Truman Fisher (Holt Boggs) is your typical small-time mob enforcer. He’s got the guns, he’s got the mob mates and he's got the gorgeous girl. But as he delves deeper into the butchering of his mob-boss's family, he begins to realise that darker forces are at play and the real prey is himself. Little does he know that his fate is being moulded by someone close to him and his life is no longer in his control. All clues lead to a mysterious, mythical assassin named Claude Rains whose sadistic tendencies are legendary throughout the criminal underworld. The closer Fisher gets to his nemesis, the closer he is pushed to the edge of sanity and to the limits of his ability to fight for survival. Why has Rains chosen a small time hood like Fisher to be the pawn in his game? Even the criminal underworld has its evil weirdos who make the hardest of villains run for the toilet.
Although a small budget project and a first feature from Kaufman, The Prodigy has big budget appeal with its pacy tempo, sharp script and heavy shoot-out scenes, but it is its haunting plot and atmospheric horror-style visuals that give this piece an edge on the usual mobster movie. SD
