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It’s been quite a while but we’re back with a new short film review on #ShortMovieMonday! This one is a little bit different for ScareTissue as it’s not really a “horror” property, but today I’ll be covering the 2012 “fan film” The Punisher: Dirty Laundry. I have the term “fan film” listed in quotes because as you’ll see shortly, this is not your typical fan film.
Dirty Laundry was produced by Adi Shanker and directed by Phil Joanou and stars none other than The Punisher himself Thomas Jane reprising his roll from the 2004 version of the film. I know that 2004 version of Punisher gets a lot of flack from fanboys, but I’ve got to say it’s my favorite version of the character (on the big screen at least). I was pumped when I found out that this “sequel” was out there continuing the story (at least for 10 minutes). I was further impressed to learn that this film was done without Marvel’s blessing and Jane and crew got involved simply because they loved the character and story. That’s bad ass!
SPOILER ALERT: This review WILL talk openly about the plot of this short film. If you want to experience the film as it was intended watch it before reading this review. Full film is embedded at the end of this post.
The Punisher: Dirty Laundry – Plot Summary
On his way to the laundromat, Frank Castle (Thomas Jane) witnesses a street gang confronting three prostitutes before Goldtooth (Sammi Rotibi), the gang leader, takes one of them to a back alley and rapes her. Frank ignores the situation and continues to wash his laundry.
A boy (maybe like 9 or 10?) named DeShawn (Karlin Walker) crosses the street and Goldtooth offers him the chance to sell drugs for them. DeShawn refuses & the gang starts to rough him up. Frank walks to a liquor store across the street to get a bottle of Yoo-hoo. The wheelchair-bound clerk (Ron Perlman) tells him that two years ago, he witnessed a similar situation and wound up crippled for getting involved.
Frank buys his You-hoo and a bottle of Jack. He then proceeds to walk across the street and beat the shit out of the entire gang in true Punisher fashion. IE… incredibly violently. After dispatching the gang, he turns to Goldtooth breaking his arm and legs Steven Seagal style leaving him laying there bleeding. He asks him the difference between justice and punishment and douses him with the bottle of Jack which has miraculously not broken in the melee. He pulls out his lighter and puts it on the ground in front of the beaten thug and goes back to his laundry.
The battered ho picks up the lighter and sets Goldtooth ablaze and Frank returns to his van with his laundry. DeShawn tells Frank that he’s dropped a shirt and Frank tells him to keep it as it’s got a hole in it. As Frank leaves, DeShawn unfolds the shirt to see the Punisher symbol.
Thoughts & Recommendation
I won’t bury the lead here… this is awesome. Plain and simple. The violence that The Punisher character is known for is here in spades and the story is consistent not only with the character but with the movie universe that Jane comes from. It’s super cool in my eyes that Jane wanted to reprise the roll and not even get paid for it. Throw in some other talent that you wouldn’t expect to see in a short film and you’ve got yourself a winner.
You can find more about The Punisher: Dirty Laundry at the following links:
- Internet Movie Database
- Wikipedia
- THE PUNISHER: DIRTY LAUNDRY Producer Adi Shankar Responds to Marvel Shutting Down a Fan Film
- The Follow-Up To The Punisher Short Dirty Laundry Has Been Released
- Thomas Jane Won’t Play “Punisher” Again
Check out the full film below and leave us a comment to let us know what you think!
