Violation (2021)

 

Streaming Services: Shudder
Movie Name/Year: Violation (2021)
Genre: Drama, Horror
Length: 107nminutes
Rating: Unrated
Production/Distribution: DM Films, Pacific Northwest Pictures, Shudder
Directors: Dusty Mancinelli, Madeleine Sims-Fewer
Writers: Dusty Mancinelli, Madeleine Sims-Fewer
Actors: Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Anna Maguire, Jesse LaVercombe, Obi Abili, Jasmin Geljo, Cynthia Ashperger
 
Blurb from IMDb:  A troubled woman on the edge of divorce returns home to her younger sister after years apart. But when her sister and brother-in-law betray her trust, she embarks on a vicious crusade of revenge.
 

Cat’s Point of View:
I’m collecting my thoughts as I begin this review because Violation was simply all over the place. I feel I must start, however, with the disclaimer that opens the movie. "VIOLATION contains sexual violence, graphic sexual content, and extreme violence/gore. Discretion is advised." One would hope that very young eyes have not been given free rein of the Shudder streaming platform – but just as an extra heads up: this film is not for kids at all. We’re talking full-frontal male nudity and some dialogue you might expect in a porno… as the least offensive bits.
 
Violation has a powerful message, and it is quite the gut-punch – as the quotes in the trailer suggest – but all that gets muddied and lost in its disjointed nature. There are so many odd transitions and timeline shifts that it almost makes your head spin. There was one scene transition that quite literally spins. Viewers with motion sickness that get disoriented with first-person perspective might want to close their eyes for that part.

 
I spent so much of this movie confused…or cringing. Part of that stemmed from some of the cinematography decisions and the crazy scene transitions. Half the time I was wondering if this was supposed to be some sort of nature documentary that accidentally got spliced into the revenge flick I was supposed to be watching. It took a slow burn and drug it out to a near painful level. Seriously – I felt every minute of this one.
 
Please tell me why there were so many long scenes of viewing a person from the back, or their silhouette, as they stare outward?

 
Ultimately, I put together the backward–telling of the story events. The tale is tragic and all sorts of messed up on so many levels. I just don’t know if the meaning really makes it past the art-house treatment it was given.
 
I don’t see myself recommending this one to anyone… ever, really. There are better examples of revenge films on similar subject matters, even. 

 
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 88%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – None
Metascore – 72%
Metacritic User Score – None
IMDB Score – 5.8/10
 
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 2/5
 
Trust-the-Dice’s Parental Advisory Rating: NC-17
 
Movie Trailer: