Enemies Closer

A plane carrying 50 pounds of pure heroin in sealed packets crashes near the US-Canada border. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers prepare to search for the plane, but a group of criminals led by the unstable Xander (Van Damme) kill them and take the coordinates for the crash: a lake just off King's Island.

On the island, ex-Navy SEAL Henry Taylor (Scott) works as a forest ranger. The only other permanent resident is Sanderson, an elderly hermit. While patrolling, Henry helps a woman named Kayla (Cocker), who invites him to dinner that night.

That evening, a man named Clay (Jones) knocks on Henry's door, claiming to have lost his boat. Henry lets him in, but Clay pulls a gun on him. Clay's younger brother was Decker, a SEAL who was killed in action under Henry's command. Clay plans to kill Henry because he believes Henry abandoned Decker. Henry explains that he if he hadn't withdrawn the squad, all his men would have died, but Clay is unmoved. Clay brings Henry to a field and, holding him at gunpoint, gives him a pistol. Clay orders Henry to commit suicide. Henry refuses, explaining that he was suicidal for years after Decker's death, but with time he has accepted that it wasn't his fault.

Clay prepares to kill Henry, but Xander and his men appear, posing as ICE agents. Henry sees through the ruse, warns Clay, and runs as Xander's men fire. Clay's return fire incapacitates the criminal team's diver. When Xander determines the diver can't dive, he kills him. Xander plans to force Henry, whom he knows from earlier research is a diver, to retrieve the sunken heroin.

Clay agrees to work with Henry to escape. Because Henry's home phone was shot, they go to Sanderson's house but find no functioning phone there. The surprised Sanderson fires a warning shot when they enter, alerting the criminals. As Xander and his men surround the house, Sanderson begs Henry and Clay to escape while he holds them off. Henry refuses to leave Sanderson behind, to Clay's surprise. Sanderson nevertheless sacrifices himself to let the two escape.

Henry, convinced that Xander will kill them both after getting the drugs, lays traps for Xander's men in the forest. Working together, Henry and Clay take out all of Xander's crew.

Meanwhile, Kayla returns after Henry neglects to meet her again. Xander radios Henry and Clay, who have taken a walkie-talkie from one of the criminals, and tells them that he is now holding Kayla hostage. Kayla is gagged with duct tape on her mouth and held at knifepoint by Xander. She is later tied up at gunpoint whilst still being gagged with tape. Henry surrenders himself and agrees to dive for the drugs to save her. Once Xander and Henry are on the water, Clay saves Kayla, untying her and taking the tape off her mouth, only for her pull a gun on him. Kayla has been working with Xander as a honeypot. Clay turns the tables on Kayla and subdues her in a fight.

Henry dives and retrieves the bag of heroin, but he also finds a Magpul ACR, a rifle that functions after being submerged. Henry brings Xander to shore at gunpoint and is confused to see Clay holding Kayla captive. Kayla cries for help; Clay warns Henry in vain of her duplicity and a battle follows. Xander takes advantage and knocks Henry's gun away. Kayla joins the fight to choke Henry but is no match for him, making a mortal mistake.

In the ensuing scuffle, Xander stabs Clay in the leg and, frustrated by Kayla's ineffectiveness, snaps her neck. Xander and Henry eventually end up fighting on Xander's boat. During the fight the fuel tank springs a leak. Xander knocks Henry overboard, but Henry manages to grab a flare. On the water, he ignites the trail of gasoline, causing the boat to explode and killing Xander. Clay helps the exhausted Henry back to the shore.

{{cast list|

• Jean-Claude Van Damme as Xander
• Tom Everett Scott as Henry Taylor
• Orlando Jones as Clay Decker
• Linzey Cocker as Kayla
• Christopher Robbie as Mr. Sanderson
• Zahari Baharov as Saul
• Kris Van Varenberg as François
• Dimo Alexiev as Morris
• Vlado Mikailov as Jean
• Teodor Tsolov as Eto
• Hristo Mitzkov as Wooton
• Ryan Spike Dauner as Spota

}}

Director Peter Hyams was offered the film by producer Moshe Diamant, and accepted it both as a show of friendship and as a stylistic exercise.{{cite web | url =https://deepestdream.com/qa-enemies-closer-director-peter-hyams-finds-joy-in-the-process/ | title =Q&A: 'Enemies Closer' Director Peter Hyams Finds Joy in 'The Process' | last1 =Srisavasdi | first1 =Greg | date =27 January 2014 | website =deepestdream.com | access-date =6 September 2022 | archive-date =December 18, 2022 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20221218180535/https://deepestdream.com/qa-enemies-closer-director-peter-hyams-finds-joy-in-the-process/ | url-status =live }} Hyams is usually his own cinematographer, and a well known fan of night photography. With the movie's main sequence of events taking place entirely at night and close to water, two highly demanding filming conditions, he saw it as a stimulating challenge, especially given its independent budget and tight shooting schedule, which spanned a period of 27 days.{{cite episode |title=Peter Hyams directed Enemies Closer |series=DP/30: The Oral History Of Hollywood |date=January 24, 2014 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjnJd0LRwT0 |last1=Poland |first1=David (host) |time=15:02 |access-date=February 26, 2023 |archive-date=April 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422063010/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjnJd0LRwT0 |url-status=live }} Exteriors were filmed in Bulgaria, and interiors were filmed in Louisiana.{{cite book |last1=Maltin |first1=Leonard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F60TAwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Enemies+Closer%22&pg=PT717 |title=2015 Movie Guide |location=New York |publisher=Signet |date=September 2014 |isbn=9780451468499}}

Peter Hyams had helped cementing his son John's directing career by serving as his cinematographer on two Universal Soldier sequels produced by Diamant, and the younger Hyams returned the favor by editing this film for his father.{{cite web | url =https://www.villagevoice.com/2014/01/22/action-filmmakers-john-and-peter-hyams-talk-enemies-closer/ | title =Action Filmmakers John and Peter Hyams Talk Enemies Closer | last1 =Abrams | first1 =Simon | date =January 22, 2014 | website =villagevoice.com | access-date =September 6, 2022 | archive-date =December 18, 2022 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20221218235126/https://www.villagevoice.com/2014/01/22/action-filmmakers-john-and-peter-hyams-talk-enemies-closer/ | url-status =live }}

Van Damme was initially going to play the main protagonist, but Hyams asked him to switch to the part of drug trafficker Xander, as he had already directed him twice in heroic roles and did not want to retread the same ground. The Belgian was not easily convinced, as he had just played the appropriately named Jean Vilain in The Expendables 2, and demanded his new role be fleshed out so as to differentiate it from the classic archetype he had portrayed in the earlier feature.{{cite episode |title=Peter Hyams Interview/Enemies Closer/Fatal Pictures Interview |series=The After Movie Diner |date=27 January 2014 |url=https://www.spreaker.com/user/aftermoviediner/ep-113-peter-hyams-interview-enemies-clo |last1=Cross |first1=Jon (host) |last2=Wallace |first2=Jim (host) |number=113 |time=37:50 |access-date=February 26, 2023 |archive-date=December 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218195012/https://www.spreaker.com/user/aftermoviediner/ep-113-peter-hyams-interview-enemies-clo |url-status=live }} With Enemies Closer set in the wilderness, the character was expanded to become a staunch ecologist and vegan,{{cite web | url =https://www.bulletproofaction.com/2015/10/24/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-enemies-closer/ | title =10 Things You Didn't Know About Enemies Closer | author =Chris The Brain | date =October 24, 2015 | website =bulletproofaction.com | access-date =September 6, 2022 | archive-date =December 18, 2022 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20221218213003/https://www.bulletproofaction.com/2015/10/24/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-enemies-closer/ | url-status =live }} and Van Damme personally devised the "Édith the Goose" monologue that appears midway into the film.{{cite web | url =https://www.lesinrocks.com/cinema/jean-claude-van-damme-linterview-fleuve-14834-22-08-2012/ | title =Jean-Claude Van Damme : l'interview fleuve | last1 =Goldberg | first1 =Jacky | date =August 22, 2012 | work =Les Inrockuptibles | language =fr | access-date =6 September 2022 | archive-date =December 18, 2022 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20221218201225/https://www.lesinrocks.com/cinema/jean-claude-van-damme-linterview-fleuve-14834-22-08-2012/ | url-status =live }} Xander's distinctive wild hair was also the actor's idea.

Tom Everett Scott, who took over Van Damme's intended part, is a longtime friend of John Hyams, with whom he attended Syracuse University.{{cite AV media | people =Elling, Trey (host) | title =Director John Hyams, Actor Tom Everett Scott, And Writer Timothy Brady Talk All Square | medium =radio interview | publisher =KTXX-FM The Horn | location =Austin | date =9 March 2018 | url =https://soundcloud.com/treyelling/director-john-hyams-and-writer-timothy-brady-talk-all-square | access-date =March 11, 2023 | archive-date =March 11, 2023 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20230311035850/https://soundcloud.com/treyelling/director-john-hyams-and-writer-timothy-brady-talk-all-square | url-status =live }} After Dark returnee Orlando Jones previously appeared in Peter Hyams' remake of Beyond a Reasonable Doubt. He also received a producer credit this time around.

Enemies Closer was released theatrically in select U.S. markets by Lionsgate on January 24, 2014.{{cite web | url =https://www.movieinsider.com/m12260/enemies-closer | title =Enemies Closer Movie | last1 =Renner | first1 =Brian D. | date =20 February 2014 | website =movieinsider.com | access-date =6 September 2022 | archive-date =March 14, 2023 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20230314191229/https://www.movieinsider.com/m12260/enemies-closer | url-status =live }} It also saw a theatrical release in the United Arab Emirates in October 2014, where it reached 7th place at the box office.{{cite news | url =https://www.timeoutabudhabi.com/gallery/57783-uae-box-office-top-ten?page=3&img=3 | title =UAE Box Office Top Ten |author= | date =29 October 2014 | newspaper =Time Out Abu Dhabi | access-date =6 September 2022}}

Enemies Closer premiered on DVD and Blu-ray in France via the distribution arm of national broadcaster France Télévisions on December 4, 2013.{{cite web | url =https://dvdtoile.com/AgendaDvd2.php?zone=2&mois=12&annee=2013 | title =Planning Sorties DVD – Zone 2 – décembre 2013 | author = | website =dvdtoile.com | language =fr | access-date =6 September 2022 | archive-date =December 19, 2022 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20221219134056/https://dvdtoile.com/AgendaDvd2.php?zone=2&mois=12&annee=2013 | url-status =live }} The film received its domestic home video release through Lionsgate on March 11, 2014. In the United Kingdom, the film was released by Starz Media under its Anchor Bay Entertainment imprint on July 21, 2014.{{cite web | url =http://blueprintreview.co.uk/2014/07/enemies-closer/ | title =Enemies Closer | last1 =Skeates | first1 =Andrew | date =19 July 2014 | website =blueprintreview.co.uk | access-date =6 September 2022 | archive-date =December 19, 2022 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20221219142509/https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2014/07/enemies-closer/ | url-status =live }}

The film received mostly positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie a score of 79% based on 14 reviews, with an average rating of 5.71/10 with no consensus as of yet.{{cite web|title=Enemies Closer|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/enemies_closer/|publisher=Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate=May 16, 2015|archive-date=April 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407222207/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/enemies_closer/|url-status=live}} Metacritic gave the film a weighted average score of 49 out of 100, based on 9 reviews, indicating mixed or average reviews.{{cite web|title=Enemies Closer|url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/enemies-closer|publisher=Metacritic.com|accessdate=December 14, 2013|archive-date=May 14, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230514213907/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/enemies-closer|url-status=live}}

Neil Glenzinger of the New York Times found that the collision of the three main characters was "a ridiculous coincidence", but commended Hyams for "[keeping] things moving briskly, building up to an ending with a pretty good plot twist".{{cite news|title=Enemies Closer (2013)|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/472466/Enemies-Closer/overview|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102071328/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/472466/Enemies-Closer/overview|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 2, 2014|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=The New York Times|date=2014|accessdate=December 14, 2013}} Scott Foundas of the Chicago Tribune praised the film's multiple narrative threads, although he found it "[to lack] the shrewd, self-aware qualities of Van Damme's recent JCVD and Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning". He also enjoyed the "crisp, sleek, professional sheen" brought by Hyams, with a special mention for his night photography.{{cite web | url =https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-xpm-2014-01-22-sns-201401221433reedbusivarietyn1201065390-20140122-story.html | title =Film Review: 'Enemies Closer' | last1 =Fondas | first1 =Scott | date =January 22, 2014 | website =chicagotribune.com | access-date =31 December 2022 | archive-date =February 26, 2023 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20230226084029/https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-xpm-2014-01-22-sns-201401221433reedbusivarietyn1201065390-20140122-story.html | url-status =live }}

James Marsh of ScreenAnarchy thought that Enemies Closer did not entirely build upon its "intriguing" premise, due to its more urgent preoccupation with showcasing Van Damme, and a reliance on periodic bouts of exposition-heavy dialogue. He still decreed that "it ticks enough of the right boxes to entertain its intended audience".{{cite web | url =https://screenanarchy.com/2014/01/review-van-damme-goes-violently-vegan-in-enemies-closer.html | title =Review: Van Damme Goes Violently Vegan In Enemies Closer | last1 =Marsh | first1 =James | date =January 26, 2014 | website =screenanarchy.com | access-date =31 December 2022 | archive-date =February 26, 2023 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20230226023614/https://screenanarchy.com/2014/01/review-van-damme-goes-violently-vegan-in-enemies-closer.html | url-status =live }} Conversely, Gabe Toro of IndieWire deemed that the subplot involving Scott and Jones did not work, and that the film only found its footing when it focused on the Van Damme character. He gave the film a C rating.{{cite web | url =https://www.indiewire.com/2014/01/review-enemies-closer-starring-jean-claude-van-damme-89874/ | title =Review: 'Enemies Closer' Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme | last1 =Toro | first1 =Gabe | date =January 23, 2013 | website =indiewire.com | access-date =31 December 2022 | archive-date =February 26, 2023 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20230226023622/https://www.indiewire.com/2014/01/review-enemies-closer-starring-jean-claude-van-damme-89874/ | url-status =live }} Andrew Pollard of British magazine Starburst called the film "a fun, if predictable, actioner" and gave it a 6 out of 10.{{cite web | url =https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/blu-ray-review-enemies-closer/ | title =Review: Enemies Closer | last1 =Pollard | first1 =Andrew | date =July 20, 2014 | website =Starburst Magazine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507003304/https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/blu-ray-review-enemies-closer/ |archive-date=May 7, 2019}} Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com judged that the film "does not rise to the level of [the Hyamses]' best work" but noted "at least two setpieces that are keepers". He gave the film two and a half stars out of four.{{cite web | url =https://www.https/ | title =Enemies Closer | last1 =Zoller Seitz | first1 =Matt | date =24 January 2014 | website =rogerebert.com | access-date =31 December 2022 | archive-date =August 19, 2013 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20130819141428/http://https/ | url-status =live }}

Most reviewers singled out Van Damme's flamboyant performance as Xander, with Glenzinger pointing that "he seems to be having a great time" and Pollard hailing his performance as "brilliantly loony". Toro was particularly effusive, calling Van Damme "an arresting presence in his old age" and his performance "a wonder" which, like his turn in the fourth Universal Soldier film, contained shades of Apocalypse Now's Colonel Kurtz. Annlee Ellingson of the Los Angeles Times, however, was not impressed with "the eccentricities of Van Damme's character", and did not find them worthy of taking precedence over his martial arts skills.{{cite web | url =https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-enemies-closer-review-20140124-story.html | title =Review: Jean-Claude Van Damme makes few friends in 'Enemies Closer' | last1 =Ellingson | first1 =Annlee | date =January 23, 2014 | website =Los Angeles Times | access-date =31 December 2022 | archive-date =February 26, 2023 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20230226023613/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-enemies-closer-review-20140124-story.html | url-status =live }}

Scott's performance as a former Navy SEAL was widely viewed as unconvincing. Ellington labelled him as "terribly miscast". Pollard wrote that "it's hard to really buy into [him] as an action-type of guy", while Toro found him to have "limited charisma" and criticized his reliance on a stunt double. Zoller Seitz was more positive, saying that he and Jones "play their roles earnestly" and "never seem overmatched."

{{Anchor|Soundtrack|Score}}

{{Infobox album

| name = Enemies Closer: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

| type = soundtrack

| artist = Tony Morales

| cover =

| released = February 25, 2014

| genre = {{flatlist|

• Orchestral
• electronica

}}

| length = 49:28

| label = Lakeshore Records

}}

The film's score was composed by Tony Morales, a former collaborator of Hyams' frequent composer John Debney.{{cite press release | title =Enemies Closer Soundtrack by Tony Morales to be Released | last =Krakower | first =Beth | location =Los Angeles | publisher =CineMedia Promotions | date =February 17, 2014 | url =https://www.soundtrack.net/news/article/?id=1781 | website =soundtrack.net | access-date =October 5, 2021 | archive-date =January 22, 2022 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20220122205630/https://www.soundtrack.net/news/article/?id=1781 | url-status =live }} It was released digitally by Lakeshore Records on 25 February 2014.{{cite web | url =https://www.soundtrackcollector.com/title/104042/Enemies+Closer | title =Enemies Closer (2013) | author = | website =soundtrackcollector.com | access-date =September 6, 2022 | archive-date =December 18, 2022 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20221218203547/https://www.soundtrackcollector.com/title/104042/Enemies+Closer | url-status =live }}

{{Reflist}}

• {{IMDb title|2395199|Enemies Closer}}

{{Peter Hyams}}

Category:2013 films

Category:2013 action thriller films

Category:American action thriller films

Category:2010s English-language films

Category:Films about drugs

Category:Films directed by Peter Hyams

Category:Films shot in Bulgaria

Category:IM Global films

Category:Lionsgate films

Category:2010s American films

Category:English-language action thriller films