Bound To Vengeance

I dedicate this review to all women worldwide who take a stand, trying to fight for justice and equal rights.

In the last few months, i think we all have been shocked about all the news coverage of women attacked, especially on New Years Eve in Germany, and not long ago information about the Stockholm Summer Festival. As a man i found it very hard to understand, how you can even think of raping a woman, or abusing her. It has never crossed my mind, and it never will. Simply because i respect women, and many men should learn to see women in a different way. In the film world, we have plenty of examples of films, where women are raped, abused or tortured. One of the most classic examples is of course the 1978 film I Spit On Your Grave. A very controversial film for many reasons, but most of all for the brutal rape scenes. The film became banned in several countries, and feminist organisations were furious that the film even got a cinema release. I have seen the film, and i will say that it is brutal, and you will be disgusted. But i can honestly say that there are nowdays so many gory, brutal films out there, that this film is no longer the shocker it used to be. But as a cult film it still have some value. Of course Hollywood decided to do a remake, and we got one with the same title, released in 2010. For a remake, it is actually not that bad, and without a doubt good enough to watch on dvd, if you want to see some horror films. There are 2 sequels out also, and i have not seen them yet. Something tells me that i might not see them, usually sequels of this kind don´t give much joy. Does anyone remember the 70´s cult classic film Death Wish, with Charles Bronson, in one of his best action films ? The story about a father, who revenge the death of his wife, and his raped daughter, is a classic revenge film. I am hoping that the film one day get a special edition with interviews of film crew, perhaps some of the actors who were in the film. There are plenty of more classic films in this genre, perhaps we should mention The Last House On The Left by director Wes Craven ? Not long ago, while buying some new dvd and blu rays from Shout! Factory, i came across a film called Bound To Vengeance. Not knowing much about it, i decided to give it a try and bought myself a copy. I later found out that i could have bought the UK version, but who cares, any release is good enough for me. With a good looking premise, and an interesting cast, is Bound To Vengeance a revenge horror film in the style of the good old classics, or is this another release in this genre that will be forgotten ?

Eve ( Tina Ivlev ) is lying on the floor chained, by pervert and kidnapper Phil ( Richard Tyson ). As he goes in to feed her, she hits him with a brick, and manage to get herself loose. She finds pictures of different women, with a name written on every photograph. She decides to take Phil as her prisoner, to locate where he have chained all these women, to set everyone free. Phil tries to convince Eve not to go on with this, but Eve is determined to make things right. Question is, are all the women alive, or is her mission doomed to fail ?

There are plenty of strong female characters on films, but one of them have to be my personal favourite, and that is of course Sigourney Weaver as Ripley. Have you ever seen a more bad ass woman kicking alien ass ? You almost get a sense that your balls will explode, if she gives you the evil eye, so i am not going near her, that is for sure. I have seen a lot of brutal films in my years. Even if Bound To Vengeance is very brutal in many ways, i can tell you that this film need to be brutal. Why ? Simply because the story is in need of a strong female character. And this is where lead actor Tina Ivlev manage to deliver with her powerful performance. She might be a victim, but she manage to turn things around. Bound To Venegance is without a doubt a film that shows, women are stronger than men in many ways. In this case, where we are dealing with a sick perrvert, who is turned on by abusing young women, and torture them, you have to feel some kind of hope that everything will be alright, hopefully. In real life you have probably heard the news coverage of Josef Fritl, who chained and kidnapped prisoner Elisabeth in his home, for many many years, and no one knew. The fact that he got her pregnant many times, and was still living with his wife, is really sick. Now, Bound To Vengeance does not go this far, because this is a completely different story, but you do recognize the kidnapping theme, and the girls chained as slaves. To see one of the victims strike back, and not give up because of the situation, shows that you can never give up. There are plenty of violent scenes, so be prepared for a crazy ride. I like the fact that director José Manuel Cravioto use a very violent approach, i think it is needed in a revenge film like this. José have directed short films, and some documentaries in the past, but his full feature debut film El Más Buscado is said to be very good. After watching Bound To Blood, i can honestly say that i like his style, and vision as an director. He makes a simple story come to life, with a lot of power, especially in the performances. Is the story interesting ? Not really, but the film looks great, and the performances is the strength of the film. Is it original in any way ? No, but that does not really matter, because in the end we get a revenge horror film much better than most average releases. And there are also some surprises along the way, something i do appreciate. The pervert, played by actor Richard Tyson ( remember the evil guy in Kindergarten Cop ? ), is actually solid in his performance. A psycopath, you don´t want to bring into your aunts Sunday dinner. I suggest you buy this dvd, and show support to women worldwide who are victims of abuse, rape or violence. It is time we make a change in this world, and Bound To Vengeance might inspire women to stand up for themselves.

Rating: DDD