Coralie Fargeat (Revenge, writer/director)
Even for the most hardened filmgoers, there can be a certain drudgery inherent in enduring the runtime of any new entry in the so-called “rape-revenge” subgenre of horror cinema. Moviemakers working with its limited set of tropes have all too often crafted cynical stories that pretend to profoundly explore the effects of rape, but instead indulge the humiliation of women they profess to “expose” or “critique.” How refreshing it is, then, that French first-time helmer Coralie Fargeat’s Revenge focuses less on the leering tedium of sexual assault typically pervasive in this kind of material, and instead attunes itself to the survivalist instincts of Jen (Matilda Lutz), who transforms throughout a series of nuanced plot developments from prey to predator against the backdrop of life’s feral desert. Fargeat frames the film’s blood-soaked brutality with an assuredness that belies her rookie status; she knows clearly where to put the camera, how to move it, and which audience expectations to anticipate, and subvert. Her chosen title, Revenge, might best be understood not just as a broad description of the film’s gnarly fantasy, but also as an affirmation of the writer-director’s bold vengeance against the films that’ve nearly beaten her chosen subgenre to death.—Max Weinstein
Matilda Lutz in Revenge. Photo Courtesy of NEON.
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