I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

"Retribution" is odd and unusual 80's horror, but it's often very scary and you got to admire how director Guy Magar breaks with all the dreadful clichés and stereotypes that marked the decade. The filming locations are hideous, the violence is raw & explicit and the characters are extremely anti-Hollywood. Especially our lead actor Dennis Lipscomb is someone who you'd normally NEVER see as the protagonist in a 80's horror slasher. His character George Miller is an introvert, unattractive and rather pathetic looking loner who lives in a sleazy hotel room and paints macabre stuff for a living. That's something else than the high school prom queen who's stalked by a ridiculously masked killer for being too popular, isn't it? The movie opens with George ready to take a dive from the hotel roof top to end his sad life with suicide. He survives the attempt because, at the exact same moment, his body becomes possessed by the furious spirit of a murdered gambler. When George returns home from the clinic, everyone is very caring and concerned (he even scores with a warm-hearted prostitute that's way out of his league!), yet the homicidal spirit homing inside him makes him commit repulsive murders when he sleeps. "Retribution" is a brave little horror movie, albeit slightly overlong and sometimes focusing too much on the human interest aspects. The special effects, however, are great and the murders are incredibly gory and sadistic! The ghost inside creepy George Miller is obviously VERY upset, as he crushes people's heads with elevators, processes bodies with frozen animal carcasses and slices stomachs. Quite a few sequences in this film definitely aren't for the squeamish! The flashback scene near the end, enlightening us about the gambler's death, is quite shocking and you immediately understand why he's so angry! If I were George, I would even have volunteered to complete the murder cycle! The music and camera-work are also very effective and there are excellent supportive roles for Hoyt Axton ("Gremlins"), Suzanne Snyder ("Killer Klowns from Outer Space") and Leslie Wing ("the Dungeonmaster"). Recommended to fans of solid B-horror.

The plot centers around introverted artist George Miller, wonderfully portrayed by Dennis Lipscomb, who reminds me of a good friend in the military, and his failed attempt to commit suicide. The paramedics save him, but he acquires a link with the tortured soul of a hoodlum who was brutally murdered. This dampens George's new lease on life, with a courtship of a friendly prostitute, played by B-Movie Queen Suzanne Snyder. Every time George falls asleep, the tortured spirit tales control of his body, and exacts revenge on the people who killed him.This is a very entertaining film with believable everyday characters. Dennis Lipscomb does a splendid job transforming himself from bumbling loser George to a possessed force of destruction.Night of The Creeps and Killer Klowns From Outer Space star Suzanne Snyder, who owns the sexiest smile in cinema history, was sensual and caring all at the same time. This role allows Suzanne to wear some crazy looking, yet rather revealing hooker outfits.I recommend this film to people who like a little substance with their horror, but keep in mind, there is plenty of gore to go with the superior genre acting.

BY FATE TWO MEN ARE BORN ON THE SAME DAY. BY DESTINY THEY DIE AT EXACTLY THE SAME MOMENT BY A SUPERNATURAL ACT, THEY BOTH COME BACK TO LIFE. ONE GOOD ONE EVIL ONE BODY. George Miller is a timid, gentle man whose failure as an artist drives him to attempt suicide by leaping off the roof of his seedy hotel. Vito Minelli is a small time crook whose treachery results in his brutal execution at the hands of his underworld associates.Being a true horror fan i have come to know whats the difference between a good horror film and a bad one, and this is a great horror film. A real rare gem of a film. Probably one of the best horror films i have seen and delivers frights and gore at the barrel full. A pretty rare film now and just as hard to get hold of but i recommend anyone who enjoys this genre as much as me to do what you can to get hold of a copy.

Manic depressive artist George Miller snaps one Halloween night, decides he wants to end it all and jumps from the top of the inner-city fleabag motel he calls home. Across town, small-time gangster Vito Minelli finds out the hard way, what happens when you don't pay off your gambling debts, as his vengeful cronies blow out his kneecaps, then douse him in gasoline and set him on fire.Somewhere between life and death, George's and Vito's lives intersect, and both will be changed forever. This is not a good thing for George, and even worse for Vito's assailants, as they will each discover to their horror and dismay...As low-budget supernatural thrillers go, RETRIBUTION manages to strike a nice balance between the yen of those horror fans who like character-driven stories, and the gorehounds who like to see "folks git blowed up real good." TV and movie vet Dennis Lipscomb, who very rarely gets to carry a picture, delivers a scary and sympathetic performance as the troubled George. He has the chameleonic ability to disappear into his character, which is both a blessing and a curse to the best character actors. They make it look so easy, most people don't even consider what they do to be "work," and that's the trouble.Another out-of-print, hard-as-hell-to-find but worthy entry into the B-movie hall of fame.