Bound to Vengeance

Bound To Vengeance: Eve (Tina Ivlev) is held as a slave in a basement but manages to overpower and chain her captor, Phil (Richard Tyson). Upstairs she discovers photos of other chained. She forces Phil to bring her to where the girls are held. But things take a decidedly bizarre turn as the captive girls act in strange ways when set free. Eve also has flashbacks of her time in captivity and what happened before that but not of her actual abduction.

A dark film in several senses as much of the action takes place in cellars at night or in dark rooms. Nothing is simple as betrayals emerge and Phil attempts to play mind games with Eve. Violent but much of that savagery is inflicted on slave masters. A complicated tale of vengeance, not for the squeamish or faint hearted. 7/10.

Ms. Ivlev really got into this part, as her acting seemed heartfelt. Her expression of pain and outrage was palpable. She seemed, like a real person not some prissy model, who needed her hair and make-up to be perfect in every scene. Mr. Tyson's work was also excellent. The direction, camera work and art direction were all excellent. The story line was generally good, although I did have to actively suspend disbelief over some details. However, the thrust of the action and Ms. Ivlev's powerful acting, made that easier to do. The use of flash-backs was very well done. This was a surprisingly good production for such a hackneyed subject.

Bound to Vengeance (2015)

Director José Manuel Cravioto's feature début is a grubby affair, the sort of film that you feel like needing a good scrub after. It delves into the all too prevalent and real horrors that are sexual abuse and human trafficking. Eve (Tina Ivlev), one such victim, turns on her keeper Phil (Richard Tyson) when he brings food to her. Displaying terrific survival instincts, and some savvy when it comes to turning the tables on Phil, she hoists the battered Phil out of the cellar she has kept her prisoner in for six months. Finding Polaroid photos of other girls, being stashed away for the same purpose, Eve demands that Phil tell her where each is being held. So begins a night of twists and turns for our spunky lead.

Bound to Vengeance, originally entitled Reversal, is one short film, weighing in at seventy-five minutes of screen-time, excluding the end credits however you will not feel short changed. That lean running time is all that is needed to deliver a fast paced, edge-of-the-seat premise that would otherwise feel stretched. Every event that unfolds on-screen leads somewhere. There's no needless padding. If there is a grumble with the plotting it's that there's a couple of 'surprises' that aren't surprises really. You can see them coming a mile off but otherwise it's still an involving watch.

Tina Ivlev, a near dead ringer for Jennifer Lawrence, is exceptional. Ivlev captures the mixture of vulnerability and aggressor, that the role calls for, and I for one couldn't take my eyes off her. A very strong female lead! Naming the lead character Eve is rather unsubtle but unlike most woman-revenge flicks she is well-rounded, rather than one note, and we are drawn into her plight, even if she is a little slow in guessing what the viewer has already sussed from the start. Richard Tyson, as Phil, can do no wrong in my eyes. He has always been a favourite actor of mine, I really enjoyed his turn in Big Bad Wolf (2006) and he's equally as nasty here.

Human trafficking and sexual abuse are not subjects conducive to an evening of light entertainment. Fortunately Bound for Vengeance is focused more on the aftermath that occurs when one particular victim gets free and becomes the aggressor, rather than dwelling on the more sensationalistic aspects. Edge-of-the-seat, fast-paced and to-the-point this is an excellent calling card for director Cravioto and his lead Tina Ivlev. Recommended.

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I first saw this in 2015 on a dvd which I own.

Revisited it recently.

The plot in short n without any spoilers - Eve, a young girl held captive, manages to beat her kidnapper Phil and successfully unlocks the chain holding her leg and uses it to chain Phil's leg.

Later she discovers a revolver and a folder containing photos of some girls, along with their names (even her own photo). She quickly learns that she's not the only victim of Phil.

She holds the revolver at Phil, asking him where the other girls are. He dares her to kill him, telling her that he's the only one that knows their whereabouts.

This one is a good thriller which engages the viewer from the beginning.

It has some plot holes.

It gets bloody n violent at times but thankfully there are no onscreen rape scenes.

The flashbacks are a bit annoying but it all adds up in the end.

Some flaws: Eve is an expert in making snares without any prior teachings.

Eve is a master in loading guns.

How Eve never runs outta bullets is beyond me.

Eve is fast in taking decisions inspite of being traumatized.

So this is and is not a teen slasher movie. The subject matter deals with human trafficking and the main character plays a victim who apparently never wanted to call the police which leads to some consequences. Richard Tyson, who has been MIA for a while now, plays the despicable kidnapper who lays on the guilt trip thick with the female lead. She stupidly listens to him and doesn't seem to rationalize it out that he is the kidnapper and what happens to the other victim is because of him. As the film plays out, it seems as if our female lead is experiencing PTSD with every step she makes. It was refreshing to see the victim turn the tables on the predator but at the same time, she makes some stupid moves that frustrates the hell out of you. What should have been a better conclusion is left impotent and unsatisfactory. You wanted more out off this film and the ending just sucked. Still, as far as girl in peril films go, this was better.