Revenge (2017) Movie Review: A Brutal Fight for Survival and Revenge

Revenge (2017) is a stylish and extremely violent survival thriller that turns a horrifying betrayal into a relentless story of revenge.

Directed by Coralie Fargeat, the film follows Jen, a young woman who travels to a remote desert house with her wealthy boyfriend Richard. What begins as a luxurious getaway quickly turns into a nightmare when Richard's friends arrive and everything goes horribly wrong.

After being left for dead, Jen refuses to become another victim.

She survives.

And then she comes back for revenge.

Warning: Major spoilers ahead.

The Story

Jen is spending time with her boyfriend Richard at his isolated desert getaway.

Richard is wealthy, confident, and clearly used to getting what he wants. Jen initially seems to be enjoying the trip, but the situation changes when Richard's friends Stan and Dimitri arrive.

The three men begin drinking and partying.

The atmosphere becomes increasingly uncomfortable, especially as Jen realizes that the men don't respect her boundaries.

The next day, Richard leaves the house temporarily, leaving Jen alone with Stan.

Stan becomes aggressive toward her, and the situation turns into an assault.

When Richard returns, Jen expects him to help her.

Instead, he tries to protect himself and his friends.

The situation becomes even more horrifying when Richard pushes Jen off a cliff.

She lands on a tree branch and survives.

But Richard doesn't know that.

He believes she is dead.

Jen Refuses to Die

Jen eventually wakes up badly injured.

She is alone in the desert, surrounded by the consequences of what happened.

Her injuries are severe, but she manages to make her way back toward the house.

She realizes that simply escaping isn't enough.

Richard and his friends are hunting her.

She needs to survive.

But she also wants them to pay.

The film then shifts from a survival story into a revenge story.

Jen's transformation is one of the most important parts of the movie.

At the beginning, she is presented as someone who seems vulnerable and dependent on the people around her.

After the attack, she becomes increasingly determined and resourceful.

She refuses to accept the role her attackers have given her.

The Iconic Tree Scene

One of the movie's most memorable sequences comes when Jen discovers that the tree branch is still lodged in her body.

She needs to remove it.

The scene is intentionally difficult to watch.

Instead of cutting away from the violence, the movie forces the audience to experience the physical pain with Jen.

She eventually finds a way to remove the branch and uses a can of soda to help seal and disinfect the wound.

The scene is shocking, but it also represents the beginning of Jen's transformation.

She is no longer waiting for someone else to save her.

She is saving herself.

The Hunt Begins

Richard, Stan, and Dimitri eventually realize that Jen survived.

They begin searching for her across the desert.

But they underestimate her.

Jen starts using the environment around her to her advantage.

She hides, observes, and waits for opportunities.

The men came into the desert believing they were in control.

Now they are the ones being hunted.

The movie deliberately reverses the power dynamic.

Jen is no longer the person running away.

She becomes the hunter.

The Three Men

Each of Jen's attackers reacts differently to the situation.

Richard is the person who ultimately tries to control the situation and protect himself.

Stan is more aggressive and unpredictable.

Dimitri is initially more detached from the violence but eventually becomes part of the conflict.

The movie doesn't try to make them sympathetic.

Instead, it shows how quickly their confidence disappears when they realize that Jen is alive and coming after them.

Their fear becomes increasingly obvious.

The Desert as a Weapon

The setting is another important part of Revenge.

The desert is beautiful but extremely hostile.

There is almost nowhere to hide.

Water is limited.

The heat is overwhelming.

Every movement becomes physically exhausting.

Jen's attackers believe the desert gives them an advantage because they know the area.

But Jen turns the environment against them.

The landscape becomes part of her survival strategy.

The bright colors and wide shots also give the movie a distinctive visual style.

Despite the horrific events, the film looks almost unreal at times.

That contrast makes the violence even more striking.

Jen's Transformation

The biggest strength of Revenge is Jen's transformation.

The film isn't simply about someone getting revenge.

It's about someone refusing to remain powerless after being treated as disposable.

Jen doesn't become invincible.

She continues to suffer.

She is exhausted, injured, and terrified.

But she keeps moving.

Her determination gradually becomes stronger than her fear.

By the final act, the relationship between the hunters and the hunted has completely reversed.

The Final Confrontation

Eventually, Jen confronts the men one by one.

The violence becomes increasingly intense as she gets closer to Richard.

The final confrontation takes place inside the house.

Richard and Jen fight through rooms that quickly become covered in blood and destruction.

By this point, Jen is no longer trying to escape.

She wants Richard to understand that she survived and that he is responsible for what happened.

Their final fight is chaotic and brutal.

Jen ultimately kills Richard.

The revenge is complete.

What Does the Ending Mean?

The ending doesn't suggest that Jen simply returns to her old life.

She has been changed permanently by what happened.

At the beginning of the film, she is introduced as someone whose safety depends heavily on the people around her.

By the end, she has survived something horrific entirely through her own determination.

Her revenge doesn't erase what happened.

It doesn't magically heal her.

But it gives her control over her own fate.

The final image of Jen walking away represents that transformation.

She is no longer the person who was pushed off the cliff.

She is the survivor who climbed back up.

What Works Best

The strongest element of Revenge is its visual style.

Coralie Fargeat uses intense colors, sharp imagery, and extreme close-ups to make the movie feel almost like a nightmare.

The violence is deliberately exaggerated, but the emotional motivation behind it remains clear.

Matilda Lutz also gives the film a powerful central performance.

Jen's transformation is convincing because the performance communicates both her physical suffering and her determination.

The movie's pacing also works well.

Once Jen begins fighting back, the story rarely slows down.

What Doesn't Work as Well

The movie is extremely violent, and that won't work for every viewer.

Some scenes are intentionally exaggerated to the point of being almost surreal.

The characters are also written more as representations of certain attitudes than as deeply developed people.

The movie is primarily focused on Jen's transformation and revenge, rather than exploring every character in detail.

But that directness also gives the film its power.

It knows exactly what story it wants to tell.

Final Thoughts

Revenge is not an easy movie to watch.

It is brutal, bloody, and intentionally uncomfortable.

But underneath all of the violence is a straightforward story about survival and taking back control.

Jen begins the movie surrounded by people who believe they can decide what happens to her.

They are completely wrong.

She survives an attack that was supposed to kill her, crosses a brutal desert while badly injured, and eventually turns the situation around.

The film's most satisfying element is the reversal of power.

The people who once hunted Jen become afraid of her.

And the woman they believed was helpless becomes the person they cannot stop.

Final Verdict – Revenge is a brutal and visually striking survival thriller with a powerful central performance. Its extreme violence won't be for everyone, but for viewers looking for an intense revenge story with a memorable transformation, it delivers exactly that.

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