Warning: the film Revenge and this review contain depictions and discussions of rape and violence against women.

I started going into a certain subgenre of horror with my review of Split on Monday, but backed away because the problematic element of Split that really set me off is such a small part of the film (literally one flashback scene) that it seemed a disservice to a true critical analysis to go into it then. I needed to look at other texts. I needed to spend the time to evaluate the film in a more modern context, something I haven't been particularly keen on in recent years.

That subgenre of film is the rape and revenge film and, by the nature of the subject, there's a lot to unpack. These films stem from the exploitation film in the 1960s, a wide-spanning category of cinema driven by budget and screening venue as much as content. A certain audience existed to see both the heinous acts of violence and the fallout and repercussions against the perpetrators. These films are still made today, and the best among them examine a truly disturbing style of film with a critical lens; the worst mindlessly copy what they've seen before with nothing new to say.