The foot-to-the-pedal blood spurts were the source of much hootin' and hollerin' at the screening I attended when the movie released. Another moment that sticks with me (pun not intended) is Richard using Saran wrap on a shotgun wound in the climax.
i personally think the duel comparison is a stretch—again, no saran wrap pun intended but i will happily accept credit for it. this was a slick little programmer, though, and i enjoy progressive kids with their hearts in the right place staking their claim to culture with splattery genre exercises. in retrospect this was an promising debut from an interesting voice. will watch again, like i always do with new cult canon entries.
I initially avoided this movie because I read comparisons to Irreversible; a really impressive movie but if I ever watch it again, I will skip a key scene that seems to run forever. Can’t do it again. Going to give this one a run now, some time before The Substance drops. Looks great, and definitely looks like something that Cronenberg would take on.
Edit to add: when this piece showed up in my email, I absolutely expected to read about Tony Scott, Kevin Costner and Madeleine Stowe. Also deserves New Cult Canon status!
i was also geared up for the real “revenge”movie. this fake “revenge” movie was totally fine and this review makes me like it even more, but its not costner/stowe/scott.
Interesting article. I liked Revenge but had the opposite response in my review wondering if I had under rated it. I did see glimmers of brilliance but landed short of loving it. I can see all your points here, some I did not notice myself, and they are valid. Maybe I should re-watch it. I agree it definitely marked Fargeat as a talent to watch.
Between this and Mandy, 2018 was a great year for 'Psychedelic Warrior Rebirth" cinema. That Revenge even came close to matching Mandy - my favourite ever film - demonstrates it's sheer quality. I love this movie.
Just nerved myself up to watch this, and wow. Hard to watch, impossible to look away. The initial shot of Jen, past Richard’s shoulder in the back seat of the helicopter, gave me strong LOLITA vibes, which had to be intentional. Fargeat’s eye for color and composition are sharp. There are some beautiful shots here. The tracking shot near the end that takes Richard from the shower, all around the house, and out past the pool and back is incredibly suspenseful. And that final Slip n’ Slide scene — it’s pretty rare that a movie can make me imagine I’m *smelling* the blood, but this one did.
The foot-to-the-pedal blood spurts were the source of much hootin' and hollerin' at the screening I attended when the movie released. Another moment that sticks with me (pun not intended) is Richard using Saran wrap on a shotgun wound in the climax.
i personally think the duel comparison is a stretch—again, no saran wrap pun intended but i will happily accept credit for it. this was a slick little programmer, though, and i enjoy progressive kids with their hearts in the right place staking their claim to culture with splattery genre exercises. in retrospect this was an promising debut from an interesting voice. will watch again, like i always do with new cult canon entries.
“Sometimes you just stumble into a Renée Soutendijk reference and feel great about yourself.”
This has never happened to me, but I absolutely believe that I’d feel great about myself if it did.
I initially avoided this movie because I read comparisons to Irreversible; a really impressive movie but if I ever watch it again, I will skip a key scene that seems to run forever. Can’t do it again. Going to give this one a run now, some time before The Substance drops. Looks great, and definitely looks like something that Cronenberg would take on.
Edit to add: when this piece showed up in my email, I absolutely expected to read about Tony Scott, Kevin Costner and Madeleine Stowe. Also deserves New Cult Canon status!
i was also geared up for the real “revenge”movie. this fake “revenge” movie was totally fine and this review makes me like it even more, but its not costner/stowe/scott.
Interesting article. I liked Revenge but had the opposite response in my review wondering if I had under rated it. I did see glimmers of brilliance but landed short of loving it. I can see all your points here, some I did not notice myself, and they are valid. Maybe I should re-watch it. I agree it definitely marked Fargeat as a talent to watch.
So excited to learn she's done a follow-up finally.
Between this and Mandy, 2018 was a great year for 'Psychedelic Warrior Rebirth" cinema. That Revenge even came close to matching Mandy - my favourite ever film - demonstrates it's sheer quality. I love this movie.
Just nerved myself up to watch this, and wow. Hard to watch, impossible to look away. The initial shot of Jen, past Richard’s shoulder in the back seat of the helicopter, gave me strong LOLITA vibes, which had to be intentional. Fargeat’s eye for color and composition are sharp. There are some beautiful shots here. The tracking shot near the end that takes Richard from the shower, all around the house, and out past the pool and back is incredibly suspenseful. And that final Slip n’ Slide scene — it’s pretty rare that a movie can make me imagine I’m *smelling* the blood, but this one did.