The Victim

For a thriller, then "The Victim" was as predictable and 'by-the-book' as they come. Everything that happened in the movie, you saw it coming a mile away - well, except for the ending, which I found to be really great, especially as Michael Biehn delivered it so gracefully.

The story in "The Victim" is about Kyle (played by Michael Biehn) who lives isolated as a hermit in a small cottage in the middle of nowhere. Then one night a Annie (played by Jennifer Blanc) comes banging on his door, pleading for help, claiming that she is being followed and that the men killed her friend Mary (played by Danielle Harris). Following that, two officers of the law, James (played by Ryan Honey) and Jonathan (played by Denny Kirkwood) shows up at the cottage to ask Kyle some questions. Something is not adding up here, but what? The acting in the movie was alright, nothing extraordinary or remarkable though. But people did alright with their given characters and roles.

Despite being very predictable, then "The Victim" was actually entertaining and had a nice ending. There was a good and constant pace to the movie, which was alright, and the movie never slowed down and became dull. It was just a shame that the movie suffered horribly from its predictability.

As for the soundtrack to the movie, well personally I didn't find it the least bit interesting or suitable, but of course, we all have very different taste in music. I just found this soundtrack unsuitable and the songs didn't really fit into the mood of the movie.

There are far better thrillers out there on the movie market, but still, "The Victim" is good for a single watching, as it just doesn't have the contents to support more than a single watching.

I was looking forward to see The Victim. Have seen a lot of Biehn flicks I liked his performance in Bereavement (2010) and liked The Divide (2011) his second attempt as a director here I didn't like. Being sold as a grindhouse movie to pick in on the success of the genre I can't really say it was a grindhouse flick. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad on part of the directing but it didn't deliver gore or anything to call it a grindhouse.

It's more flick with a lot of talking and a bit of action that you could see coming miles away. The end wasn't a surprise at all. Slowly you can see who the real killer is. It do has a steaming love scene between Biehn and his actual wife Jennifer Blanc who isn't afraid to show her body here. For the horror buffs you will see another famous face, that of Danielle Harris. She's not that often in this flick but when she does she really looks sexy and if that tattoo is for real, just have a look at it. She's walking around as a whore and do shows her body a few times in sexy underwear.

On part of the horror itself there isn't any at all. We do have flashbacks explaining what went wrong but you could guess it all by just watching The Victim. You can only ask yourself, who is the real victim. The last 10 minutes has the only gore to see but by then it's too late to call it a horror.

Just another mediocre flick with a fine cast but it doesn't deliver anything special to the genre. Only the hunters for celebrity nudity should watch this flick.

Nevertheless, it's been promoted well being spotted in every horror magazine and released worldwide. Still, I missed something. You can see it with your kids, maybe that says enough.

Gore 0,5/5 Nudity 1/5 Effects 2/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 0/5

Just got done watching the movie and it was awesome!! Very good plot, just enough action to keep you interested. A very enjoyable film. One not to be taken too seriously, but keeps you thinking. Would very much like to see it again when it is released.

The actors did a wonderful job, and for Biehn's directorial debut, he has proved that he can get the job done. Filming a movie in 12 days is phenomenal!

I will be sure to tell everyone about "The Victim" and start planning my "Victim" release party! Can't Wait!! Thanks for allowing us the chance to preview it!

I felt more obligated to write this review to negate the extremely overinflated reviews here than to exact my own personal revenge against this catastrophe of a "movie".

I only noticed one truthful review, hidden amongst the pack of fans who gave offensively high numbers of stars, and really, for a small independent movie, it's to be expected. But, even in allegiance to a favourite actor, I can't imagine the willpower it must have taken for them to type out their drivel.

Okay, so now actually onto the movie.

I've seen my fair share of exploitation movies; some good, some bad. What Biehn has managed to do is create the absolute worst, and I don't mean that it's incredibly graphic - it lacks any sort of gritty impact or violence. Well, it has plenty of sex, that has to be something, right? Nope. Instead of creating an homage to grindhouse, I like to think that he has invented a sub-genre called outhouse.

Lousy direction, ridiculous writing, sloppy editing, a laughable soundtrack, a cast that has the combined acting versatility of a single plank of wood, and no story. Packed full of moody driving sequences with conversation reminiscent of old people talking about the day's weather. Now, I have to emphasise that the writing is really, really bad; it violates our intelligence. Nevermind that The Victim was filmed in under two weeks, it was probably written in under half an hour.

Ryan Honey playing the corrupt cop was just painful to watch, easily the worst combination of casting and acting I've had to put up with. Danielle Harris was only marginally better, but still utterly useless. I really don't know what was up with Biehn, who just raised his voice when he was angry, or his wife's inane ramblings.

If you've ever seen the TV series Lost, then I'm sure you'll have hated those Kate centric episodes with her terrible flashbacks. If you watch The Victim, then you'll be treated with flashbacks a hundred times more redundant and boring. I was with two friends at this screening and every time a flashback popped up we couldn't help but let out suicidal groans.

I went to this screening with an open mind, but I had checked the reviews on this site beforehand and, well, they were very easy to see through. Save yourself from becoming a victim to this travesty - I am not exaggerating in the slightest. Thankfully, it hasn't had a wide release as of the time of writing this review, but it will probably be torn to pieces when some delusional distributer puts out there.

Avoid.

I'm not a big fan of movies like this one, but it's pretty solid for what it represents. It is a surprise that Michael Biehn would do something like this, but he's open about this movie. It's not supposed to be taken seriously in any way. I get it that people were not pleased by it, but I'd hope some reviews wouldn't be so personal. I don't think Jennifer Blanc does a good job in this, but insulting her with foul language is really not a good way to express that.

The movie itself is pretty predictable, has some sex, some violence in it and Michael Biehn does also play in his own movie. This was shot quick and as gritty as possible. It's not for film purists and it won't satisfy gore hounds either (most of them anyway). But while ill-advised flashbacks do not add anything to the story, you're wasting your time being angry at a movie, that never pretends to be anything else than it actually is. If this is the worst movie you've seen, you should call yourself lucky or watch more movies. In any way, this curiosity is worth a look, but don't bother watching more than 5-10 minutes, if you feel that it doesn't work for you.