Topdeal Entertaiment presents: Desmond Elliot ( Jide), Mercy Johnson ( Margaret), Yemi Blaq (Paul), Jim Lawson (Uncle), Tunde Alabi ( Alhaji), Aisha Thaddeus (Funka). Screenplay,Ayo Asaolu; Editor, Johnson Amojala; Director, Bode Alao Festus
The title of this story is evocative. My mind raced to, The Followers, that blood-bathing carnival of killers I witnessed in that flick; in the Marshals or, Warriors of Satan 2007. I was looking forward to the occult, though: The play of blood; the slaughter of roosters and their blood splattering over the camera lens; a baby buried alive and an old uncle waking up from his grave to revenge on his murderers. I thought I was in for a treat; those Desmond Elliot man-eating movies, or Jim Ike type where one could easily sacrifice one’s mother for a container full of Naira. No, Deadly Hands, is a sleeper, a thud. You heard me. A noun. Definition of a dull drop of an object. A thud!
The film opens with a dream sequence: Paul (Yemi Blaq) walks barefooted into his office by the back door, and passes by a lineup of candidates who wants to invest money in his business. He invites into his office a pretty interested candidate who had a black overnight bag full of money. Upon opening her bag, a venomous black snake dashes at him. He wakes from the nightmare with a yell. As in literature, the dream portends events to come.
The movie introduces us, at curtain up to a business meeting of four: Jide (Desmond Elliot), Margaret (Mercy Johnson) Alhaji ( Tunde Alabi) and at the head of the table and in whose office the meeting takes place is Paul (Yemi Blaq). The meeting is pleading with Paul to sign onto a project that will haul in lots of money for the company, but the overnight hideous dream he had, makes him reluctant to give in to what Margaret, Alhaji and Jide, wish. In his living room getting drunk, he is slashed on the side of his head and found dead by his girlfriend, Funke (Aisha Thaddeus). The friend obviously is framed for the murder, and she’s arrested and taken to jail.
Obviously, Paul is killed for either standing in the way of a multi-million dollar deal or for whatever reason, not made clear in the movie.
Deadly Hands is Nollywood’s attempt at whodunit. But the story falls flat on its face. There are certain elements I find lacking in this film, and in fact, two actually. The rhetoric of film and the element of persuasion.
Unless Nollywood’s intent is to provide me an evening treat, that I’ll excuse them for, but if their purpose for the production of this movie is an attempt at a serious creative effort, then I don’t buy into it. The characters of Paul and Margaret, the two notable mega stars didn’t show their prowess here. Desmond Elliot’s acting in this film demonstrates the absence of concentration and focus. The tears of Mercy Johnson seems fake. If I watched this movie for the presence of these two megastars and they didn’t make me believe in their acting, then as an educated viewer, I wasn’t persuaded enough.
The rhetoric of film, this movie, Deadly Hands, didn’t speak to me or show me in any way, a believable essence either in location, dialogue or action.
If an office is conducting a million Naira business, I expect them to have an equally, million dollar business environment to be rhetorically believable. The offices of Paul, Margaret, and Jide is so staged and devoid of the integrity of a million corporate business, that I feel cheated. We are made to believe that Funke killed her boy friend, but actually, someone else did and planted the crime on her. It could be Margaret and Alhaji, or Jide must have done so. What the viewers need is to see the resolution of this movie either in the court proceedings, or a fallout between Margaret and Alhaji, or Jide gets caught in the act of withdrawing the loot.
For the purpose of reviewing this movie, bemused as I was, I had to watch it twice, thinking that I might understand it the second time. Following that film, might not be the point, but to see if there was any essence in the dialogue. Here, words were spoken tiredly either to fill the silence for there wasn’t a reason for most of the utterances or, let an actor add something to his or her credit in Deadly Hands. Do I have to see it again? No. Do you have to watch it? Maybe, but expect no juice.