Revenge (2017)
Body horror without The Substance.
Presentation:
If you enjoyed The Substance, you may have went back in time to watch Coralie Fargeat’s older body horror films. Revenge is tonally similar in that there’s not a lot of dialogue and when there is, it’s quite banal. This allows the cinematography to shine, to which I have mixed feelings. There’s aggressive intense-continuity in this film, meaning close-ups upon close-ups, but at least varied with cinematic macro shots. As this is a cat and mouse revenge movie, it’s quite well paced, which will appeal to short attention spans. Characters are one dimensional stereotypes - but you can’t expect much more from a revenge movie.
Conclusion:
This is an incredibly simplistic film that is maximally executed. The plot is a joke, characters are a joke, but it’s a fun, accessibly mindless body horror. I found it quite similar to Ready or Not but I like the more indie presentation in this film. There will be two camps of viewers, those that think this was a lot of fun, and those that think this is absolute garbage. Think of a premium Big Mac - it’s Miami-flashy-trashy fast food that will be a guilty pleasure for many. Brain rot designed for people that don’t want to use brain cells, and yet I enjoyed it anyway, though oddly not as much as The Babysitter. Just don’t be disappointed when you feel hollow by the end of it. There’s no substance to this film and while it never pretends to be anything more than a popcorn flick, it seriously offends your intelligence. It’s not so much that it’s unrealistic, the situation just feels completely manufactured to pursue cathartic justice under a banner of female empowerment. I thought writers were over making their characters give speeches before every kill?
Recommendations
Body horror without The Substance.