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Released by: Scorpion Releasing
Released on: 1/24/2012
Director: Sidney Hayers
Cast: Joan Collins, James Booth, Tom Marshall, Ray Barrett, Kenneth Griffith
Year: 1971
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The Movie:
In the latest entry in the growing catalog of “Katarina's Nightmare Theaterâ€, the hostess brings us conspiracy, kidnapping, a pedophile, and Joan Collins' boobs. Revenge is the story of a family grieving for their 10 year-old daughter's death. Not just any ordinary death, mind you, but victim to unspeakable crimes: rape and murder. And to make matters worse the creep they arrested for the crimes was let go. That doesn't sit well for pub-owner, and stepfather to the girl, Jim (James Booth), his son Lee (Tom Marshall), and another grieving father of a murdered girl, Harry (Ray Barrett). They plot to kidnap the suspect and make him confess.
Jim's wife Carol (Joan Collins) isn't in on the abduction of the suspect who goes by the name Seely (Kenneth Griffith), but once they nab Seely she's immediately involved in the brutal beating of the man. They believe they murdered him and now have a lot more to worry about than kidnapping. Now they've got the murder on their hands of someone who may not have even murdered their daughters. Guilt starts to take hold, and the emotions come to a boiling point. To reveal any more than that would be a disservice to those who seeing this for the first time.
Revenge (a.k.a. Inn of the Frightened People a.k.a. Terror From Under the House) is a real slow cooker that plays more like a psychological drama than a horror movie. Although it does have a few horrific elements to it, mainly a violent pedophile, the film steers more toward the stress of what they've done has on their family, which is harder on the family unit than the brutal slaying of the girl of whom they seek to avenge. Chiefly the pub owner Jim is the focus, as he mentally deteriorates under the guilt he feels and the pressure the police are starting put on him. When he finally does crack, no one is immune to his fists.
As mentioned, this is a pretty slowly paced movie, but its not very long and the second half seems to chug along a bit better. And the story should keep you wondering how it's all going to turn out, even if it isn't overly engaging. Good acting by the main characters help this one along and Joan Crawford's (at the time) 38 year-old body running around in underwear doesn't hurt things either. And she had a body for sure. If you blink you might miss the flash of her boobs, but that's what pause is for. Special mention to Kenneth Griffith as the kidnapped man. He has a scene that is a bit disturbing and he is effectively creepy.
It may be tough at first, but stick with it. It's pretty tame, and really could be a TV movie of the week, but the payoff is worth it and all things considered it's not a horrible way to spend 90 minutes. The pub scenes are pretty interesting to watch, with plenty to look at going on in the background, and the filmmakers do a good job of making you almost want the vigilantes to get away with their deed.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The film is shown here with a 1.66:1 non-anamorphic aspect ratio. Nothing spectacular on the visual side and the film shows its age and low-budget roots, but there is minimal print damage and things for the most part look fine. The black levels seem inconsistent if you want to be nit-picky. The audio is a 2.0 Dolby Digital track, but it sounds like, and probably is, mono. Same sound comes from both speakers. No issues to report with the sound. Sync seemed a little off, but that's probably not the disc's fault. Video and audio is pretty standard fare really.
The only extras on the disc are some “Katarina Trailers†for other movies in the series: Terror!, Double Exposure, The Survivor, Nothing But the Night, The Devil Within Her, Satan's Slave, The House On Sorority Row, Humongous, and Quest For Love. The DVD cover is reversible so you can display the movie with or without the Nightmare banner, and you can play the movie without Katarina's involvement if you so choose.
The Final Word:
A wordy English-made drama that gets better as it rolls along, but falls short of being really good. The lack of any supplemental material might make one wonder why this film got a stand-alone release rather than as a double feature.
