Fire Down Below (1997) Warner Bros./Action RT: 105 minutes Rated R (language, strong violence, thematic elements) Director: Felix Enriquez Alcala Screenplay: Jeb Stuart and Phillip Morton Music: Nick Glennie-Smith Cinematography: Tom Houghton Release date: September 5, 1997 (US) Cast: Steven Seagal, Marg Helgenberger, Harry Dean Stanton, Stephen Lang, Kris Kristofferson, Brad Hunt, Levon Helm, Mark Collie, Alex Harvey, Ed Bruce, Amelia Neighbors, Richard Masur, John Diehl, Robert Ridgely, Kane Hodder, Randy Travis, Marty Stuart, Travis Tritt. Box Office: $16.2M (US)
Rating: ***
We call all agree that On Deadly Ground was an enormous mistake. It was a PSA disguised as a macho action movie. I stop short of calling it the worst movie of Steven Seagal’s career. I haven’t seen too many of his straight-to-DVD titles, but I imagine some of them are probably worse than the 1994 misfire that began and ended his directing career in one shot. He didn’t do himself any favors with his misguided attempt at buddy comedy The Glimmer Man opposite Keenan Ivory Wayans.
It seemed like his career was in the proverbial toilet when Fire Down Below came out. The studio released it on the final weekend of the summer movie season, NEVER a good sign. I didn’t have high hopes for it when I attended an industry screening with a friend one weekday morning. The local studio rep told me it wasn’t likely they’d be screening it for critics or audiences. I was glad to be seeing it for free. Little did I know I was in for a little surprise. It took me a moment or two to wrap my head around it, but Fire Down Below turned out to be pretty good.
Seagal plays undercover EPA agent Jack Taggart who goes to the small Appalachian town of Jackson, KY to investigate the death of a fellow agent who was looking into claims of a big company illegally dumping toxic waste in the coal mines. He shows up in the guise of a handyman who’s come at the behest of Reverend Goodall (Helm, Coal Miner’s Daughter) to help out the poor townspeople with any needed home repairs. In typical small country town fashion, they’re not too keen on sharing their business with strangers. Furthermore, company head honcho Orin Hanner (Kristofferson, Blade) gets wind of Taggart and wants him gone. Despite the best efforts of his half-wit son Orin Jr. (Hunt, Clubland) and his goons to intimidate the lawman, he’s in it for the long haul.
In between attempts on his life, Taggart finds time to romance town outcast Sarah Kellogg (Helgenberger, Species), an accused murderer who makes her living as a beekeeper. Her older brother Earl (Lang, Band of the Hand) distrusts Taggart and tries to discourage Sarah from pursuing a relationship. Naturally, he’s in on the cover-up.
If something about Fire Down Below seems off to you, you’re right. If you look closely at Seagal, you can see he’s put on weight over the years. He tries to hide it with dark clothing, camera angles and tricky editing during the fight scenes. It doesn’t work, but it doesn’t stop him from delivering a good beatdown when necessary either. It’s still cool to watch him in action.
Similar to On Deadly Ground, Seagal speaks out against the greedy companies destroying our planet’s natural beauty in the name of the almighty dollar. At one point, he literally delivers a sermon in the church, calling out the townspeople taking money to look the other way effectively betraying their ancestors. To its credit, Fire Down Below isn’t as preachy as On Deadly Ground. It was a wise move to put somebody else in the director’s chair although I’m sure the star still called most of the shots. For the record, it’s directed by Felix Enriquez Alcala. It’s the only feature film directed by Alcala; he mainly works in TV. It’s talkier than an action picture should be, but it’s a solid enough effort.
Fire Down Below benefits from a strong supporting cast that also includes Harry Dean Stanton (Alien) as Cotton, a simple-minded fellow befriended by Taggart. He’s one of the only townsfolk willing to help him find proof against Orin. Kristofferson makes a good slimy villain, the type who believes whole-heartedly that his money can buy his way out of anything. He positively oozes malevolence from every pore. He’s so arrogant, he tells his son not to worry about taking over his company because he’s going to live forever. Helgenberger, an attractive lady, is good as Sarah. She has better chemistry with Seagal than any of his females leads including his own wife Kelly LeBrock (in Hard to Kill).
Despite all the painful, bone-breaking violence, Fire Down Below has a warm, down-home feeling to it. A lot of it has to do with setting. Whereas most action movies tend to take place in urban settings, this one is set in a little country town where everybody knows each other. Alcala opens and closes the movie with old photos depicting the lives of coal miners. It adds a sense of history and authenticity. He also fills it with cameos and performances by country singers like Marty Stuart, Travis Tritt and Loretta Lynn’s twin daughters Peggy and Patsy. Randy Travis (Black Dog) shows up briefly as an FBI agent.
You call tell Fire Down Below was the victim of a considerable amount of post-production cutting. Reportedly, the studio removed several big action sequences as well as key character scenes. Take a look at the opening montage showing the murder of Taggart’s colleague. It was supposed to be longer, but Warner decided to re-edit it and present it as a flashback. I heard that Seagal was supposed to sing in this movie, but that scene appears to be gone too unless they mean when he croons along with Marty Stuart at the town fair.
In any event, I like Fire Down Below. It’s a decent action flick with some good fight scenes including one where Seagal faces off against Kane Hodder, best known for playing masked killer Jason Voorhees in four of the Friday the 13th films. It’s not an action classic by any means, but it’s sure to satisfy fans of the genre looking for a fix.
