Whilst the era of straight to video B-movie action may be a distant memory, the spirit lives on in independent productions that can be considered labors of love in their efforts to get completed. “Echo 8”, an Australian based martial arts/action piece put together with a micro budget during a nationwide pandemic, is one such example.. In such circumstances a tremendous achievement. The concept of an assassin regaining memories and their own conscience is a fertile one and has been a popular mainstay of action cinema across the decades. How then does this effort compare?
Echo 8 (Maria Tran) and Delta 1 (David Vuong) are assassins under the watch of Agenda 5 (Takeshi Hara). Deemed to be the most efficient of the Zodiac organizations teams, they are assigned one job after another unit messes up a straightforward hit. The target is Hanh (Gabrielle Chan) a mother who is pressuring the local authorities to reopen 216 cold cases. Echo 8 and Delta 1 both suffer recurring nightmares with Echo 8 revisiting memories of a past that has been hidden deep. As the memories become more vivid, she begins to realize that this past is about to clash with her present. The true enemy may be closer than first appears.
This is a passion project for Maria Tran. Don't believe me, just look at the credits. She stars, co-directs, edits, as well as produces. Now sometimes in cinema this can be a red flag warning but given the nature of how “Echo 8” was incepted this is less of a concern. It's a true independent piece utilizing film enthusiasts from Western Sydney, which gives it a throwback feel with both the respective strengths and weaknesses it entails.
For a micro budget production, it doesn't look too bad. Many low budget, shot on HD, pieces have a DIY feel, but this has a consistency in look. Clearly there was a need to shoot at night and it takes away one of the HD failings in the tendency for everything to look too bright. Potential pandemic restrictions also give the night shoots a sense of isolation and loneliness that adds a little texture. The camera work has clearly been designed to deflect attention from the budget. The nightclub sequence is kept in close up\medium frame as it's very evident they are using a small room, and locations are kept to a minimum. The restrictions also impact on the action scenes with again the need to focus on keeping the action tight and in camera. We even get some drone camera work too, which does serve to add a little more polish.
The acting, as you would expect, varies wildly. Maria Tran has a good presence and for the most part she and David Vuong have a good rapport. Takashi Hara is more limited, whether that is due to the nature of the role, but feels more wooden than the rest. Speaking of wooden, a special mention should be granted to the thugs in the nightclub scene. Not since “Miami Connection” have I seen such spectacular ineptitude in terms of following direction. The blatantly fake strut from one had me in tears. This again is about managing expectations given the restrictions in production.
The weakness of “Echo 8” is in its narrative. We've been here before with “Crying Freeman”, “Black Cat” etc. There is nothing that is particularly fresh about the piece other than its setting. The construction of the story means that within 10 minutes, we can see where we are headed and the pace does drag a bit with lots of introspection about the life they have chosen. The budgetary constraints mean that we don't get a particularly explosive finale either with an open-ended set-up leaving room for a sequel. It goes for an emotional conclusion without ever really hitting the right beats to have that connection that is needed.
“Echo 8” in cinematic terms is a bit of a disappointment. It presents a story that most action fans will be familiar with and fails to fully deliver what would normally be expected. Taken on the terms of its own creation then there is potential there and a bit more budget would allow for the creators to hopefully present a sequel that could live up to that same potential.
