Julia X

After a decent turn as Hercules, TV's Kevin Sorbo has been doing C Grade straight to video fare for some years now. This is one if his better efforts.

Its just as well this movie doesn't take itself seriously. This movie, Julia X, is a throw back to those rape revenge flicks that proliferated the 70s B Grade shelves in video stores everywhere.

Some pretty trusting young stupid, but ultimately psychotically vengeful hot young woman, is abused in a variety of ways only to eventually triumphantly wreak her revenge. Anyway, this wont win any awards, but who cares, its a well made campy violent movie that fans of violent campy exploitation cinema will enjoy. 6/10

I saw the film so unlike the other reviewers (11) so far that I feel I should write a review of my own. No sense? Bad continuity? Funny? Stupid? B movie? Trash? Watch it without thinking? Don't take it seriously? No, I saw it very differently. For a while I was thinking why am I wasting time watching this. Lots of blood. Seemed like senseless violence for a time, but I hung in there. After a while it made good sense. Being alert to detail helps. Enough work went into this film that I would not call it a B movie. Acting was quite good. Think of what wife-beating and sexual abuse by a father can do to children. There is anger. Think of disgusting male sexual behavior and what this can do to women. That this can result in aberrant behavior as well as wasted life is how the film makes sense. A commentary on modern society. What happens to people. Abused people do do things many of us would not. There is room for serious thought here. Not pleasant, not funny, not stupid, and not trashy. I would much rather people think seriously of these things. I cannot say I enjoyed the film, but I found it thought provoking. Oh, and one more thing. Plenty of opportunity to throw in gratuitous nudity. They did not, and that also means something.

Kevin Sorbo is only known as 'the stranger' and he is meeting Julia at a cafe on a first meeting date, and Julia suddenly walks out. He follows her and kidnaps her and therein follows a cat and mouse game of escape and capture. But there is more to the story, and what follows is some background for Julia (she and her sister Jessica witnessed her father brutally beating her mother) which turned her into an avenger. There is a lot of gore in this movie, and the budget for blood and bloody make up must be significant. There are a lot of flaws in this movie, so it is difficult to give it a high rating. But it still keeps one interested to see how it will progress.

In the intro we find out a serial killer is on the loose. He brands women with a letter and kills them.

Julia and a guy are on a date. They are attracted to each other, so much so that Julia fantasizes about him but cuts the date short and leaves. Somehow, they guy manages to be in her car as she gets in it and kidnaps her. He takes her to some garage where he cleans up and shaves. She's hanging from some wires but frees herself. He finds her and brands her with an X. He drives her out to the country where he dumps another corpse in the ground. Julia escapes again, makes it a house--which is his house. They beat each other up. She escapes to some other building. He goes after her, they beat each other up some more, she knocks him out. A car arrives. It's Julia's sister, Jessica. They put the guy in the trunk and take him to their house where they torture him.

We learn a bit about the girls' childhood and their problem with men. They also have problems with each other. Julia is the dominant one and doesn't let Jessica do anything. Jessica wants to take charge, she wants to kill. So she goes to a neighbor and seduces him, takes him home and puts him in a chair with the other guy. As the two talk we learn something about the stranger. He could free himself and the neighbor and escape.

Instead, he frees himself and goes after his date so they can beat each other up. He's a masochist and enjoys it...and so does Julia but she doesn't realize it until late into the movie.

Julia X features plenty of violence against women, against men, and lots of torture. If that bothers you, then this movie isn't for you. It also has a strong performance by Kevin Sorbo. Unfortunately you can't really have an entire movie on the basis of violence. It all gets too repetitive. The character of Jessica is a bit too wacky, considering things. The concept is actually a good one, even somewhat original, but more story was needed.

And I'm not talking about the 3-D effects (though I did like them, because they are showing depth, rather then jumping out of the screen at you). While the movie starts of conventionally and very straightforward it soon leaves that path (no pun intended) and strays to other areas. You might hold this against the movie, but I think it's one the strongest points it has going for it.

The wonderful Kevin Sorbo is having a great time and hopefully so will you. It is very much tongue in cheek (sometimes even literally) and after a strange opening the movie does not disappoint. If you are into Non-PC humor that is of course. Because it can go to very dark places and it is very explicit at times (gore-wise). A great movie, that was much better than I could have expected.