Avenged (2013)

A deaf girl is brutalized by a murderous gang who are then hunted by her when the bloodthirsty spirit of an Apache warrior inhabits her lifeless body.

I wish I could have given this movie a 5! It really deserved it. The scenery. The build-up of emotions. The grindhouse vibe. It's as close to The Adventures of Johnny Tao as I've gotten in a long time, with a little Planet Terror mixed in, and it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole movie.

These grindhouse movies all seem to feature someone with a handicap btw, whether it be a missing leg, an eye patch or, in this case: no hearing. It felt like a strange choice in this case - more functional than visual, yet it turned out to be a handicap that somehow lent the script even more strength.

I feel for Zoe. I feel for Dane. I feel each cry of anguish, and pain, and vengeance, and though the fighting choreography isn't flawless they bring out so much grit in those scenes too. The blood flows. The cuts run deep, and yet the characters don't laugh death in the face and make it all seem silly, or turn it all into a mindless bloodbath - there's fear and anticipation in each scene, an uncomfortable such, a sad one, like Deer Hunter meets Machete. Okay I may be going overboard with these comparisons now.

Both main characters and villains put on a great performance though; Amanda Adrienne Smith and Tom Ardavany in particular.

It is a bit drawn out on some parts, but everyone pours in so much emotion into their acts that the wait pulls you in more than it annoys. Plotwise it's like a mix between I Spit On Your Grave and Wrong Turn... and something else. It's gold. It's the first movie in a long time I've watched from start to finish without wanting to skip a second. The angles were just right, the tension was just right, and the grime was just enough to keep you watching no matter how uncomfortable it got, and both intro and outro soundtrack brought in and let out the feels.

Unfortunately some of the special effects just don't hold, and some of the ghostery goes too far. The car flip was the big let down towards the end, it breaks the atmosphere, and the drawers were a bit overplayed. Until the end it had been walking the perfect path, and it keeps going that way soon after but... just can't give it the High 5.

 rated 4/5: fo shizzle