Survival & Revenge
Hunted
Revenge
Picture this: you’re stranded in the middle of nowhere, while a vicious predator of some kind searches for you. You have no weapons, no protection, and the only thing you can conjure in your mind are strategies from thrillers and action movies. What movies would you take survival inspiration from? For me, I’d try my best to embody Ellen Ripley from Alien or Maddie from Hush, moving so carefully and quietly that I remain undetected. I’d want to be as courageous and driven as the Bride from Kill Bill, and ideally, as good at defending myself as Mitsuko in Battle Royale. Tonight’s films presented us with two different defenseless women, in two different, harsh terrains, fighting for their lives to not only survive, but to exact their revenge(s?). There have been an inordinate amount of revenge movies spanning across many decades and across many countries, that prove that the dish best served cold is one that we often crave. There’s something incredibly satisfying about seeing someone exact their vengeance upon those who have wronged them, no matter the magnitude or context of the wronging. John Wick, Elle Woods, and the women from 9 to 5 all have one thing in common, other than their undeniable style, and that’s their desire for retribution. The only rule of a revenge movie is that badder the bad guy, the more brutal must a revenge plot be, and tonight’s films certainly offered some atrocious bad guys, as well as some mighty satisfying payback. Both Revenge and Hunted are fairly new Shudder original films, starring two very talented actresses who had heaps of stamina and grit. Hunted featured a Little Red Riding Hood-eqsue set up and aesthetic, with our protagonist not so subtly dressed in a red hoodie as she tries to escape the men who lured her from the bar to their car to the darkness of the woods. Our main character, Eve, makes some questionable choices throughout, but I feel like I really can’t critique anyone’s survival skills as I type this on my laptop while sitting in my air conditioned house. We watch Eve progress from petrified to pissed, a thrilling evolution that is triggered by the big bad wolf, which in this case, is a psychopathic American tourist who talks way too much. She very quickly becomes accustomed to the forest around her, finding camouflage among piles of leaves and a pillow in the form of a deer, which was odd, but ultimately not the oddest choice here. There were some brutal but beautiful moments of resourcefulness, as rocks and sticks were utilized when weapons could not be. Although, there is a specific instance of a taser being used so uniquely that I shan’t spoil it. There were many artistic liberties taken here visually: strange shadows of crows and wolves, all there to perhaps remind us that the Red Riding Hood allegory was still very much in place, even after Little Red starts to fight back. The modern take on this story, stylistic choices aside, was refreshing and believable, in a sense—as the mother sets us up at the beginning of the film. Her son asks if there are still wolves to fear, to which the mother replies, “Wolves? No, there aren’t any. As for men? Yes there are.” This was proven to be yet another theme of the evening when it came to Revenge: a film that found another batch of psychopathic men, who turned on the wrong girl. Much like Hunted, there were some peculiar details mentioned in Revenge that didn’t take away from any of the story, but certainly did not add to it. If Hunted is a modern take on Little Red Riding Hood, Revenge is twisted kind of Goldilocks, as we follow a girl out of her element fighting against three men who want her dead. Jen, our main character, was ruthless and bold and completely up to the task of vengeance, as we watch her climb out of a stab wound and traverse the Moroccan desert like it was her damn job. She hardly has any lines but she delivers the most stellar performance: one that exhibited rage and tenderness. She was muddied and bloodied and wounded within an inch of her life and she still kicks ass, all with the accompaniment of her fabulous pink star earrings. It’s within horror movies and thrillers that some of the best acting is found, in my opinion, but of course, these performances are never celebrated like they should be. Jen and Eve both display the complete spectrum of human emotion, and found ways of portraying both vulnerability and brutality—which is not an easy thing to do. And while I found the catalyst for payback in Revenge harder to watch than with Hunted, I appreciated how both films worked to establish just how much these men underestimate these women—yet another believable aspect that only made their revenge taste sweeter. Revenge built the tension and suspense even better than Hunted, and with an agreeable amount of exploitation of the nude male form. What I enjoyed about both of these films, and what I enjoy about revenge films in general (if they can get it right), is their ability to do new things as a means of survival. The more innovative the technique or weapon or strategy, the more impressed I am, no matter how impractical. There’s nothing I love watching more than a driven woman on a mission to get what she wants, regardless of the circumstance or stakes. I don’t watch Gone Girl and Jennifer’s Body and say “aww come on, give him another chance”, I say “good for her” because if the story involves a woman scorned, I’m automatically on her side, I’m sorry. (I’m not sorry)
