He shouldn’t have left her alone. That was a big mistake. Well, there are a lot of things he shouldn’t have done. He shouldn’t have cheated on his wife. He shouldn’t have been so indiscrete. He shouldn’t have confused the meet up time with his hunting buddies. He shouldn’t have slapped her. He shouldn’t have pushed her off a cliff and left her for dead. And, most importantly, he really shouldn’t have underestimated her.
We’re guessing the French “family man” and too-wealthy-for-his-own-good Richard (Kevin Janssens) has a Moroccan retreat. Why you locate a personal oasis in the middle of a desert is beyond me, but maybe you enjoy flying places by helicopter. At this particular time, Richard has chosen to bring his mistress, Jen (Matilda Lutz), a young woman who comes off as too hot to be a cheerleader. Jen is pretty much the standard desire of any man who has ever had the thought, “I want to eat a Hooters today.” Jen knows it and subsequently traipses about Richard’s pad at all times as if she’s only moments away from a spontaneous underwear photo shoot.
The following day, Richard’s pals Stan (Vincent Colombe) and Dimitri (Guillaume Bouchède) show up unexpected. Other than the rifles slung about their necks, the pair don’t look like trouble otherwise, and besides, how much trouble could there be with a supermodel flirt prancing about in her underwear in front of three men in a completely isolated getaway? At the poolside dinner, Richard refuses to play, so Jen selects Stan for a dance partner. This is no big deal, right? Stan knows she’s just having flirtatious fun, right? Yeah, the following morning tells a different story; with Richard on an errand and Dimitri passed out on the pool raft, Stan makes his move. We know this can only end one way: Jen in her underwear impaled on a dead tree at the bottom of a cliff.
I’m not about to tell you this is a realistic film, but it is impossible not to root for Jen in her quest for Revenge. This is no standard tale of vengeance. Our clothing-challenged heroine has gone off a cliff and been skewed like a shish kabob in a dead tree in the desert. That might kill a few people. Also, standard Revenge doesn’t begin to describe the visceral feel of this picture. There’s more blood in this film than any other I’ve seen in years. Writer/director Coralie Fargeat wanted us to get a true feel of what it’s like for a fire ant to be bombarded by plasma, what it’s like for a man to pull an entrenched shard of glass from his freshly wounded foot, or what it’s like for a fat guy to munch on a Mallomar while deciding if he’s going to participate in a rape. This is an ugly film with beautiful film-making. Does that make any sense?
The moral here seems to be: don’t judge Victoria until you know her Secret. I would say this was a breakout role for Matilda Lutz if Act III didn’t remind me so much of Barbarella. Someday, somebody 
important is gonna see this film and say, “That’s the actress I want.” And I’m not talking about another Rings; some role you’d normally push for Alicia Vikander. How the Italian-born Miss Lutz handles that opportunity may well decide if her career centers around Hollywood or continues to be in Milan.
In the meantime, Revenge is a nifty little four-person adventure. Grisly, raw, alternatively gorgeous and hideous, there is some awesome cinematography going on in this film. It spared very little in terms of what it chose to show on the screen. The question is which you find tougher to watch – an ant drowning in human blood or the close-up of Mallomar crunching; I could go either way. Of course, if neither of those thoughts pique a curiosity, please stay far away.
♪At night when you flip on that car headlight
Don’t you let her out your sight
Oh no, the girl is gonna get’cha
You’re red, sunburned from your toe to head
Sitting duck you’ll soon be dead
You know it
The girl is gonna get’cha
The girl is gonna get’cha
The girl is gonna get’cha
You know I wanna bet’cha
The girl is gonna get’cha, tonight♫
Rated R, 108 Minutes
Director: Coralie Fargeat
Writer: Coralie Fargeat
Genre: #metoo
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Feminists who can stand the sight of blood
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: The squeamish
♪ Parody Inspired by “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You”
