Film

Act of Vengeance (1974)

Director: Bob Kelljan

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Not as uninteresting as the title(s) might suggest, this deals with the negative reactions encountered by rape victims, and the tactics resorted to by a group who band themselves together as a 'rape squad', giving help and advice to other victims. Perhaps inevitably, the film becomes crippled by the demands of its exploitation format (the group seeking revenge against a particular rapist). It is further hamstrung by very obvious cuts, which may well serve to mute the male potency fantasy lurking around the edges, but also tend to make the women's revenge tactics seem singularly perfunctory. Nevertheless, the film boasts an interesting script (co-written by Betty Conklin) which puts the women's case more clearly and resonantly than you might expect, and entertains between times by building their sexual taunts somewhat in the style of a Shirelles chorus.

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