Revenge (2018)

Revenge (2017) *** (out of 4)Rather insane French film has Richard (Kevin Janssens) taking his mistress Jen (Matilda Lutz) to a house that is used by him and his hunting buddies. The hunting buddies Stan (Vincent Colombe) and Dimitri (Guillaume Bouchede) arrive and the next morning Jen is raped by one of them. Fearing what might happen Richard tries to kill Jen but after a horrendous injury she survives to get revenge.I guess the only word that comes to my mind after watching this film is "wow." I mean, really? To say that I'm a bit shocked would be an understatement and I say that for a number of reasons. This film was released to all sorts of controversy with some people walking out on it and others calling it a masterpiece. Well, I didn't walk out on it and I don't think it's a masterpiece. REVENGE is certainly an entertaining movie but the more I think about it the more logical issues I have with it.For starters, I'm going to avoid spoilers but how in the Hell did Jen survive what happened to her? With that out of the way, the first portion of this film is exceptionally good with director Coralie Fargeat doing a terrific job with the introduction of the characters and she also handles the pre-rape sequence very well. These rape/revenge movies have been done to death but I thought the director did a great job building up the tension leading up to the rape.What didn't work with the film was a few logical issues that kept creeping up throughout the movie including it appearing that all of the characters turned into superheroes. Another problem with the film is that at times I think all of the style gets in the way of the story but this here was just a minor issue. Even with these issues you can't help but love the performances from the entire cast and especially those of Lutz and Janssens. Both of them were wonderful in their parts and especially Lutz since she doesn't get much dialogue and instead must act with her eyes to let us know what's going on with the character.The music score, the cinematography and editing are all wonderful and there's no doubt that this is an extremely well-made film. As I said, I thought there were certainly some flaws but even with them I couldn't help but enjoy the film as a pure exploitation picture. I mean, there's a lot of really graphic violence and a ton of blood throughout the movie so gore hounds are going to be happy. The film is pretty darn sleazy throughout and for the most part I enjoyed it.

I like survival movies, wrong turn, the reach etc..this definitely fits into that category, kind of a stretch that she survived that fall being impaled, loss of blood etc but hey 1 in a million, " tell em I'm coming and hells coming with me", Go girl!

Revenge (4 out of 5 stars).Revenge says it all with the plot. It is a French movie with most subtitles and some in English. It is that rape and revenge action film. It is bloody, gritty, and can be disturbing. But seeing Matilda Lutz being a flirty, wanting to be a star personality to being a gun toting bada** female is awesome. Revenge feels like an experimental type of film. It has its style with low dialogue script, cinematography work that tries to capture a perfect lighting/shadow setting, and an electronic music score by Rob. The plot begins with Jen (Matilda Lutz) flying with a French millionaire Richard (Kevin Janssens) to a distant and isolated home in the middle of the desert. They begin their affair when Richard told his wife and kids he is out on a hunting trip with his friends. When his friends Stan and Dimitri show up. They have a wild night party. When Richard is out away. Stan rapes Jen. When Richard finds out, he does not care. He tries to bribe Jen from keeping it to herself. She escapes and is pushed off the cliff and falling to her death when she gets impaled by a dead tree. She survives the fall and severely wounded. And the three man find out she is out there in the desert alive. They go hunting for her while she prepares to go on revenge on all three men. The film is very fast moving. The opening scene with the reflection on Richard's sunglasses on a helicopter and Jen's queen B attitude. The film focuses on Jen's development and how she is affected from the assault. She suffers through a lot but gets back up to stop those men from getting away with what they have done. Next thing you know she is picking one guy off at a time as they are out in the desert with their off road bikes and jeep looking for her. Be aware, the movie is bloody and graphic. Especially, the self-patching the wounds. And the bloody climax of the movie were Jen and Richard are shooting at each other in a house with shot guns. And a dizzying chase in the house with the hallways getting more bloody as they encounter each other. And also the nudity feels more gratuitous with a nude guy fighting Jen. The movie does have its style with its electronic music. With plenty of camera angle butt shots when Jen is wearing skimpy outfits or her bloody warrior look in the final half hour of the movie. Matilda Lutz is a beautiful actress. Seeing her become a bloody fierce warrior is amazing. Her performance is outstanding. I would like to see her do more films. Overall, Revenge is a good action thriller. The direction has a sense of feminine power and a stylish outlook with music, camera angles, and lighting. The plot is a simple revenge story. It is a gritty and bloody movie. It can be intense in some scenes.

Even if it is meant to be satire, it isn't worth watching...