In GUILT, we see a garden variety psychopathic serial killer cum vigilante, Jesse (Janet Shay), who has convinced herself that she alone is righteous, meting out the justice that, in her sole judgment, the courts failed to visit upon child abusers. Never mind some of her victims had been tried, convicted, adjudicated, and had served their sentences. Never mind the rush she gets from stalking her victims, from the trophies she keeps, and from the act of killing itself. Not for even a single solitary moment is Jesse introspective enough to realize that she's as bad or worse than the criminals she kills. Until she realizes that she is responsible for the deaths of innocents, at which time -- after a brief moment of self awareness -- she stretches for an excuse to, yes, kill again.
It's not certain whether the filmmakers want us to like or to dislike Jesse; she's quite the opposite of the loveable murderer, Dexter, who clearheadedly acknowledges what he's doing is abominable, but who displays a modicum of charisma and adheres to a consistent moral code, thereby somehow giving the viewer license to like him. Instead, she's a sour-faced shrew who rationalizes wanton murder until she can rationalize no more, then when faced with capture proves herself to be a full-on coward lacking both courage and any real moral conviction. Accountability for thee, but not for me.
Aside from the absence of characters one can like or even respect, GUILT suffers from a twist- and reversal-free, straight-line plot and weak acting on the part of the lead actress. I think there also was supposed to be some suspense in this movie somewhere, but it failed to materialize. It gets three stars only on the strength of some surprisingly strong performances by Hayley Flowers as Grace and especially Mitchell Matthews as the minor character, Kit.
Otherwise, the whole affair comes off as a second-rate, poorly written movie of the week, and even the collective disgust society rightly has for child rapists is neither enough to gin up any sympathy on the part of the viewer ... for anyone ... nor enough to create and sustain a bloodlust for revenge on child molesters.
If I'd had enough time to start another movie before it was time to turn out the lights, I would have.
