Revenge Limited Edition Blu Ray Review (Second Sight Films)

Revenge is a 2017 revenge film written, edited, & directed by Coralie Fargeat (Le télégramme, Les Fées Cloches, & Reality+). It was produced by Marc Stanimirovic (Sympathy for the Devil, A Very Bad Friend, & Kaamelott) & Marc-Etienne Schwartz (The Dream Kids). It made it’s world premier at the Toronto International Film Festival. Shudder picked up the video distribution rights for the United States for this feature. The budget was $2.9 million & it grossed $2,692,079 during it’s limited theatrical run.

Jennifer (played by: Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz from Rings, Fuoriclasse, & Medici) also known as “Jen” is an American socialite who is in a secret relationship with her married neighbor Richard (played by: Kevin Janssens from Savage State, The Bouncer, Catacombe, & Vermist). The two fly out to Richard’s secluded home in the middle of the desert for a weekend together before his annual hunting trip with friends Stan (played by: Vincent Colombe from My King, Point Blank, Memories, & The Hospital) & Dimitri (played by: Guillaume Bouchède from Knock, Two is a Family, & Just Like Brothers). Richard’s pilot gives him some peyote as a gift before he departs. Stan & Dimitri arrive a day early, disappointing Richard who was hoping to keep Jen a secret. Stan tries to get Jen to have sex with him but when she refuses, he rapes her. Dimitri sees the rape occur but chooses to actively ignore it. Richard returns & berates his friends. He offers Jen a large sum of money to forget about the incident. Richard refuses to send Jen home & she threatens to reveal the nature of their relationship to Richard’s wife. He slaps her and she runs off into the desert while the three men give chase. Richard pretends to call his pilot to take Jen home & instead pushes her off a cliff leaving her for dead. The three men continue their hunting trip as if nothing had happened. Jen wakes up & nurses herself back to health. She tracks down each man & sets out for her gruesome retaliation against them. Can she survive long enough to eliminate all three? Or Will she never been seen again after this nightmarish weekend????

Revenge was one of my favorite films from 2017. I thought it did start out really slow & it definitely took awhile for something to actually happen here but I did appreciate the character development. Matilda Lutz is super eye candy & she’s the reason to check this out. She’s not the greatest actress or anything like that but this role didn’t require much of that anyways. She goes from beautiful to deadly really quick in Revenge. Jen goes through hell but she comes back from it stronger than ever. Let’s be honest, none of these characters are likeable especially the guys. You want them to get murdered in various brutal ways when everything kicks in. Guess what? They deliver exactly what you would expect from a rape revenge flick. They don’t make many as these anymore, they were really popular in the 80’s & studios pumped them out. Now, it’s more of a sensitive subject. Revenge is full of gore, violence, & action in the 2nd half. It’s worth the wait because it pays off for your patience. The finale is built up real nice here. I bought this when it was originally released in the United States but this Second Sight Films gives it the proper attention it deserves on home video. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!

Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Second Sight Films! This 1080p (2.39:1) transfer is stunning on blu ray. The cinematography & the stylish approach to the rarely done sub-genre is a real treat on home video. It has two different audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 & English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 on the release. The dialogue is crystal clear, all the action has a killer boost to it, & the music is elevated here. It also has English SDH subtitles.

Let’s discuss the special features from Second Sight Films! Now, this is real selling point of this release because the U.S. version was basically bare bones besides a few trailers. It has an “Audio Commentary” with Diabolique’s own Kat Ellinger. She’s been popping up on all kinds of home video releases lately. She is always fun to check out when it comes to commentaries. You get all kinds of knowledge & it’s never dull with her. “Out for Blood” is a brand new interview with director Coralie Fargeat & lead actress Matilda Lutz. “The Coward” is a brand new interview with actor Guillaume Bouchède. “Fairy Tale Violence” is a brand new interview with cinematographer Robrecht Heyvaert. Plus it has a brand new “Interview” with composer Robin Coudert. There’s an hour & 40 minutes worth of interviews about this feature from all the participants above. They chat about the influences of it. They talk about how it got made & their experience on it. They go over the look of it & the music. They mention dealing with nudity & all the gore from the chaos in Revenge. Pair this up with the commentary, it basically covers everything that you would want to know about this revenge flick. Not only does it have better extras than the releases here, it has top notch packaging with some cool bonuses. This limited edition release comes housed in a high quality slipbox with new artwork. It also comes with a real nice poster & a 37 page book. This is a Region B release. It’s available everywhere overseas, CHECK IT OUT!!!!