Defenceless: A Blood Symphony

Sadly this film left me a little disappointed. It was quite tame with regards to violence and the supposed quotes stating it was nasty were far from the truth imo.

Not much is seen at all.

One woman is supoosedly (you don't see amything) stabbed in the privates with a knife and theres zero blood!? And she's beaten in the face (out of shot again) with a baton and when next see her face it has slightly purple blemishes on her face and no blood! Poor.

The lead actress is gorgeous so that helps a lot and she can act until directed to walk like filled her pants after spending 9 months in the sea!? Wah!?

Which is never explained. (A remnant of what the movie was going to be.....called The Deep).

The young director (24 at the time I believe) appeared very restrained with what he showed for a supposed uncut and vicious revenge film ......I guess the final scene although badly choreographed throughout did have one gory bit and partly made up for it .

Shame wasn't more though, felt restrained, especially the torture of the pedophile.

The lack of dialogue throughout was a good move. Less an artistic statement than a careful way to not show the low level of acting. (Even if they say otherwise)

Seems they had no one doing any make up FX throughout. Later in the film they must have had a whip around and bought some fake blood and chicken fillets so that was used more and helped a little.

Then it gets surreal.

Dolls heads on sticks. Random girls finding junk on beach finds lead actress and immediately hits her with a branch for some unknown reason? Ha ha. I think to see if alive. Flesh eating. Sleeping underwater.

Stock music is not used well and distracts at times. Not as emotional as they believed it was. Especially the classical parts.

Lot of long drawn out padded scenes, strange costumes.

Some artistically shot scenes seem out of place.

For a first real film I guess its forgivable.

Watch if nothing else on.

Did I mention the lead actress was gorgeous? Ha ha.

A film with hardly any dialogue, beautifully filmed tale of revenge on greedy land owners with supernatural elements. A unique vision that hits your senses, it will stay with you long after ,and a repeat view will let you see the evil of the minds of unscrupulous greedy bastards and what happens when you push someone too far, Hard find but well worth the search for it.

For those of you who enjoy venturing deep into the nastier things the horror realm has to offer, I think you may enjoy this. A film with some ultra-violence, VJ stabbin, penae mutilation, rapeyraperape, cannibalism....it's got the "good" stuff. A film that revolves around themes of revenge and "staying true to oneself in rough times"....(what's a word for that?....perseverance?). The kicker is, there isn't a word spoken in the film, besides I think a couple "Nooooo!"s. No dialogue in the film. And to come across as powerful as it did, is pretty commendable.

Personally, even though it's got everything I enjoy in horror I'm not going cuckoo over it. The acting, camera-work and length all bothered me. Basically because it is slightly amateurish. But overall and most importantly it's unique, and it'll be some time till I have difficulty remembering it. Definitely worth a view for the right viewer

Have you ever wondered how a magician pulls off a trick?

If you watch "Defenceless", then expect to marvel in similar fashion, but do not expect any answers. Mr Savage has finally pulled a rabbit from his hat that has many of us scratching our heads. How did he do it? How on earth did the man manage to sustain interest for 98 minutes with no dialogue? Because Mr Savage has finally delivered a work which leaves us in no doubt as to the importance of story -- and what can be achieved in we concentrate on "the story". The story. And, still again, "The Story".

"Defenceless" reminds me of the origins of "story". When a tale was told with grunts by pre-historic men in caves. Stick figures on walls. No special effects, no adr, no computers. Just story.

How did he do it? By telling us a tale the old fashioned way. Not unlike the kind Hal Ashby and Bob Rafaelson used to tell in the sixties and seventies, but even they used some dialogue. Mr Savage does not use any. I love dialogue. Always have. Always will. I plot David Mamet like a nautical dove plots the course pf ancient mariners in times gone by. But, with "Defenceless", I did not need it.

The story was all.

How did he do it? Ask not. Any more than you would ask why pasta never tastes the same away from home as it does when you make it yourself. And, like a master chef, Mr Savage has finally delivered his piece de resistance: a meal fit for kings.

The wonderful thing is, that I suspect "Defenceless" is the "appetiser". The main course is yet to come. I am hungry for more, and in truth, cannot wait.

Art for arts sake. It's an original film that's weird and sexy and spooky. Mark Savage knows how to make a feature. I like that he pushes the envelope.