Hammer (2020) | Film Review

Just about every parent on this planet has been forced to experience stuttering anxiety, fear, and dread regarding their child in some form or another. Maybe they came home hours late after ignoring your texts and calls, they got arrested, or seriously injured. Whatever the case, a parent rushes to their child’s aid in just about any condition, no matter what. Faced with the moral quandary of whether to legally and morally risk yourself or protect your child in the face of danger, what would you do? What do you believe? That’s the point Hammer is bringing to your screen.

When Stephen (Will Patton, Armageddon, Blood on Her Name) sees his ex-convict son driving recklessly down the street, his paternal instincts kick into overdrive. When he catches up to Chris (Mark O’Brien, Ready or Not, Arrival), sweaty and blood on his shirt, his fears are only escalated and confirmed: something horrible is happening. After a botched drug deal, Chris tries escaping with his lady accomplice who is presumably dead off of a country road, and Chris realizes his only option of support and assistance is his father, Stephen. Of course no one tells mom what’s really going on or else she’d lose her mind. Stephen and Chris journey off to find the girl’s body, cover Chris’ tracks, and face off with a GREAT bad guy (Ben Cotton, Slither, Chronicles of Riddick).

Hammer director and writer, Christian Sparkes, does a great job of taking you through this story with a build-up of tension throughout the conflicts. For the most part, you’re pretty sure where things are going to go as you travel through the story, but Hammer is about so much more. That’s the piece I could really appreciate. There is a subtle conversation Sparkes is trying to have with the audience. He’s really trying to talk about the complexity of the decision for Stephen to help his son that he is estranged from, the dynamics of parenthood and what lengths a parent will go through to protect their child or family. It truly makes you think about our own perceptions, but also the effect that one family member committing a crime has on the rest of the family. So many of us focus on the perpetrator and/or the victim(s), and rightfully so, but the family of the criminal is also a victim. The notion that someone you love or raised is capable of doing things you never dreamed of doing is shocking and it rocks a family to their core.

When we talk about independent films, I’ve heard over the years impressions from non-indie regulars that the quality “must be bad” if it’s an independent film. I won’t hop on my soap box, but I will say that Hammer is anything but bad quality. The patience Sparkes takes as the director and the way he wrote the script never felt like a bumpy ride or like it came to a screeching halt. Honestly, even the locations chosen were wonderful. The only thing I believe audiences will have a difference of opinion on is the ending. To some, it may seem a little weird or abrupt. Which, I’ll admit is a little unusual, but not in a negative way. Hammer bookends the film with the variances in how certain catalysts have changed the family, expressing the vastness of grief and struggle due to crime within a family.

Hammer nails it in with a suspenseful story, thrilling leads, and a fascinating conversation around a topic so few dive into.