe; Kingdom of the Dinosaurs, Above What Cost) and Sir Clifford (James Graeme; Video Shop Tales of Terror II: Lust and Revenge, Cookster: The Darkest Days) make plans to shut him down permanently, regardless of collateral damage.
And that damage nearly includes Emma (Hannah Al Rashid; DreadOut, Gundala) a nurse who finds JD passed out in a bathroom stall, bleeding out from the wound he got in the opening struggle. She takes him home and stitches him up, only to be caught in the middle of things when what she thought was a delivery man turns out to be an assassin sent to take out her patient. With no other choice, she goes on the run with him, hoping to stay alive long enough to find out what she’s gotten herself involved in.
White Crow starts out like a typical low-budget rogue agent film, with its protagonist pitted against his former comrades. And it does deliver a couple of nicely staged bits of hand-to-hand combat in the first half hour. But then, with the introduction of Christopher (Joseph Campbell) a conspiracy podcaster, it goes off down a rabbit hole and started to lose me with talk of The Illuminati, Bilderberg Group, Council of Nine, etc.
Your reaction may be different, but I’ve had enough people try to convince me these groups are real and run the world that I have an extremely hard time taking it seriously. However, between the way the plot incorporates it, and what is currently going on in the world, the film was actually shot in 2022 making its release well-timed, it makes enough sense that I could suspend my disbelief enough to go along with it.
And if you can go along with it, White Crow has enough twists, turns and double-crosses in its plot to keep you guessing what’s coming next. And while I wasn’t thrilled with its ending with so many plot threads left hanging for a sequel, it did surprise me with how it played out.
Given its low budget, White Crow doesn’t have any big action set pieces, but the various fights and shootouts are well-staged and keep things moving along nicely. There is one scene however where someone gets shot and not only is there no wound, there’s no blood staining his nice white shirt. Apart from that, however, the film avoids a lot of the gaffes we see in films shot on a tight budget.
The cast is full of faces that should be familiar from various British, and in the case of Hannah Al Rashid, Indonesian films. The main performers are all good, with Rolfe and Graeme making enjoyably slimy villains and Gamm credible enough as the enigmatic protagonist. There are a couple of supporting actors that are rather noticeably rough around the edges, but thankfully they aren’t on the screen that long.
Rounding things out is a nice score by veteran composer Marco Werba (Giallo, Timo Rose’s Beast) and some solid cinematography from Sam Wain (Sketches for my Sweetheart, The Art of My Scars)
Overall, White Crow is an enjoyable espionage thriller. Those who are into conspiracy theories will probably find it even more enjoyable than I did. If the sequel should happen, it’ll be interesting to see how all the elements come together.
*** 3/5
White Crow is available on digital via Buffalo 8.
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