Inferno (1999 film)

Inferno (alternatively known as Desert Heat) is a 1999 American action film directed by John G. Avildsen, and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Danny Trejo, Pat Morita, Gabrielle Fitzpatrick, and David "Shark" Fralick. This was the last film directed by Avildsen before his death in 2017.

The plot revolves around Eddie Lomax (Van Damme), who is a veteran soldier sick of life, wandering the desert looking for a reason to die. An incident with a few thugs from the nearby town, who steal Eddie's motorbike and beat him almost to death, sets him on a path of revenge. The story is a remake and an homage to the 1961 Japanese samurai film Yojimbo.

Plot
The film opens with a quote about the coyote’s place in Native American legend, as Eddie Lomax rides by a coyote on an Indian motorcycle in an open desert plain (referred to as the Dry Lake). Soon, the motorcycle breaks down and Eddie dismounts, carrying nothing but his jacket, his .45 pistol, and a bottle of tequila. As he lies in the desert drinking, he eventually sees his friend Johnny Sixtoes, a Mexican Indian, to whom he had sent a postcard notifying him of his arrival.

In their conversation Eddie reveals that the surprise he wrote about in the letter was, in fact, the Indian motorcycle. He also reveals that he is there to kill himself as he goes into a drunken rage, revealing deep regret from their days in the Army, claiming that the souls of those he killed haunt him. Firing shots off in all directions, he vents his buried feelings to Johnny, and hopes he will "give him the OK to take a journey".

Soon after the shots are fired, a truck pulls up to Eddie, Johnny disappears, and it becomes clear that Eddie was hallucinating about him being present. Matt, Jesse, and Petey Hogan, sons of Ramsey Hogan get out of the truck, Matt furious as one of Eddie's drunken shots almost killed him.

Eddie staggers to them, not wanting any trouble; Matt, however, insists that he apologize. Matt then proposes that they take the motorcycle, and they will forget about the gunshot. Eddie persists that the motorcycle is a gift for his friend, telling Matt to get off. Matt seems to comply, until he delivers a cheap blow to Eddie. After a fight, Eddie is left beaten and shot in his right shoulder. As the brothers stand over Eddie, another truck passes with a local restaurant waitress Dottie and cook Vern. Dottie expresses extreme concern; Vern simply drives on, not wanting any trouble from the Hogans. Matt begins to load the motorcycle onto the truck, instructing Jesse to make sure that Eddie is dead.

Jesse asks for Eddie's gun from Pete, who took it from the earlier struggle. Being the youngest of the three, Petey insists on doing the job. As Jesse and Matt load the motorcycle, Petey aims at Eddie's head. Eddie's eyes open briefly, which makes Petey uneasy. Two shots ring out, which make Matt and Jesse think that Pete shot Eddie twice. However, Petey froze and simply shot two rounds into the ground.

Johnny Six Toes finds Eddie and nurses him back to health. Eddie then comes back to town to recover his pistol from Leon and Lester in the pawn shop by killing them. Eddie falls for Rhonda Reynolds, the other waitress, and enlists the help of Jubal Early to help him dispose of the bodies.

Eddie then sets the two rival gangs against each other in a bloody path to recover his prized motorcycle for Johnny, have his revenge on the Hogans, and ultimately find a reason to carry on living. Eddie defeats Matt and is once again on the road with Johnny, riding with Rhonda.

Filming
Variety reported that filming started in June 1998 and had a planned schedule of eight weeks. The original cut of the film was known as Coyote Moon. Van Damme did not like this cut and had the film recut. Avildsen unsuccessfully attempted to have his name removed from the film.

Home media
On July 1, 2002 DVD was released by Columbia TriStar Home Video at the UK in Region 2.

On September 20, 2010 Jean-Claude Van Damme’s ten movie collection DVD was released; including nine action films they were: No Retreat, No Surrender, Nowhere to Run, Hard Target, Street Fighter, Sudden Death, The Quest, Double Team, Knock Off and Universal Soldier: The Return.

Critical response
Larry Powell and Tom Garrett wrote in The Films of John G. Avildsen that "reviews were scarce and the few that did get published were cruel." Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 0% of five surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 3/10.

Dragon's Domain Records praised Bill Conti's musical score as "a hard-hitting mix of country and blues rock and roll, keyboard synthesizers, a delicate love theme for acoustic guitar, and some compelling mystical music associated with what remained of the Native Indian subplot. These elements come together in a lengthy, climactic showdown of furious intensity and motivic interaction which culminates the film in a wild melee of body slams, bone-crunching kicks, and staccato gunplay".

In popular culture
The Felice Brothers' song Inferno, on their 2021 album, From Dreams to Dust, references the film.