Gareth Evans has been developing the film Blister since at least early 2013, and while very few details have leaked out, we do believe that the movie will be produced, like The Raid and The Raid 2, in Indonesia.

Having said that, Evans himself has said the project is his take on the American gangster film and will have “echoes of The Wild Bunch.”

Work on Blister has now gone beyond the page, with Evans today tweeting an image of his first day’s work designing the film’s action. As you can see, Iko Uwais has brought both a hammer and a gun to the fight, as if he wasn’t deadly enough already.


Also at work on the film are Yayan Ruhian, Very Tri Yulisman and Yandi, with Larnell Stovall said to coming along later, in some capacity. Basically, it’s nose-breaking business as usual – as if the crumpled up figure face-planted into the mat didn’t already confirm this for us.

What it might mean for a film to be “a Gareth Evans take on the American gangster movie” is what I’ve been chewing over since first reading the quote. The defining element of Evans’ work to date has been the discipline, economy and blunt brutality of his filmmaking, whether that’s in terms of the camera work, editing or choreography.

He’s a filmmaker dedicated to impact, and he uses only the best tricks in the book to achieve it. What makes Evans’ films particularly excellent, I think, is that he understands the most effective staging and presentation don’t require empty flourishes but directness and coherence.

Confusion is the enemy of action cinema, and Gareth Evans is a master of clarity in conflict.

Blister should be ready for us at some time in 2016. Then next up, if all goes to plan, Evans will direct Breaking the Bank, his first studio picture.