In 2006, Surge (Vincent J. Roth) became cinema's first out gay superhero in the campy cinematic wonder Surge of Power: The Stuff of Heroes. 

On January 5, 2018, Surge comes back. 

Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel opens on January 5th opens in Los Angeles before expanding to New York on January 19th and continuing nationwide. Surge creator Vincent J. Roth returns to the lead role of the cape-clad superhero whose nemesis, the Metal Master (John T. Venturini), has been released from jail and is trying to reconcile with the parents (Linda Blair, Gil Gerard) who sent him into conversion therapy as a child and who've never accepted his own homosexuality. While trying to keep a straight and narrow path, at least in terms of crime anyway, Metal Master is tempted by Augur (Eric Roberts), the arch-nemesis of the wise Omen (Nichelle Nichols, Robert Picardo), and agrees to be Augur's henchman and retrieve mysterious crystals from Las Vegas. With the number of baddies rising, Surge needs help and activates the SurgeMobile (Bruce Vilanch, Shannon Farnon). With Augur emerging from the shadows, Omen steps in and The Council, a supervillain cabal bent on world domination is alerted. 

It's going to take everything that Surge has to save mankind. 

Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel has been on the indie fest circuit throughout 2017 including picking up prizes at Action on Film (Best Villain, Eric Roberts and Best Special Effects), Nevada International Film Festival (Best Comedy), and La Palma Rosa (Most Inspirational Lead Character). Picked up by indie distributor Indie Rights for a limited nationwide theatrical run, Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel is even bigger, better, funnier and campier than the first film and includes over 50 celebrity cameos, some laugh out loud obvious and others a little more obscure.

When a filmmaker creates a campy film and knows it's a campy film, there's a certain joy that unfolds when the unexpected happens along the way. While celebrity cameos can be a hit-and-miss kind of thing in cinema, it works wonders in a film like this one where everyone's playing on the same vibe and everyone seems to understand exactly what's going on here. This may not necessarily be brilliant cinema, but it's immensely fun and good-hearted cinema and it's practically impossible to not fall in love with it along the way. 

Mario DeAngelis's lensing capitalizes on the film's light spirit, while Ken Fix's original music may very well elicit memories of such past films as Flash Gordon and other 70's and 80's low-budget sci-fi efforts. Kudos must be given to the visual effects team of Bennique Blasini and Steven M. Blasini for creating such vibrant, awesomely realized special effects perfectly suited to this low-budget, comic sci-fi flick.

Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel benefits greatly from its terrific ensemble cast, though there's little denying that the glue that holds it all together comes from Roth and Venturini. The two actors manage to infuse their characters with a whole lot of camp, more than a little heart, quite a bit of kick buttitude, and a whole lot more. This was the kind of film that even as the closing credits rolled I found myself wanting to check out other works in the Surge cinematic empire. 

For more information on Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel, visit the film's website linked to in the credits and be sure to keep following distribution news for additional release cities. If it comes to your town, check it out. If it doesn't come to your town, make sure you pick it up once it's available on DVD, Blu-ray or via streaming. 

© Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic