Vendetta

"Vendetta" is a tough, stylish women in prison flick, with a good, solid story. Here we have a classic revenge tale. An innocent young girl named Bonnie is unfairly thrown into jail after she defends herself from a scumbag trying to rape her; she blows his head off, with the very gun that he was holding to her head. Talk about justice! Almost immediately after she is thrown inside a very nasty prison, she becomes a target for the butch dyke, Kay, and her henchwomen. It is obvious that this girl has never been inside a lock up facility, and after rejecting Kay's lesbian advances, the badgirl gang kill her. Basically they give her a savage beating, and throw her from a ledge, after shooting her up with heroin, to make it look like an overdose! They think they have gotten away with it, until a mysterious new prisoner shows up, and soon after, Kay's gang begin to die, one by one. This new woman, professional stunt woman Laurie Collins, is none other than the murdered girls sister! This is classic WIP material. The acting is all around good, and the action sequences, which include a lot of kick boxing technique are believable, and exhilarating. Unlike other films of this genre, the women are not all beautiful, with surgically enhanced bodies and perfect makeup. And this lends the film an extra level of credibility, and realism. There are no CGI effects, just a raw and realistic story from start to finish. Vendetta is also filled with some hilarious one-liners that you will be repeating with your friends long after the film is over. The lead butch dyke is especially a joy to behold. Unlike a lot of these cheap prison films, 'Vendetta' is actually well filmed, and every scene was bright and colorful, rather than dark and murky like most others. Reminiscent of the "pink" films coming out of Japan in the late 70's into the 80's; super violent films featuring tough female protagonists exacting their revenge on the scum of the earth. 'Vendetta' is highly recommended to fans of the genre, although you might have a hard time finding it.

Although "Vendetta" is billed as a women in prison film, it plays more like women in a trade preparatory school, with conjugal visits. Once you get past the country club atmosphere, and focus on the stunt woman vs. the boss trustee, the film benefits. Sandy Martin as the head goon is a standout, while everyone else simply comes across as stereotyped "B" actresses. The movie is fast moving, has some welcome humor,and a mandatory shower scene. It is weakened by some seriously flawed stunt work that looks like no one is really hitting or kicking anyone. Nevertheless, the entertainment factor survives, as long as you suspend disbelief. - MERK

This was on Showtime late night or something like that when I saw it as a ten or so year old. It was pure heaven. The exact film I was wanting to see at that age. A prison, a women's prison story, drug-dealing lesbians, murder and revenge. Aw YEAH!!!! Check this out for the SWEET shower scenes that I remember in the back of my mind. It was quite a few years back, so maybe it wasn't that good. But I loved it back then. The head lesbian gangster's great!

"Vendetta" mixes two genres well. It's part female prison movie and part revenge flick. The story is completely ridiculous but who cares? The movie is a fun watch.

Here's another example of typical B grade fare which made the eighties what they were. A slightly better prison/action vehicle here, though there are some "Are you shi..in' me moments?", especially as far at that Judge (Will Hare-that insane grandfather in Silent Night Deadly Night) was concerned. The premise isn't bad, also. Big Sis, a stunt woman, purposely gets herself arrested to avenge younger, cute sister's murder at the hands of a band of merciless female prisoners, led by notorious top dog, Kay (a nasty of acting from Sandy Martin, that female officer in Extremities). That's not the catalyst though, where I really did like how it was plotted. Sadly the film, again, gives way to sleaze, but does curb it a bit, where we again are in the sleazy confines of another corrupt run prison, though the staff aren't all rotten, although this is how it was intended. Of course, this doesn't make it excusable, but this is somewhat better than those Chained Heats, what have you. We see a familiar General Hospital face as a sleazy warden who services sexually starved prisoners. Not a badly made film, although a few amateur moments shine through, in a far from flawless pic. Oh, how you'll love it, you revenge fans, out there, you'll really crave this one.