Raze

I'm going to start this review with a secret: I decided to watch this movie because it looked hot. I mean, hot chicks brawling in prison, there's bound to be at least a nip-slip and if it sucks, there's a good chance I'll see some nudity, so I still win. So, as soon as the girlfriend left, I pressed play. Then I saw Zoe Bell cave some chicks head in.... game changer, not what I was expecting at all. At that point I realized there probably won't be a lesbian shower scene. But, as soon as I recognized Zoe from "Death Proof" I got a little excited in another way because I also remembered that she's a freaking awesome stunt performer. From that point on, the movie went in the direction I hoped it would. The action was quality and ruthless. Zoe Bell should star in more action movies, she's one of the few females in Hollywood (I know she's Australian, but you know what I mean, don't be a smart ass.) that I could easily take seriously as an action hero. I'm not sexist, it's just that many women in Hollywood are super skinny and frail looking (like, how much would getting punched by Kate Beckinsale really hurt? seriously?). There were even moments in this movie where I uncontrollably cheered aloud, at home... by myself... in my underwear.

For the people with children, if you're even considering showing this to your kids, you're a bad parent. For the dudes with significant others, you might want to watch this one alone. She probably won't like it, and she might question you're sanity because you'll like it.. which will probably come up again in some sort of fight 3 months later. So I recommend putting it on a shelf with the porn and wait till she's out to watch it. For the ladies, if your the metal-head/horror movie type, you'll probably like this and somehow find it empowering.

I just noticed that all I did was praise this movie and you're probably wondering why I gave it a 7? The story was a little weak and nothing can be perfect...except for "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut" Dave

It's really too bad the cinematography and editing for the fight scenes is so poor, with a separate shot and close shot for every king and punch. It makes it so much harder to follow the action. Unfortunate, because the actresses are so game for the intense and brutal fights. Both physically and emotionally. They really put their all into it. And they make you feel the despair and anger they're going through. They're what will keep you locked on and trying to keep track of the poor camera work for the fights.

When I read the synopsis in the Fantasia Film Festival program, I was intrigued. Even though the premise was about abducted women, it did not seem like your typical movie about helpless women tortured under the hand of men. It also did not seem like a cliché women on women violence type of movie. It also used words like "empowered" and "different".

And so I went in expecting just that. Something different. I especially went in expecting this movie to make some kind of statement about the way this society views women in general. I actually thought that the organization that abducts the women was a metaphor for the patriarchal system and that the "empowered" women portrayed would eventually break free from that system.

And so when the movie ended, I felt let down. Like somehow, the filmmaker was telling us that no matter how hard we fought, we could not defeat the system.

I was lucky enough to attend a screening after which the director of the movie as well as the principal actress were both there to answer questions from the audience. And so when I pointed that out, the filmmaker became defensive and explained that he did not want to make any kind of political statement whatsoever and that he just wanted to give us an "enjoyable fun movie to watch with lots of fighting." He also made a point to tell me that if it had been men fighting, I wouldn't have made the comment I made.

Exactly. But this movie was about women, strong women, who were imprisoned by a cruel system forcing them to fight one another. It had everything in place to make a strong statement, give us something to reflect upon and do what a good movie should always do: teach us something.

And yet, this movie has no depth and isn't different from any other action movie with fights. To be "different", this movie needed a message beyond "look, chicks fighting and it looks real!".

In the end, the plot of "Raze" falls into the typical normalization of helpless women forced to behave a certain way by an oppressive system passed on from father to son. To me, this is the precise opposite of "empowered".

I'm awfully disappointed.

My quick rating - 6,0/10. A different look on the women behind bars story. These women are held captive and forced to fight to the death in an underground "dungeon"? That is what it looked like. Very brutal and quite depressing movie showing the violent side of the fighting coupled with the bonds this women create before they must face the inevitable if they win. They will have to fight each other. Pretty decent acting for the very limited budget. Didn't know who Zoe Bell was before (the main character) but she did a good job. Also to note, a very good ending that may or may not leave the door open for a sequel. Fighting scenes are not for the squemmish but beyond that, nice diamond in the unheard of rough.

On the down side a somewhat well worn storyline of people suddenly waking up in some undisclosed secure location and have to fight or kill follow abductees to find freedom. Has been done in many manifestations before. Nothing new here; same cameras with our hidden captor at first known only through their voice. Typical cage fighting - martial arts or whatever one can come up with for fighting. Back story, also done before, of wealthy audience being entertained throughout as inmates fight-for-life. Overacting, bad person roles especially; thus, not too believable. Ending scenes came across as even less believable and therefore viewer engaging.

On the up side, follow up with the slightly similar "The Seasoning House".