Hyena

Eleven years after Hyena shocked audiences with its gritty portrayal of police corruption and urban decay, director Gerard Johnson returns with a searing sequel: Hyena: Blood Trade. Grittier, darker, and even more morally ambiguous than its predecessor, this imagined follow-up takes everything that worked in the original and dives deeper—into the rotting core of a city at war with itself.

The film opens with Michael Logan (Peter Ferdinando), long thought dead or disappeared, reemerging in the shadows of East London. Scarred physically and emotionally, Logan is now a freelance “fixer” for rival Balkan and Turkish gangs. He no longer pretends to be a cop—he’s a ghost in the system, trading information, trafficking connections, and trying to stay alive.

When a series of brutal killings disrupts the fragile balance between rival crime families, Logan is pulled into a new nightmare—one involving illegal organ trade, borderless cartels, and MI5 operatives with agendas dirtier than the criminals they chase. The title Blood Trade refers not only to the trafficking of bodies, but to the personal price Logan must pay for every deal, every betrayal, and every shot at redemption.

Gerard Johnson’s direction is leaner and colder here. The neon-drenched nightscapes of West London are replaced with abandoned warehouses, underground clinics, and makeshift border camps. The tone is unrelentingly grim—this is not a story of hope, but of survival in a city that has forgotten how to feel.

Peter Ferdinando delivers one of his best performances to date. His portrayal of Logan as a man crushed by guilt yet addicted to the chaos he once tried to control is devastating. Supporting turns by Narges Rashidi (as a Kurdish doctor running an illegal clinic) and Stephen Graham (as a rogue intelligence officer) elevate the film into more than just crime cinema—it becomes a commentary on Britain’s post-Brexit identity crisis.

The violence is brutal and often hard to watch, but never glamorized. Blood seeps through every frame—not just literal, but metaphorical. Loyalty is currency, and betrayal is inevitable.

While Hyena: Blood Trade may not appeal to casual viewers or those seeking closure, it’s a masterfully bleak character study that cements Gerard Johnson’s place as one of Britain’s most uncompromising storytellers.