Movie Review: Act of Vengeance

This was a weird one. I'd seen it on the list, but never read the description. It's known as Act of Vengeance on Amazon Prime, probably because the title Rape Squad was off-putting and Act of Vengeance would get a lot more hits. People wanting female empowerment and all without getting their minds sullied by the images in this movie were sure to jump into Act of Vengeance, but not Rape Squad because that's too much. On paper, it's horrifying. On screen, it's even more horrifying. This masked man attacks these women one by one and makes them sing "Jingle Bells" as he sexually assaults them.

The first woman is Linda. She's getting into her van when "Mr. Rapist" kicks her in the face. She fights back and runs into a barn. He catches up to her and forces himself onto her.

It was one of the most uncomfortable things I'd ever seen. It was unsettling and deeply disturbing. No beastie or baddie of the week can ever be more terrifying than this film.

Linda goes to the police station, blood still dry on her face, straw still in her hair. All of the men stare at her and the detective asks her stupid questions like "Have you been drinking?", "On any substances?", "Ever made a rape claim before?", "Ever been arrested?", and the all-too-familiar "Were you wearing those clothes?" Linda is then subjected to the physical examination, lipstick and dirt still smeared on her face. The examination found no sperm so there was no evidence of a rape.

The next assaulted woman is Karen. "Jingle Bells" appears in her apartment and after stuffing fabric in her mouth, he makes her hum the song and cuts her dress right down the middle. It doesn't go into detail like Linda's attack, but it's still effective.

A group of women, including Linda and Karen, are brought together at the police station for a line-up of men in hockey masks. They decide to create a "rape squad" and start putting up fliers. They start taking martial arts lessons, all the while "Jingle Bells" watches their every move. In his bright orange jumper.

Why did the discussion of the class and the group have to be held in the Jacuzzi with every girl sans clothing? It really confused me. The next scene also confused me until I realized they were starting to lure rapists and assailants in by wearing shear dresses and super low-cut tops, short skirts. Linda is spotted by the owner of the club and he invites her up to his room. He tries to force himself on her and after she screams for him to stop, the squad runs in. They tie him up and pour dye on his junk so he's a marked man.

"Jingle Bells" attacks Diane, who is painting by a lake. She is from the martial arts class and "Jingle Bells" knows about the scene in the hot tub. I don't know where he finds the time to stalk his previous victims and take new ones.

There's one difference between Diane and the other ladies though. She was strangled. Whether it was on purpose or on accident, it isn't clear until "Jingle Bells" himself says he didn't mean to.

The squad traps an investigator and then Karen calls in the squad when she sees a man slapping a girl around in the parking lot. The instructor basically kicks the crap out of him while the other girls demolish his ride.

We nearly see the face of  "Jingle Bells" while he sloppily takes pictures of a redhead at a park. She calls the cops, but ol' JB keeps following her around. He snaps photos of her while she's undressing and dressing in her house.

It was at this point in the movie where I realized how I felt about Act of Vengeance/Rape Squad. I went into it thinking that these women would go from victims to their own saviors and seek vengeance. I didn't get the empowerment I was looking for. With every scene, there was another set of boobs, or nipples, or... there was a reason for Linda to be exposed in the opening scene. She was the tension-setter. We're supposed to feel violated as she was. With every visible nipple and inexplicable naked woman, I felt it was less empowerment and more exploitation. I didn't feel anything after a while because it didn't mean anything anymore. They made the attacking of women nearly comical and made every single man out to be idiotic pigs. There was not one sympathetic men and that's just wrong. I can honestly say that I enjoyed my decaf English breakfast tea more than I enjoyed Act of Vengeance/Rape Squad. For those of you who don't know me... that's really bad.

Moral of this movie: It's absolutely acceptable to be practically naked in any setting - as long as you're an attractive woman.