Act of Vengeance (1974)

An action-packed slog

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Act of Vengeance (1974) ** (out of 4) Linda (Jo Ann Harris) is raped by a masked maniac who also forces her to sing Jingle Bells while he attacks her. She goes to the police but they're less than helpful and she eventually meets four other victims of the Jingle Bells rapist. The women decide to form a support group for rape victims and soon their attacker wants some more of them.ACT OF VENGEANCE comes from AIP and it's not nearly as good as its reputation would have you believe. I had heard a lot of good things about this film but I honestly found it to be pretty boring and without too many interesting things going on. The film might want to take a serious subject like rape and so something decent with it but instead this is basically just an exploitation at heart.I say that because these type of movies often want to give the idea that they support women standing up but this is more of a gimmick than anything else. The film has pretty much everything you'd expect in an exploitation movie from some silly kung fu battles between creeps and a female karate instructor and there's also loads of nudity. There's not only nudity in the rape scenes but there's also a shower sequence, which as fans of exploitation knows is a must for the genre.The performances are decent for what they are but no one really stands out with a great performance. The cinematography and score aren't all that impressive as both are victims of the "B" movie feel. The biggest problem with ACT OF VENGEANCE is that it just really doesn't try to be anything good or even special. It's just a cheap exploitation film that has a trashy vibe.

People who are following me here on IMDb have seen that the latest flicks I did a review were a bit of a let down. Due to that reason I went into my archive to pick up an old exploitation that's still not available on DVD and still goes for an amount of money for a VHS. The copy I had was in perfect condition so I was glad by that and plugged it into the analog system. The director was Bob Kelljan but was on the credits as Robert Kelljchian. He only made 5 flicks but directed a lot of series like Charlie's Angels and Starsky and Hutch for example. Of all his flicks this is really a cheesy one. The humiliation of the Linda at the police office is one to see. But just watch the sexual predator. He's just wearing an orange jumpsuit, that surely predates Michael Myers. And his hockey mask, remember Jason Voorhees! It also contains a lot of nudity with girls don't wearing underwear. Man, those wear the days. And naturally due the let down of the coppers the poor victims are out for revenge and forms the Rape Squad. You don't watch it for the acting but just see the pimp getting into a fight with the victims, it's so over the top. The shouting at the whistling men, this is what we call a sleazy, exploitive fun flick. Funny to see that it wasn't that excessively graphic it was still banned in half dozen countries. Surely one to have in your collection

How about that. My first movie with the word "Rape" in the title and it's not Japanese! Unfortunately the Japanese are still the winners when it comes down to movies with the "Rape" in the title. But hell, this was still a nice effort.Story focuses on a group of women who refer to themselves as The Rape Squad. Guess what they all have in common? Wrong! They've all been raped by the same guy! Jeez, how can you be so off? They all love the black guy from the Mod Squad....? Wow, awful guess. Anyways, they've all been raped by the same Hockey Mask, Orange Jumpsuit wearing rapist who loves the song Jingle Bells. Now they've joined forces and they're about to show these pushy men what real women can do! Rape Squad was a decent enough flick. There are many rape and revenge flicks out there that are much better, but this is definitely one to check out if you're a big fan of the genre. Checking out the Rapist alone is reason enough. It's tough to beat a confident, smooth talking rapist who dresses up like Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees combined. And the coolest thing is, this predates both of those movies by a couple years. Oh and he sings Jingle Bells. Whoever was writing this flick had their creative juices flowing big time. The movie suffers from a few lulls when the girls are just chit-chatting....but you gotta admit, it's realistic. And I was hoping for the movie to be a little more graphic, especially the ending, but hell, the movie entertained me enough. So yeah, if you're into rape/revenge films, give this baby a shot. 6.5 outta 10.

"Rape Squad" is a really bad movie; plain and simple. I only wanted to watch this movie because I am a BIG fan of actress Lada Edmund Jr., but even she did next to nothing to perk-up this movie for me. I agree with other comments made, that this movie is disturbing in many ways. Although the dialogue is hokey and atrocious, the rape scenes just seem too realistic and unsettling at times. When the menacing Foul-Mouth attacks his victims, he tortures them by making them sing "Jingle-Bells" while he rapes them. The idea of that alone is horrifying to consider. He brutalizes the women too, with many vicious punches during his attack. To be honest, I fast-forwarded through some of these scenes, because I had no desire to watch them. But as for the acting ability and skills used in "Rape Squad", they are really quite pitiful. The dialogue is annoying and foolish often times. Not that she's a terrific actress, but even my favorite Lada Edmund Jr. had some of the WORST lines in this movie. I mean c'mon, she plays a 5'4 martial-arts instructor named "Tiny", with super-short cropped hair; I guess bad lines are to be expected. Although she's a favorite actress of mine, she only added to the obsurdity of this film. Truthfully, I cannot give anyone good enough reason to watch "Rape Squad". The rape scenes are too much to stomach for most people, and would possibly make you push the "fast-forward" button too. Take-out the rape scenes though, and you're left with one of the most terribly directed and acted movies out there. My advice: don't watch this movie if you can help it. You won't be in right mind-set for a few weeks afterwards.