Nostalgia Kinky

Born in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK, in early spring of 1973, Darren Ward fell in love with cinema at an early age. During his teenage years he became obsessed with Italian horror and Gialli, specifically the films of Dario Argento. Ward also admired balls-to-the-wall action, and by the time he was 20 he had his first camera, with no other goal than to make the films he wanted to make.

Darren Ward has indeed been making the films he wanted to make, his way, for the past three decades. Unlike his many more famed peers from the nineties, Ward had no intention of using independent cinema as just a springboard. He’s remained strikingly independent, specializing in incredibly ambitious micro-budget productions. Nearly the entirety of his filmography is now collected in the comprehensive Blu-ray box set Gialli, Guns & Gore! The Films of Darren Ward. The work of Ward’s own Giallo Films and released by Treasured Films, this set documents a raging renegade career and is highly recommended. It can be ordered directly from Treasured Films in the UK and from MVD here in the States.

I recently reviewed the films in this set over at Letterboxd. I’m copying my thoughts below. Each of these three discs in this collection is filled with hours of supplements. These include new documentaries, deleted scenes, outtakes, extensive behind-the-scenes footage, archival interviews, commentaries and a beautiful booklet. Plus the majority of Ward’s short films are included, making this as comprehensive as imaginable.

DISC ONE:

Darrren Ward’s very first film, Paura il diavolo (1992) is an enormously fun and rewarding 40-minute tribute to the great Italian gore films and thrillers of his youth. Like the other films on disc one, Paura il diavolo highlights the SOV filmmaker’s incredible skill at creating something out of nothing. I especially loved the charming homemade effects, and the throwback synth score is delightful. Paura il diavolo introduces Ward as someone whose love for genre cinema is matched by his self-taught skill and fiercely independent spirit. An awesome watch and probably my favorite thing on the packed new Sudden Fury Blu-ray.

Running nearly 70 minutes, Blue Fear (1993) almost constitutes as Darren Ward’s feature-length debut. Despite its extended run-time, this Giallo-inspired film feels more like an overly ambitious short than a fully realized feature. Made with Ward’s family and friends, this is an admirable attempt at making a full-blown classic Italian thriller in 1993 Britain. With his original Argento posters decorating one of his main characters’ walls, this bloody project makes no effort to hide its influences. Considering how much Gialli depended on their look and style, it’s incredible how close Ward gets to their spirit, SOV with no real budget. Ward’s love for the films of Argento, Fulci and, D’Amato certainly comes through in every frame of this effective if not overwhelmingly great tribute. Recommended but nowhere near as successful as the film it appears with.

A warm-up to Darren Ward’s incredible feature-length debut, em>Sudden Fury (1997), Bitter Vengeance (1994) is an 18-minute short designed to show off Ward’s wildly creative skills with gun squibs and action sequences. Nowhere near as ambitious or imaginative as the other two early Ward shorts found on his new career-spanning Blu-ray box set, this is more of a fascinating curiosity than anything else. Still, it succeeds in its intended goal.

Now on to the Ward’s first feature. Wow, what an incredible achievement in ambitious low-budget filmmaking Sudden Fury (1997) is. Holy shit. This is one of the most ambitious micro-budget independent action films I’ve ever seen. Shot over nearly three years for just 15,000 pounds (about 33,000 grand in today’s cash here), this bloody and insanely violent gangster film is jaw-dropping in its execution. To say that Ward’s ever-roving camera makes the most of his tiny budget in every scene is an understatement. This is a real masterclass in making a big-budget film with nearly no cash at all.

It is obvious from Ward’s very bold debut that this is a guy who clearly knows cinema; this is a guy who’s been watching films obsessively since he was a kid. Aesthetically, his film shows all the signs of a mid-nineties SOV production, but there is so much care and thought on display throughout this 108-minute production that it is kind of breathtaking.

Had this been a big-budget studio film, little here would have had much appeal for me. I’m not into elaborate action pieces, shootouts, or pure testosterone-fueled cinema. The fact that Ward and his dedicated cast and crew made this for so little, with so much obvious attention to detail and skill, makes it hugely impressive to me, though. So much so that the sheer excitement I felt just from watching how far Ward could stretch his budget made me forget my relative usual disinterest in this type of film.

Sudden Fury is a fuck-filled and gory delight, and it features David Warbeck as well, beautifully chewing up the scenery at the end of his career.

DISC 2

Nightmares (2004) marks the only time trailblazing SOV director, Darren Ward shot on film. The 16mm film stock certainly makes this look the best of Ward’s work, but something is lost compared to the remarkable feature Sudden Fury that preceded this. A tribute to the brutality of films like William Lustig’s Maniac with still more than a dash of Italian seasoning, Nightmares is an effectively nasty piece of work. While I missed the charms of Ward’s earlier fuzzy VHS and DV productions, there is no denying that this savage short is extremely well-made and achieves what it aims for. The new Ward Blu-ray box includes this, with both a commentary and an individual documentary as supplements. It is particularly cool to watch Ward shoot the film, and his excitement about his sole opportunity to shoot on film is infectious.

Darren Ward’s second feature film, A Day of Violence (2010) is his best. A bloody, brutal, and downright psychotic production, A Day of Violence is a more professional-looking film than his previous work, but it’s lost none of that special DIY charm. This is a ferocious work and the centerpiece of the box ‘Gialli, Guns and Gore’.

Starring a brilliant Nick Rendell, A Day of Violence is an adventurous and incredibly intense picture. Hard to watch at times but never less than totally engrossing,A Day of Violence is a real miracle of a micro-budget film.

While the entire ensemble and especially Rendell do fine work, the real star of A Day of Violence is the astonishing level of realistic gore and Ward’s beautiful work behind the camera. A genuinely traumatizing film, A Day of Violence is a deadly serious piece of cinema powered by Ward’s phenomenal work behind the camera, which itself feels violent.

Like his first film, Sudden Fury, A Day of Violence would have little appeal to me as a big-budget studio-star driven film. Ward’s uncompromising independent spirit is simply impossible for me to resist though, easily trumping any issues I have with the cinema of firearms. Simply put, this guy has the skills to pay the bills and it is impressive.

A Day of Violence is a challenging but hugely rewarding work. It is a major example of honest, raw indie filmmaking that left me dazed and dazzled. Highly recommended.

DISC 3

Ward’s purest Giallo is located as a bonus on the third and final disc in Treasured Cinema’s collection. Passion is an effective Argento-inspired film with nods especially to Bird With The Crystal Plumage and Tenebrae. I much preferred this cool little short to the set’s final full-length film and would love to see Ward shoot a full-blown feature like this eventually.

Beyond Fury (2019) is the newest film in the set. I must admit, it is also the only film in this terrific Treasured Films box that I didn’t enjoy. Beyond Fury is the most professional-looking film Ward has shot, and that’s a big problem, at least to my eyes. All of the obvious DIY inventiveness and charm from the set’s earlier films are missing in action here. In its place is just pure cold professional brutality, wrapped up in an overlong revenge tale.

Originally designed as a straight-up sequel to the much superior lo-fi Sudden Fury, this follow-up’s two-decade delay makes it a more spiritual conclusion than anything else. Much of Ward’s frequent cast and crew, who helped make his previous films so successful, are here again, but it sadly just doesn’t work this time around.

Not everything fails, like there is no denying the impact of the insanely gruesome gore effects that drive Beyond Fury. They are incredibly well done, perhaps even too well done at times, making this such an unpleasant watch. The effects and Ward’s skills are admirable, but neither turns this into a good film.

After watching the majority of his filmography this past week, I can say for sure that Darren Ward is an artist at his best when he has the most limited means at his disposal. Beyond Fury is far too slick, far too polished for a filmmaker like Ward. This is a misfire, but it is the kind of misfire only a great filmmaker could deliver. Despite my distaste for this newest film, I remain so impressed by Darren Ward and his fiercely independent work. I can’t wait to see the female-driven action film he’s currently planning.

-Jeremy Richey, May 2026-

Enjoy this small selection of clippings I found from Darren’s hometown newspaper.