Someone once said there is a thin line between love and hate, and boy are they right. How often have you seen couples go from loving each other to down right despising one another in what seems like a blink of an eye. I mean let’s face it, we do some crappy things to partners so you can see why most of the time, but how thin that line is still amazes me. I bring this up because after watching “Revenge” it reminded me of that line and let me tell you after watching this film you won’t want to cross it.
Jen (Matilda Lutz) is being taken away to the desert for a weekend getaway with her lover Richard (Kevin Janssens), who she knows is cheating on his wife. Everything is going good, however Richard’s two hunting buddies (Vincent Columbe and Guillaume Bouchede) show up a day early and make things a little crowded. At first everything is going grand between them all, but when Richard leaves one of his friends didn’t like the mix messages Jen gave him and decides to force himself on her while the other friend ignores her please for help. When Richard comes back he is angry with his friend but when Jen refuses to just forget it and move on he becomes angry. Fearing for her life Jen tries to run away but is caught by Richard and his friends who decide no one will miss Jen and leave her for dead. Thinking all their problems are solved the boys continue on their hunting trip not knowing they messed with the wrong woman.
It would be easy for you to put “Revenge” in the rape revenge genre, but that would be your mistake. “Revenge” looks to that subgenre and turns it on its back in a true grindhouse way. Writer/Director Coralie Fargeat doesn’t pull any punches in her full feature debut and delivers a film you soon won’t forget. It doesn’t take long to realize that you are in for a treat as Fargeat and cinematographer Robrecht Heyvaert have crafted a world of beauty and danger. Fargeat also with the help of star Matilda Lutz give you one of the most badass female characters you have ever seen on the screen. The transformation of Jen is so drastic, but what doesn’t change is also so important. I was so happy I got to see this with a crowd, because it is such a communal experience as you all root for the hero Jen is becoming. “Revenge” does a lot of things well, but what it does best is take you on a crazy ride. And take note of Fargeat’s and Luts’s talent, this will put them on your radar look forward to see what they do in the future. I can’t say enough good things about this film, in the end just see it, as it debuts in theaters and Shudder sometime early next year.