Savaged (2015)

What do you expect when you watch this type of movie? A Lot of Blood? A cool story of revenge? Good performances? You find all in this movie, which was a pleasant surprise. I give 10, because I did not look for a masterpiece, but a good movie about revenge and horror ... and what it proposes, it complies.

You wouldn't expect much from a movie which mixes a standard vengeance horror with a zombie movie, and when you throw in a low budget too, your expectations go even lower. But prepare to be pleasantly surprised.I missed the first few minutes of the film, but what I caught was very tautly written with just the right amount of pathos to leave you rooting for the vengeful zombie girl, and enjoying every kill. At the same time it gave you just the right amount of back story to draw you in without spoiling the pace.About the only weak bit was the final 5-10 minutes; I won't reveal any details but it was dragged out past it's natural finishing point, and at the end you can't help but feel the innocent survivors are going to have one helluva job explaining things to the authorities...

Michael S.Ojeda's "Avenged" is a post-modern battle cry against the monstrosity of bigotry. The film blends elements of exploitation- revenge horror with classic, supernatural-action. It is a nightmarish tale that sees a young deaf woman crossing paths with some of the worst humanity has to offer. Witness to the brutal murder of two Apache men, Zoe is abducted, raped and left for dead. But the supernatural power to be avenged reaches beyond this reality exact primitive justice on the men who did this to her. "Avenged" can best be described as "I Spit On Your Grave meets The Crow".The story that Ojeda has created around this supernatural transformation of a sexual assault victim is powerful, compelling, and emotional. "Avenged" becomes a complex multilayered story with characters rich in dimension. From the beginning I felt the fear rise in me for what was to happen to Zoe-that just on the exploitation-revenge horror side of this story which dominates the first piece to this story. I also hated the notion that the GTO was gonna be brutalized, luckily that didn't happen. However "Avenged" is filled with cruelty, brutality, grittiness and blatant sadism. The acting and directing are quality. Michael S. Ojeda is a true talent with the gift of telling a really high-octane, and twisted story. The characters and situations are emotionally driven and effectively pull on you to feel and relate to both the horrors of man and the suffering of humanity. As "Avenged" gets into the crux of this supernatural-revenge legend-and legend is what Zoe is-some of that "human touch" gets lost in the intensity of the action and gore that permeate through the film. It isn't really a bad thing, "Avenged" morphs into a major action driven, splatterfest of thrills. The special effects are pretty awesome. Some moments seem to fall a bit flat when it comes to realism, but for the most part "Avenged" will excite any gore, and blood thirsty horror fan. There is some CGI mixed in but Ojeda seems to have an understanding of what is a healthy balance of its use. The CGI is blended effortlessly in most of the violence-rich scenes. A couple of times it looks kind of The Asylum-ish, but honestly there is so much visceral, raw carnage that uses practical effects that the CGI is more than embraceable by the "Purist" horror fans. Overall "Avenged" is a worthy supernatural- exploitation mashup that entertains on pretty much every horror level.

Most of the reviews for this movie were positive so I thought why not give it a chance and was thrilled to discover it lived up to the promise. I don't have much to add to the reviews you'll find here already, they cover most of what I thought. It was engaging, familiar but unique, had me gasping at moments, groaning with disgust at others, laughing at times & shocked at others. There isn't much to dislike - other than the occasional bad CGI but there is also so much to love about the production, acting, cinematography, special FX, makeup (particularly brilliant on makeup) and overall pacing/building of tension etc. I loved every moment. I had to laugh at the 2 or 3 bad reviews. I suspect they are written by sensitive sallies who took exception to the portrayal of those nice white American rapists/killers as racist, sexist, misogynistic morons LOL Suck it up guys. :D Highly recommended indy flick for any genuine fan of the horror genre, especially those of the Spit on Your Grave, Last House on the Left etc variety. That pub scene tho..... *ouch* LOL