I Am Rage

So, yeah… I like revenge movies. What of it? And, sure: it might be a little niche. But I like movies in which young women turn the tables on the baddies with, as I believe the expression goes, ‘extreme prejudice'. Which is why, having recently started a subscription with Netflix, I have been steadily working my way through a list of films in which the hero of the hour is a woman who happens to be ex-CIA, ex-special forces, ex-whatever, just trying to get along, when her peace is disturbed by assorted villains and ne’er-do-wells.

As for revenge nunsploitation… Bring it on!

It will therefore be no surprise for you to learn that offered a chance to review I Am Rage, a film promoted as a revenge movie, wherein 'an ancient cult embroiled in a sinister blood trade makes the deadly mistake of abducting a young woman with a violent, shocking past', I leapt at it.

Well. Almost no surprise. For I am very particular about the gore content of theses epic struggles. Revenge, tick. Cross (young) woman, tick. Excess blood, guts, and gore, no thank you. Though 'excess' in this context is a highly moveable feast. I think it boils down to whether the action icks me out. In this case, despite some gross and bloody scenes towards the end, my ick-o-meter stayed just this side of tolerable.

As for the film itself, it is nonsense on stilts. There is little to add to what it says on the tin. Erin (Hannaj Bang Bendz) has a very violent, tragic past. But, hey! No spoilers!

She is off for the weekend with boyfriend Adam (Derek Nelson) to meet his parents (Jamie B Chambers and Debbie Sheridan), brother Michael (Luke Aquilina) and sister Margret (Marta Svetek). All are vicious, blood-thirsty psychopaths. Sorta literally, because, as I may have mentioned, they are part of 'an ancient cult embroiled in a sinister blood trade'. Like a cross between the Addams family and Christian evangelists.

Apart from Michael’s girlfriend, Sarah (Antonia Whillans), also there for the weekend, mostly to play the part of innocent bystander. Because once the action gets going, about the only mildly interesting question is whether or not Sarah survives. But, did I also mention… No spoilers!

It is a neat little film, with very little to it beyond the obligatory procession of set-piece fights in the second half as Erin slowly but surely works her way up the family hierarchy. Though it does also come with a modest helping of campiness: here, there, lines and the odd exchange of dialogue that do not belong in the mouths of serious psychopaths.

The confrontation between Erin and Margret, when it eventually comes, is resolved in a way that is predictable, as it was flagged up about half an hour earlier. Still, it includes an exceedingly strange twist that can only be construed as public health warning: to wit, don’t put anything in your mouth if you don’t know where it’s been!

Then there’s Wilson (Niko Foster), a psychopath from the even more traditional wing of the ancient blood cult, who turns up to shoot any would-be escapers, to an accompaniment of laconic and, dare I say it, camp witticisms.

That leaves just the puzzle of where this was set. The vibe is back-of-beyond wilderness. Over 100 miles from anywhere, according to one character, leading one to imagine the more isolate parts of Montana or Colorado. Except the leading ladies speak with the most cut-glass of English accents; and the landscape looks more Cheshire than Chesapeake.

Well, close. According to IMDB, the film was shot mostly on location in Scotland. The family scenes were shot in the very heritage Shinness Lodge, near Lairg; the final confrontation between Erin and the cult takes place at a paintball centre in Banchory; and yes, it looks like a paintball centre!

Did I like this film? Apart from the brief moments when I had to look away, yes! It’s a predictable revenge action movie but it brings to the genre a degree of wit and self-awareness that some of the worthier, more serious attempts do not. Ah, the redeeming virtues of even a little camp.

So, while in the scheme of things, it is a very minor film indeed, I am still going to give it 3-and-a-half stars, with one eyebrow raised in the direction of 4. If you like this sort of film, you will enjoy I Am Rage.

If you are easily icked, avoid.