The Victim

I was looking forward to see The Victim. Have seen a lot of Biehn flicks I liked his performance in Bereavement (2010) and liked The Divide (2011) his second attempt as a director here I didn't like. Being sold as a grindhouse movie to pick in on the success of the genre I can't really say it was a grindhouse flick. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad on part of the directing but it didn't deliver gore or anything to call it a grindhouse.

It's more flick with a lot of talking and a bit of action that you could see coming miles away. The end wasn't a surprise at all. Slowly you can see who the real killer is. It do has a steaming love scene between Biehn and his actual wife Jennifer Blanc who isn't afraid to show her body here. For the horror buffs you will see another famous face, that of Danielle Harris. She's not that often in this flick but when she does she really looks sexy and if that tattoo is for real, just have a look at it. She's walking around as a whore and do shows her body a few times in sexy underwear.

On part of the horror itself there isn't any at all. We do have flashbacks explaining what went wrong but you could guess it all by just watching The Victim. You can only ask yourself, who is the real victim. The last 10 minutes has the only gore to see but by then it's too late to call it a horror.

Just another mediocre flick with a fine cast but it doesn't deliver anything special to the genre. Only the hunters for celebrity nudity should watch this flick.

Nevertheless, it's been promoted well being spotted in every horror magazine and released worldwide. Still, I missed something. You can see it with your kids, maybe that says enough.

Gore 0,5/5 Nudity 1/5 Effects 2/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 0/5

Ultra-low budget private effort at a throwback to what was known as Grindhouse Movies. A deliberate attempt to be lurid with lazy film making and exploitation sub-genre subject matter. The more gore (H.G. Lewis), nudity (Roger Corman/Russ Meyer), the better and with great colorful posters and titles (Bloody Mama, The Gore Gore Girls) they would attract audiences and the public with taboo breaking bad flicks.

Most of them were pretty awful, with an occasional sleeper hit and a later discovered cult classic (The Texas Chainsaw, Massacre, Ms.45. Basket Case). But unless you are willing to go way over the top (Tarantino & Rodriguez) or somehow find a great script or story, the results are predictably, almost always BAD.

The trouble with setting out to make a bad movie (Attack of the Killer Tomatoes) is that it usually results in nothing sensational. LIke this Movie. The charm of an Ed wood movie is that he was not winking at the audience, he was trying really hard and the result was a primitive style that endures.

There may be kudos for an attempt, but eight hundred thousand dollars is hardly chump change, even in the independent film world, and this comes off more like someone saying lets make a gritty movie while we're on vacation, rather than an auteur deciding, well we only have a few bucks and a lot of willing folks so we can do this thing.

This movie is lacking sensationalism with unattractive nudity, has mundane violence, no surprises and is ultimately uninteresting, not entertaining, or worth the effort.

"I move all the way out here to get away from people, get away from trouble and this crap lands at my doorstep." Annie (Blanc) and her friend Mary (Harris) are out camping with their dates. When things go to far Mary ends up dead and Annie runs for her life. She ends up at the remote cabin of Kyle (Biehn) who wants nothing to do with her. After hearing her story he decides to help her, when he hears another side to it he is not sure who to trust. This is yet again another movie that has no real substance but is fairly entertaining to watch. The acting is pretty bad and the dialog is not impressive but it does keep you watching till the end. There are a few twists but to me this was still predictable. I have seen worse and for a B-rate horror movie this was not the bad. There are some fairly graphic sexual scenes in this but nothing over the top so if that offends you I would avoid this. All that said it did keep me interested for the whole time. Overall, nothing super but a good one time watch. I give it a B-.

I felt more obligated to write this review to negate the extremely overinflated reviews here than to exact my own personal revenge against this catastrophe of a "movie".

I only noticed one truthful review, hidden amongst the pack of fans who gave offensively high numbers of stars, and really, for a small independent movie, it's to be expected. But, even in allegiance to a favourite actor, I can't imagine the willpower it must have taken for them to type out their drivel.

Okay, so now actually onto the movie.

I've seen my fair share of exploitation movies; some good, some bad. What Biehn has managed to do is create the absolute worst, and I don't mean that it's incredibly graphic - it lacks any sort of gritty impact or violence. Well, it has plenty of sex, that has to be something, right? Nope. Instead of creating an homage to grindhouse, I like to think that he has invented a sub-genre called outhouse.

Lousy direction, ridiculous writing, sloppy editing, a laughable soundtrack, a cast that has the combined acting versatility of a single plank of wood, and no story. Packed full of moody driving sequences with conversation reminiscent of old people talking about the day's weather. Now, I have to emphasise that the writing is really, really bad; it violates our intelligence. Nevermind that The Victim was filmed in under two weeks, it was probably written in under half an hour.

Ryan Honey playing the corrupt cop was just painful to watch, easily the worst combination of casting and acting I've had to put up with. Danielle Harris was only marginally better, but still utterly useless. I really don't know what was up with Biehn, who just raised his voice when he was angry, or his wife's inane ramblings.

If you've ever seen the TV series Lost, then I'm sure you'll have hated those Kate centric episodes with her terrible flashbacks. If you watch The Victim, then you'll be treated with flashbacks a hundred times more redundant and boring. I was with two friends at this screening and every time a flashback popped up we couldn't help but let out suicidal groans.

I went to this screening with an open mind, but I had checked the reviews on this site beforehand and, well, they were very easy to see through. Save yourself from becoming a victim to this travesty - I am not exaggerating in the slightest. Thankfully, it hasn't had a wide release as of the time of writing this review, but it will probably be torn to pieces when some delusional distributer puts out there.

Avoid.

Just got done watching the movie and it was awesome!! Very good plot, just enough action to keep you interested. A very enjoyable film. One not to be taken too seriously, but keeps you thinking. Would very much like to see it again when it is released.

The actors did a wonderful job, and for Biehn's directorial debut, he has proved that he can get the job done. Filming a movie in 12 days is phenomenal!

I will be sure to tell everyone about "The Victim" and start planning my "Victim" release party! Can't Wait!! Thanks for allowing us the chance to preview it!