Silent Trigger

Last updated
Silent Trigger
Silent Trigger.jpg
Oficial release poster
Directed by Russell Mulcahy
Written bySergio Altieri
Produced by Nicolas Clermont
Silvio Muraglia
Starring Dolph Lundgren
Gina Bellman
Conrad Dunn
Christopher Heyerdahl
CinematographyDavid Franco
Edited byYves Langlois
Music by Stefano Mainetti
Distributed by Buena Vista
Release date
  • 1996 (1996)
Running time
93 min.
LanguageEnglish
Budget$9 million

Silent Trigger is a 1996 American action thriller film directed by Russell Mulcahy starring Dolph Lundgren and Gina Bellman about a sniper and his female spotter. Lundgren plays Waxman, a former Special Forces soldier who is now working as a heavily armed assassin sent on a mission by a secretive "Agency", to assassinate a target from an abandoned skyscraper in construction. Memories and moral dilemmas resurface when a former spotter from a failed assignment shows up.

Contents

Plot

The movie takes place in and around an unfinished city skyscraper, the "Algonquin", where a sniper/spotter team set up a firing platform on a top floor. The two arrive independently of each other, two of the Agency's assassins. As they meet, they recognize each other, as they have been on a mission together before.

This mission is portrayed in a series of flashbacks. In the first flashback, sniper and spotter were supposed to assassinate a female politician. Sniper hesitates when the politician lifts a child and, while hesitating, a helicopter appears, air assaulting soldiers in the courtyard behind the team's firing position. The two defeat the attacking force, including the machine gun-equipped helicopter, whose pilot and copilot are shot through the canopy.

Returning to the primary scene, one of the construction site security personnel is new on the job. The drug-addicted regular, O'Hara (Christopher Heyerdahl) attempts to win a statutory position over him by scaring him. As Sniper opens a roof door, a light by the security personnel turns on, and the newcomer, Klein (Conrad Dunn) leaves in search of it.

The internal lift of the building is clearly audible, and Spotter surveys Klein's movements, when he arrives. She interrupts his inspections when he is about to open the roof door. She takes him to the lift, sending him downwards. However, just as she is talking him off, she sees Sniper sitting on top of the lift car. He mounts a bomb on the lift car and, when the car begins moving, nearly falls down the shaft. He is saved by Spotter, and they both attempt keeping up the "just business"-facade, although some romantic appreciation is apparent.

While the two on the rooftop readjust their gear, O'Hara, presumably, decides to rape Spotter. However, Spotter pulls her small-caliber sidearm, and threatens O'Hara into the lift. When O'Hara returns downstairs, he picks up his gun and puts on body armor. He then surprises Spotter, while she is standing over the sink of the top-floor bathrooms. Spotter points her gun at him, and shoots a well-aimed bullet into his chest. Unsurprised by this, O'Hara attacks Spotter, but is encountered by Sniper, and a violent fight takes place in an unfinished hall between various building materials. The fight is won by Sniper, and he ties the now bloody O'Hara to a toilet.

Spotter and Sniper consummate their feelings for each other. Afterwards, as duty continues, Sniper heads for the bathrooms, but sees water running out under the door to the bathroom. He pulls his gun, and discovers that O'Hara has disappeared.

O'Hara bears the toilet with him down the stairs. A vengeful O'Hara grabs his shotgun and is about to go upstairs to finish off Sniper. Klein, the new security guard, shoots O'Hara with his shotgun, walks to the spot where the dying O'Hara lies and, in cold blood, puts a final shot into him.

Upstairs, the two are engaging the target. As before, Sniper hesitates and does not take the shot. As history repeats itself for the two, Spotter pulls her sidearm and implores Sniper to do his duty. Before the situation escalates, another shooter shoots the target four times and, when finished, takes aim for Spotter and Sniper. Sniper quickly throws himself and Spotter away from the shot, grabs his rifle and shoots the adversary. Sniper and Spotter defend themselves from Special Forces personnel raiding the skyscraper. Sniper and Spotter are surprised by Klein, who has stealthily entered the room. He shoots Sniper in the chest with his shotgun, but is threatened by Spotter who has picked up an MP5 submachine gun. He takes the lift car and leaves when the planted bomb explodes.

Believing Sniper to be dead, Spotter flees the skyscraper. As she walks away from the building, the top of a nearby fire hydrant is shot off. She looks up and sees Sniper, removing/revealing the body armor that he was wearing, then throwing his sniper rifle from the building. He then quietly mouths "Goodbye" to her. Spotter mouths "Bye", then walks away, smiling, as the skyscraper continues to burn.

Cast

Production

Filming

The film was shot in an unfinished city skyscraper in Montreal. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Double-barreled shotgun</span> Shotgun with two parallel barrels

A double-barreled shotgun, also known as a double shotgun, is a break-action shotgun with two parallel barrels, allowing two single shots that can be fired simultaneously or sequentially in quick succession.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Firearm</span> Gun for an individual

A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sniper</span> Highly trained marksman

A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic sights. Modern snipers use high-precision rifles and high-magnification optics. They often also serve as scouts/observers feeding tactical information back to their units or command headquarters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D.C. sniper attacks</span> 2002 series of coordinated shootings in the Washington, D.C. area

The D.C. sniper attacks were a series of coordinated shootings that occurred during three weeks in October 2002 throughout the Washington metropolitan area, consisting of the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia, and preliminary shootings, that consisted of murders and robberies in several states, and lasted for six months starting in February 2002. Seven people were killed, and seven others were injured in the preliminary shootings, and ten people were killed and three others were critically wounded in the October shootings. In total, the snipers killed 17 people and wounded 10 others in a 10-month span.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlos Hathcock</span> United States Marine Corps sniper (1942–1999)

Carlos Norman Hathcock II was a United States Marine Corps (USMC) sniper with a service record of 93 confirmed kills. Hathcock's record and the extraordinary details of the missions he undertook made him a legend in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was honored by having a rifle named after him: a variant of the M21 dubbed the Springfield Armory M25 White Feather, for the nickname "White Feather" given to Hathcock by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN).

<i>Rage</i> (King novel) 1977 Stephen King novel

Rage is a psychological thriller novel by American writer Stephen King, the first he published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. It was published in 1977 and was collected in the 1985 hardcover omnibus The Bachman Books. The novel describes a school shooting, and has been associated with actual high school shooting incidents in the 1980s and 1990s. In response, King allowed the novel to fall out of print. In 2013, King published the anti-firearms violence essay "Guns".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gina Bellman</span> British actress (b. 1966)

Gina Bellman is a New Zealand-born British actress best known for her performances as grifter Sophie Devereaux in the TNT television series Leverage (2008-2012) and its Amazon Freevee revival Leverage: Redemption (2021-), as well as Jane Christie in BBC sitcom Coupling (2000-2004).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Airsoft gun</span> Special type of air gun used in airsoft

Airsoft guns are replica guns used in airsoft sports. They are a special type of low-power smoothbore air guns designed to shoot non-metallic spherical projectiles (bb) often colloquially referred to as "BBs", which are typically made of plastic or biodegradable resin materials. Airsoft gun powerplants are designed to have low muzzle energy ratings and the pellets have significantly less penetrative and stopping power than conventional airguns, and are generally safe for competitive sporting and recreational purposes if proper protective gear is worn.

<i>Rojo Amanecer</i> 1990 Mexican movie directed by Jorge Fons

Rojo Amanecer is a 1989 Silver Ariel Award-winning Mexican crime drama film, directed by Jorge Fons.

Bob Lee "the Nailer" Swagger is a fictional character created by Stephen Hunter. He is the protagonist of a series of 12 novels that relate his life during and after the Vietnam War, starting with Point of Impact (1993) up to the most recent Targeted (2022). Swagger is the protagonist of the 2007 film and the 2016 TV series Shooter, each based on Point of Impact. Hunter has said that Swagger is loosely based on Carlos Hathcock, a U.S. Marine Corps Scout Sniper.

<i>36 Quai des Orfèvres</i> (film) 2004 French film

36 Quai des Orfèvres is a 2004 French film directed by Olivier Marchal and starring Daniel Auteuil and Gérard Depardieu. The title derives from the original address of the Judicial Police headquarters, part of the larger Palais de Justice of Paris on the Île de la Cité. The film takes place in Paris, where two cops are competing for the vacant seat of chief of the Paris Criminal police while involved in a search for a gang of violent thieves. The film is directed by Olivier Marchal, a former police officer who spent 12 years in the French police. The story is loosely inspired from real events which occurred during the 1980s in France. The film was nominated for eight César Awards. The movie was remade in South Korea in 2019 as The Beast.

<i>2000 AD</i> (film) 2000 film

2000 AD is a 2000 Hong Kong action thriller film directed by Gordon Chan, who also wrote the screenplay with Stu Zicherman. The film stars Aaron Kwok, Phyllis Quek, James Lye and Daniel Wu. The film was shot on location in both Hong Kong and Singapore. The film was released theatrically in Hong Kong on 3 February 2000. It was timed to screen during the peak Chinese New Year period.

<i>War of the Rats</i> 1999 novel by David L. Robbins

War of the Rats is a World War II novel written by David L. Robbins in 1999.

<i>Spider-Man: Back in Black</i> 2007 Marvel Comics storyline

"Back in Black" is a 2007 Marvel Comics storyline written by J. Michael Straczynski and illustrated by Ron Garney (penciler), Bill Reinhold (inker), Matt Milla (colorist) and VC's Cory Petit (letterer) published in the comic book series The Amazing Spider-Man #539–543. It takes place immediately after Marvel's Civil War event and depicts what happened to Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, and Aunt May during and after the event. The story is about Spider-Man's anger and determination to find Aunt May's shooter. Hence, he wears the black suit, modeled after the Venom symbiote, to emphasize his humorless aggression. He is often seen in action without his mask on, as well, showing his rage and thirst for vengeance.

Splinter is a 2006 American police-action film set in Los Angeles directed by Michael D. Olmos and starring Tom Sizemore, Noel Gugliemi and Edward James Olmos.

<i>Sniper: Ghost Warrior</i> (video game) 2010 video game

Sniper: Ghost Warrior is a tactical shooter video game developed and published by City Interactive for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It is the second entry in the Sniper: Ghost Warrior series and is the sequel to Sniper: Art of Victory.

<i>Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2</i> 2013 video game

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 is a tactical shooter video game developed and published by City Interactive for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is the third entry in the Sniper: Ghost Warrior series and is the sequel to Sniper: Ghost Warrior.

<i>Stash House</i> 2012 American film

Stash House is a 2012 American action thriller film directed by Eduardo Rodríguez and starring Sean Faris, Briana Evigan, Dolph Lundgren, and Jon Huertas. The film is part of the After Dark Action films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyrone Mitchell</span> 20th-century American mass shooter (1955–1984)

Tyrone Mitchell was an American spree killer who fatally shot a student and a passerby as well as wounding twelve others who were leaving 49th Street Elementary School in Los Angeles on February 24, 1984. Mitchell then committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a double-barreled shotgun.

<i>Downrange</i> (film) 2017 horror thriller film

Downrange is a 2017 survival horror film written and directed by Ryuhei Kitamura. It stars Kelly Connaire, Stephanie Pearson and Rod Hernandez. The plot concerns a group of friends on a road trip who all become the target of a distant sniper.

References

  1. Clarke, Frederick S. (1999). Cinefantastique. F. S. Clarke. Retrieved 22 May 2011.