User reviews

This one just could not hold my attention. It felt like a silent movie with lots of flashbacks but nothing really came full circle.

This thriller is based on things that happened in the past. The ending was ok. But the beginning was a bit scary even for an action thriller. I don't recomand it for very affectable people. This movie is made for people that can watch action, very strange feelings. Attention this film is not made for children.

I figured with a rating of 7.1 on IMDb, as I am writing this review, then I figured that I would be in for something good and entertaining when I sat down to watch the 2021 action thriller "Vengeance Is Mine" here in 2022. Sure, I hadn't heard about this movie from writer and director Hadi Hajaig prior to watching it, so I wasn't fully sure what I was getting myself into here.

Well, if "Vengeance Is Mine" had a better character gallery, then perhaps I would have gotten more submerged into the storyline. But I have to say that the character gallery in the movie was flaccid and fully devoid of character traits, quirks and such. And I must admit that I didn't care one bit about the main character Harry (played by Con O'Neill), nor about the tragic events of him losing his family and going on a murderous rampage and a quest for vengeance.

The storyline had potential, and the concept was adequate enough, albeit it was a somewhat generic and mundane storyline. But it would have worked actually well enough, provided the characters in the movie had anything to offer. But they didn't, and the movie suffered from that.

Truth be told, I didn't care one bit about who died or what happened to the characters in the movie, and it was a struggle to watch Harry stumbling through one failed suicide attempt after another, and then watch him go on to exact vengeance upon people. It just didn't work.

For an action thriller then "Vengeance Is Mine" from writer and director Hadi Hajaig just failed to deliver. This is not a movie that I would recommend you waste your time, money or effort on. And I just don't fathom how the movie could rate so high.

My rating of "Vengeance Is Mine" lands on a three out of ten stars.

Don't understand the high ratings this movie got. None of the characters were much to care about and it's about time directors recognised that someone who's been shot isn't lifted off the ground and flies backwards through the air into the distance. Or that crim's don't tend to execute their victims in broad daylight on rooftops in full view overlooked by multiple highrise buildings. I guess if you like gunfire and believing a church cleaner can outgun and outfight multiple machinegun toting hardened killers then it will pass a bit of time.

Rated to High! Bad performance by actors,no one talks. I almoust fell a sleep,but tried to keep my eyes open till the end. I did,but i would rather sleep.

Stay away if you like a good action movie.

Great job on an obvious small budget. The film doesnt try and be something more than what it is , a british revenge story , its brutal simple and effective. The bad guys get what they have coming to them , and we are rooting for the good guy. I would reccommend.

The person with the better weapon and the element of surprise, gets to tell the truth. Because they have the power, and the truth hurts like a broken bone. In the underworld of London, only the possibility of revenge and the telling of such truths stir an impoverished loner named Harry. It likewise motivates his intended target. In a brutal spree, Harry struggles to gain the upper hand over his adversary. In this insightful, vicious and unconventional tale, there are surprising twists and turns. Harry learns some uncommon and profound good sense. Capable acting, an enthralling story and intriguing sights and sounds, kept me at the edge of my seat.

First of all, the audio was really badly synchronized with the picture, it's fine, but then it started to bother me when the sounds were no longer what you'd expect. AND then people fly like in old western movies when they are shot, okay, very entertaining. The plot was really messed up, so REALLY messed up. How difficult and long-winded is it to explain the revenge plot (if you don't take into account big-budget movies where entertainment value comes from it, but here it doesn't). Overall entertaining, I can't remember when I laughed more than at this movie. I don't recommend, you should rather watch cat videos on YouTube.

Sorry, this was written with google translate.

An Indie Film isn't just a movie which is thought of as a limited budgeted venture without big shot studios at its helm. When one hears the term "Indie" one is instantaneously thrown off course. Watch Vengeance is Mine and it will forever change the way one perceives Indies.

Let me throw a few titles at you. THE DESCENT, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, MEMENTO, THE PASSION OF THE Christ, MEAN STREETS & THE TERMINATOR are some of the most stringent budgeted productions seen in the past decades. Vengeance is Mine does not have an A-List director to its name as some of the titles mentioned above. Instead The director can be considered an amateur with comparison to the Coens, Scorsese or Cameron. But still Vengeance is Mine is one of the most absurdly intense and realistic movies of 2021. Slow off the blocks Vengeance is Mine progresses at a slow pace focusing on the mysterious growth of the troubled Harry who works in a ancient church in London who embarks on a journey of revenge when he is totally ill wiped for it. What happens to a man who holds another man at gunpoint for the first time? He hesitates, he doubts himself, he is afraid of the consequences and most of all he himself is afraid of the situation. This all what Vengeance is Mine is at its core eventually? I for one think so. Vengeance is Mine gripped me from the very start. Its sparse in dialogue which works positively since this leaves plenty of room for the audience thoughts and musings. Each nook is fine tuned to extract the scenes maximum potential within his strained budget. When Harry bleeds that's all that happens; he bleeds. When Harry cries that's all that happens; Harry cries. Unlike Colin Farrell or Tom Hanks in PHONEBOOTH or CASTAWAY there isn't much taking place in the backdrop. There is no police squad, there is no island. Instead its always back seat of a car, a broken chair, a wall or a field. Vengeance is Mine is a thriller that lets of its steam cautiously but certainly. It's like walking the plank.

The Europeans have a knack of gripping you in films about lonely disconnected characters who are suffering some sort of crisis who then emerge from ashes of some sort of grief and then seek revenge and it usually takes place slowly and VISUALLY and this is a fine example of that.

Telling a story in pictures seems to be something American film makers have forgotten, they are riddled with tons and tons of dialogue, Irving the explainer film making.

In this film you are given the info and you put the pieces together yourself, treating the audience with respect in that they have some intelligence.

The whole dream thing did occur to me but I continued watching, that shot of the beach at the end could be heaven or it could be just a shot of a beach.

Vengeance is Mine makes it look so simple and effortless. Maybe it's because it is in fact simple and effortless. Con O'Neill the lead looks like a blend of a lawyer and an accountant and he is an inept protagonist that the film explores in all its consequences that other movies skip with an archetype that's usually hugely muscled and wielding machine guns on both arms.

It's subversive and the ending pays off with a gorgeous finale. While some would get tired of the spare and simple plot, it allows the stakes to rise in a true way and the only thing that is missing is a little more juice on all the cast of characters as the film chooses to not speak unless it really has to which I actually liked. However, the authentic leads acting wins you over where the writing is deliberately minimal.

Vengeance is Mine reminds me why I have always loved looking for more obscure and smart indie cinema.

Vengeance is Mine adds darkness to film noir. Because sometimes in noir -- no matter how hard that good leading figure tries -- the blackness is inescapable. There's the fate of the situation that the leading figure tries to overcome, tries to correct; he or she just wants to do what's right. And they do. I think our very lost hero here even finds his way. Why isn't that enough to free him? He's good enough to escape this awful cobweb of events. But there is no one spider who has spun the web. It's a stark, dark case of the way things are. This is not a "fun" film. It takes its subject very seriously. Vengeance is Mine grapples with moral issues and leaves the viewer still wrestling. In Vengeance is Mine's cinematography there are qualities of a first film, a touch of the new by Rami Bartholdy the dop. But this oddly enhances its quality and gives the story the air of a dream like drama. With all the rough edges and awkwardness of the surreal life. You don't know why. The story is too solid to answer its questions. Life is more like wrestling than dancing.

A deeply tense and taught thriller that puts you along side Harry as all the events unfold. I am very accustomed to the actions of characters of your typical Hollywood revenge thrillers that in my mind I was intensely screaming at Harry's actions when the **IT, hit the fan. Then the realization came, this is not a film where the lead character becomes a fuel raged unstoppable hero suddenly becoming an expert on how to kill. But another fantastic element is that he is a dream like state and doesn't really know what is going on around him and hallucinates all sorts of imagery in quiet moments and in violent moment. This is why European thrillers are so cool compared to our USA product and the Brits excel at it.

The surreal quietness is very intense in this film and you just focus everything on the films characters. That is how excellent the directing and the screenplay are, the movie is not afraid of the silence. You become completely aware of how fast your heart is beating in the deadly silence. The direction by Hadi Hajaig was handled expertly and was a true feast for the eyes. Gorgeous cinematography and his utilization of natural light made it easy to get lost in the movie. There are scenes that will make you wriggle and squirm and there are humorous tension releasing moments, that is how tight the script is and you are relieved that you have those moments. Everyone in this cast is on point, I did not feel one off key from any of actors. The gamut of emotions that run through Harry's (Con O'Neill) eyes alone is worth the price of admission. There are some great actor finds Anton Saunders as an unredeemable and terrifying character in the film. Plaudits to the whole unheard of cast. The score from Sarah Lynch is haunting and never over powers a given scene. I know I am gushing over this movie, but if you can talk and truly think about a film long after the lights have come up then gush I must about it!

Do yourself a favor and see it and be kind to your friends and tell them about it and watch it with them. You are guaranteed a long conversation over drinks afterward. This is not a standard revenge film, yes it bleeds a lot of red, but it also bleeds true emotions.

Harry is a loner and, to anyone who would perceive him, a total and utter failure on the bottom rung on society. Living and working in a church as a handyman and cleaner, he occupies his time by reading The Count of Monte Cristo and contemplating suicide in all sort of gruesome ways, throw in visions of his wife an daughter runner in a getaway car by some vicious thieves, you have man at the lowest ebb of his life. Then a private detective he hired brings him news that shakes him from his life ending low. He has been so badly wronged in the past that his life derailed that this is light at tend of the tunnel. The authors of his downfall have now been found. He makes a decision to seek vengeance.

This means having to buy a gun and ammunition, stalking the killers and attacking them although he is completely untrained and totally out of shape an entering a world he does not belong in. Once in this world he sets in motion a chain of events that will build up its own momentum, essentially driven by vengeance, lost love and pure emotion.

Harry is played by Con O'Neill, an outstanding actor. He excels as the frightened, yet driven man, who is essentially a good person, who has been forced into the role of vigilante avenger. He is able to convey so much tormented emotion in his facial expressions and the use of his eyes that his performance on its own would make this a 5 star film. All of the supporting actors are also excellent, one of the villains played bt Anton Saunders is skin tinglingly scary, but O'Neills performance just dwarfs all around him.

This is edge of seat stuff, with brutal violence - intentionally gratuitous, it is the messy sort and sometimes glammed up which at first I thought was strange but then as I watched this over the top violence that SOMETIMES occurred I realised that the film maker was telling us something , THIS IS EITHER A DREAM OR REAL OR BOTH, in that Harry is perhaps committing these acts and exaggerating them in his mind OR in that it is his final thoughts as he lies dying in his room in the church when he tries to commit suicide with a knife strapped to a stool.

The movie has a brooding quality that makes the whole thing have a kind of intense effervescence that just grabs you and takes you along for the ride - and that means the whole journey. I was blown away by this, small film. This is a master class in how to make a thriller. I can not recommend highly enough.

All the way from across the pond comes a brutal and bloody piece of modern filmmaking.

The lead, Con O'Neill is totally flawless. He portrays A REAL GUY, not an unbelievably clever, or tough cliché. He does not give you anything that the character wouldn't do. This quality of acting is across the whole board. The casting of the movie is dead-on.

This is an intense, refreshingly ORIGINAL tough ride, from start to finish. You are right there with the lead, going through what he is going through, knowing what he knows, and not knowing what he doesn't know...

A very well shot film. The use sound (and lack of sound) in the perfect sound design was great, the story was tight, it was very suspenseful, and had me on the edge of my seat. Many parts of the story were told visually, which I admire. "Show, don't tell." No cheesy voice-over explaining things we can deduce ourselves. No pointless exposition. The back story is alluded to and we're left to piece things together as the films goes on. A tragic, and at times darkly funny, tale of revenge. I can't find many things to complain about. In fact, even though it was a grim tale, I found myself smiling often at just how much I was enjoying the experience.

The director delivers the goods and the lead, Con O'Neill, was perfect. His portrayal of Harry as an unlikely confused anti-hero was spot-on. No over-acting, no showmanship; it was subtle and nuanced, and even though his actions were extreme I found myself relating to him and his struggles. He really carried the weight of the film.

As an aspiring director, films like this inspire me. I feel like jumping for joy.

Nothing better than to watch a movie that involves you in the watching experience without the use of words, its trance like. You are engrossed in the action and the characters without hearing them say what they are thinking or feeling, thats a real skill so kudos to this team.

I see that there is a discussion going on wether its dream or not, I have to say it did niggle me a tad when I was watching it thinking the same thing and to see other people are saying its a dream makes me think, BUT wether its a dream or not its still a clever little movie.

A fantastic revenge thriller that uses literally every penny of its micro budget perfectly, as throughout this looks visually as well put together as any other multi million dollar Hollywood production. The way it unravels is nothing other than completely gripping as it is a fine example of pure unencumbered story telling that shows the audience the unfolding evens a lot more than it tells them. Performance wise its top of the line, with Con O'Neill giving one of the most timid, yet still perfectly relatable killer performances, but is the smart direction that sets itself apart as it's faultlessly sharp and immensely effective. A gritty must see that is high brow genre movie.

Vengeance is Mine is a bare bones thriller that explores the human psychology of revenge. It doesn't recreate the genre but what sets this outstanding thriller apart from tons of other thrillers of its kind is that it is textured with a multi surface plot where you are are engrossed in what is happening and also questioning wether what is happening is real or just the imagination of the protagonist. It doesn't have a super human protagonist, it is bare bones which makes it that much more thrilling.

The lead actor Con O'Neill delivers the goods here as well, making us really connect with the character of Harry. One scene in particular that stands out is when Harry has confronted and has shot the first villain and is pointing a gun at him, the villain shot in the stomach and writing down the address of the rest of the gang, Harry takes the paper looks then not wanting to get near the villain says "thats my pen" the villain bleeding throws the pen to him and says "sorry", this line cracked me up. The villain then looks at Harry and says " whats with the gun, it doesn't suit you", the dialogue is surreal and makes it somehow real. It is truly amazing how great a film can be without a huge budget and a big name star.

Vengeance is Mine is a great thriller that deserves more attention than it will most likely receive. The British director Hadi Hajaig makes me excited to see what he can bring to other films. Vengeance is Mine is a truly heart pounding revenge thriller that stands out among as one of the most excellent films of its kind.

This little obscure independent British movie couldn't have been written, directed and acted any better. I think it's going to be a classic movie in the coming years. It's simplicity, it's honesty regarding reality make it the exception to many fantasy revenge movies. Real life could easily play out like this movie presents and this none more seen then when he shoots the first Villain, there's a dialogue interplay which ends with he line " That's my pen", now I'm not going to spoil it for you but this line exemplifies the whole film for me, check it out and you'll se what I am referring to.

The logic behind Harry's actions makes sense to loners who have the time without life's distractions to think things through to their final bloody conclusion.

Vengeance is Mine runs on one of the most tested and classic movie plots in the history of mankind, revenge. But it is quite amazing to realize that this straightforward story of a man taking revenge from a bunch of people who killed his family in the past can be this well done. As a viewer I was struck and glued to the screen wondering what will happen next and if what was happening was real.

Harry (Con O;Neill) seems to be a loner who's living in an ancient church and cleaning up for his keep. But his life makes a sudden turn when he realizes the location of the murderers who were responsible of making his life a nightmare. Harry decides that it's time to take care of business himself.

Con O'Neill does a wonderful job portraying this amateur assassin. Through his eyes the viewer can feel his anger and the fear both at the same time. He is nothing closer to a criminal by looks and he has no skills of combat other than ambition and that ambition drives his adrenaline to deal with some very lethal situations. He gets beaten up pretty badly, gets physically injured and emotionally stressed yet maintain his balance and wits going against deadly criminals. This character is an everyday Joe who has nothing to lose but has everything to save.

The director keeps a good flow the whole time. The visual storytelling creates a mood that builds the plot strongly surrounding the key character. There are very few words spoken and lot of acting that matters. Until things starts to become clear very slowly half way through the movie the whole plot remains a big mystery with only few hints to hang on to. But having such a simple plot to start with the director has made a cool piece of cinema that viewers would talk about.

This is by far one of the best thrillers I have seen in a long while since seeing the original Swedish Headhunters back in (2011). And it's not a movie to be missed thought it has quite a bit of excessive gore.