The Rape

An interesting little movie adapted from Nicolas Freeling's novel Because of the Cats, Rape is an intelligent thriller masquerading as a sex film. The sex is there - in an extended rape sequence and a bit of underwater fucking - but the thrust of the film is the investigation by Inspector Van der Valk (Marshall) of a series of senseless robberies, culminating in a rape and a murder, that leads him to a confrontation with the Ravens, a group of adolescent rich kids. A Dutch/Belgian co-production shot in English, the stilted conversations meld perfectly with the static, non-dramatic visuals which forever have Van der Valk's slightly puritanical presence calling into question the luxurious surroundings he is caught up in.