R | 1h 28m | Drama, Action, Mystery, Thriller | 2026
Since starting her TV and film career as a teen in the late 1980s, Australian actress Radha Mitchell has never had a “down phase.” She’s appeared in an impressive average three movies or shows per year. Bouncing back between arthouse, action, comedy, and drama, Mitchell has thrived like few other performers of her time.
In the pared-back action thriller “Seven Snipers,” Mitchell plays lead character Kris Hendricks, a retired for-hire sniper who served in the Middle East. According to her, he’s had 116 confirmed kills.
Earning the code name “Voodoo Child” after a song by Jimi Hendrix (ostensibly because their two last names are phonetically the same), Kris wants to keep as much of her past in the past, especially from her daughter Anya (Annabelle Wolfe).
One of the best reveals in the movie takes place in the opening scene, where Anya is shown practicing her archery skills. Kris provides an unwanted constructive critique. In the storytelling business, this is called foreshadowing. Its payoff in the final act is well earned.
Mother and Daughter Friction
Kris and Anya are in that usually testy, confrontational, parent-teen dynamic phase. The former doesn’t want to appear to be hovering yet wants to remain protective. As they live alone on a sprawling, undeveloped parcel of land covering 130 hectares (about 300 acres), the pair are in a vulnerable position. Two females, lots of land, no law enforcement to speak of. You do the math.
Toss in Kris’s covert past and Anya’s not-so-hidden romance with her school-skipping boyfriend Michael (Lee Tiger Halley), and the “things that can go wrong” factor goes up exponentially.
The first test of keen storytelling acumen from director Sandra Sciberras and screenwriter Andrew O’Keefe takes place in the first half of the opening act. They tell us little but show us a lot, mostly visually and non-verbally.
This challenges the audience to try to figure out what’s actually taking place when, to whom, and for what reason(s). It’s a highly unusual presentation for an action movie ultimately dependent on the exchange of long gun fire.
Cross Hairs and Binoculars
A good third of the film is seen thorough the perspective of binoculars and “cross hairs” scopes, some of which are damaged and rendered ineffective. The seven title characters in the movie are of a certain breed of mercenary warrior that act independently yet work towards a distinct goal.
The movie really kicks into high gear with arrival of “The Dragon” (Tim Roth), the principal antagonist pitted amongst the other six. Signaled by the arrival of an assassin posing as a real estate agent, the Dragon is tagged in the credits as a war lord—an arms dealer working both sides of a non-specified conflict.
The first of a handful of flashbacks is brought in by O’Keefe to provide some context regarding the history between Kris and the Dragon. It’s clear there’s tension between them, but nothing is specified. Sciberras makes these passages all the more effective by fracturing the visuals, which last no more than a few seconds each. It’s very unnerving and (by design) keeps the viewer disoriented.
This and other spare, bare bones storytelling choices amp up the tension and make the story better than it likely was in script form. This is pretty ingenious stuff if you think about it. Making a dramatic thriller with infrequent but deliberate and throttling bursts of action creates an entirely unique take.
Imposing Roth
Listing Roth last in the opening acting credit sequence was also smart. Easily the most known performer in the film, presenting his name as an almost afterthought is telling. It informs us that he likely won’t have a lot of screen time but his presence will prove overwhelming.
Roth’s character doesn’t show up in earnest until the halfway point. For the duration, he doesn’t have a full page worth of dialogue. This makes the Dragon character all the more imposing and ominous.
My only beef with the movie is the camera angle in the last scene. It would have worked better had it been a close up and not something seen from a distance. That diminished its full impact.
“Seven Snipers” isn’t a great movie, but the presentation choices make it something well worth the time. It takes bold storytelling choices, which makes the final product far greater than the sum of its parts.
“Seven Snipers” is now available to stream on iTunes, Amazon Prime, YouTube, and Fandango.
‘Seven Snipers’
Director: Sandra Sciberras
Stars: Radha Mitchell, Tim Roth, Annabelle Wolfe, Ioan Gruffudd
Running Time: 1 hour, 28 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Release Date: June 5, 2026
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
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