User Reviews

When I saw Violation at TIFF earlier this year, the passion from the creators was more than evident, with their capabilities being well showcased in the short films created in the past 13 years or so. A lot of those technical capabilities can be found here, made more impressive by the film's small budget. It features a solid performance from Madeline Sims-Fewer in the lead role, some fantastic color choices, and impressive practical effects. However, where this film falls flat in my opinion is in the content of its story. The film has a solid concept at its core, and naturally warrants a slower pace; but unfortunately does not make good use of its time. Between long conversation scenes adding little to the story, and intense scenes progressively becoming sluggish, the hour and 40 minute runtime of the film ultimately feels unwarranted, and often padded. I would love to see more from the directors, as they are clearly very talented, but Violation unfortunately left me feeling disappointed.

This was the absolutely most annoyingly too-long and too-slow film I've ever seen. Someone forgot to get the reel to the editor, because each and every scene was between 25-95% too long and dragged out. I lost count how many times we all yelled at the screen "omg get on with it already" or "someone please fast forward this already". This film is the epitome of "too much filler and very little substance". I've never been and seen a more annoyed audience.

The ridiculously too-long-for-this-film 107 mins felt like over 3 hours. The useless and unnecessary Nat. Geo nature shots were utterly annoying and pointless, so let's take 15 mins off for that nonsense. Now cut out an average 70% from every single scene. Now you're left with a 28 min short film, that will hold every viewers attention, eyes glued to the screen, with them sitting on the edge of their seat, with their heart racing and blood pressure elevating. THAT, is what makes a great film, not endless useless fluff and filler that makes you angry and lose interest - constantly.

Just for fun, I will use a basic editing program and cut this film down to a short myself, just to watch it again and actually enjoy it, as well as recommend only my version for viewing to my friends and family. Otherwise if you really hate someone, have them watch this full dragged out long and boring annoying nonsense.

Clearly the problem here was that collab'd writers and directors Dusty Mancinelli and Madeleine Sims-Fewer have only written and directed short films, this being their first full length feature - that should've also been a short. Aside from some plot and technical issues, the core concept and guts of their story was excellent, especially taking some gambles with gore and borderline soft-p0rn nudity. Unfortunately, transferring that concept into a full length screenplay, ended up a muddled melodramatic mess beyond belief. Had more writing been invested in the characters relationships and dynamics, this may have worked as a full length film.

The cinematography was horrible with the worst decision for color filters and contrast. The shaky cam was bearable, but the close-ups were unrecognizable for the most part. You'll squint, get closer, go farther, rewind and relook, and you still won't be able to make out what the heck you're supposed to be looking at. And then out of nowhere, for no reason, a bug is in the frame lol. The score was very fitting, although it was also too loud, too frequent, and overbearing in some parts. Performances were on point and convincing, especially Sims-Fewer.

Although this was a low budget indie film, it still had serious contention to be great - had it been edited/cut down to a short, of which I am determined to do myself, and/or had more substance and much less filler. It's a very generous 5/10 from me, more so for the efforts invested.

The pace of the movie was very slow. I got bored watching. It's not a horror movie. The drama aspect of the movie predominates. The director emulates biologists in the movie. He took a long shot of clear, enlarged images of caterpillars, birds, fingers and fingernails, and even the stamens. It's like he wasted time prolonging unnecessary scenes so that the movie would be longer.

It's wholly different from any other rape-revenge movie out there, and has so much to say about the genre and an audience's thirst for revenge. Not strictly a horror film. I'd call it more of a Haneke type drama with some truly grotesque moments.

OK. I saw I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE (The original!) in the theater back in the 70s! At least that movie didnt claim art as its lead. It specifically warned its audience in the promos and the media. "Woman gets revenge on her rapist , cuts off his dick!" and it sold itself on that/ Nobody pumped it up as art, opr a triumph of woman against her rapist, nobody sold it as anything but what it was. A horror revenge film...and youll get to see a rapist get his dick cut off! (2 decades before Lorena Bobbit!)

People didnt flock to the theater to see it, but they knew what they were getting. (It was part of a triple feature BTW).

This is just...a mess. Ever since Tarrantino made it fashionable to show movies in out of order chapter parts, many films have done it badly (Even he hasnt always done it well). This film has terrible character development, worse editing and screenplay, and it really isnt artful, or empowering. You dont root for the woman or against the man. You dont want him to learn, or repent, or be freed. You dont respect her journey, or cheer at her achieving vengeance. Its just, her devolving into a monster 1 step removed from Jason Voorhees (Another assault victim who then became a lunatic monster for 12 films). Its only disturbing insomuch as its so angry, coupled with effortful nudity to try and make it moire horrifying. But its not beautiful or powerful or tense. It doesnt lead us through emotional buildup to any revelation. Its I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, but without the payoff.

Id rather see the next friday the 13th/ At least then I get what I went to the theater for. This is just...boring, disjointed, badly edited female revenge violence.

NOW, if you wanna see a good movie about female revenge, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN is exceptional without this films many MANY bad mistakes and overlong runtime (or at least, overlong draggy scenes between its few high points making the film seem overlong).

If you go down to the woods today and you're a rabbit or a predatory opportunist, there's a good chance you'll get your big surprise and it won't be a pleasant picnic. Refreshing and brave, original and relevant, reflective and increasingly expansive, just as progressive and contemporary filmmaking should be.

It was miserable experience with non-engaging cast. Shocking the viewer will not make the script any better.

How do you deal with grey areas? Now the main incident that kicks our main character ... out of her "comfort zone" I reckon you could call it ... is something that a lot of people will have a debate over. The movie almost dares you to talk about it ... make a judgement ... give your take on what you think happened or rather who is to blame - maybe even both individuals.

I personally think it is clear whose fault it is - having said that, it does not mean I agree with what follows - what is being done to the guilty party. Now you can interpret that any way you want. And the movie makes it easy to get triggered ... it shows a situation that could and does unfortunately happen. But again, there are grey areas ... so there is room for some debate - or is there? Even that is up for debate ... a movie that dares and does handle a subject matter that has been exploited in a different fashion ... while ultimately also exploiting it ... differently and in some forms the same ways ... it is tough to actually go into certain crazy things that happen ... and if you are squeamish you probably shouldn't even watch this ... everyone else prepare yourself to feel very uncomfortable ...

Waste of time film . Style over substance as in it looks really good but the story was stupid and made little sense. I only gave it 2 stars and it gets one of those for the scenery . I saw it through to the end and still have no idea what was going on.

Very realistic and gory, lots of overly long gross-out scenes that could have been completely avoided without affecting the story at all. This could have worked a lot better as a short film that could have easily gotten the point across, but instead it's a very slow and not enjoyable movie to watch. Some cinematography and nature scenes were nice so I have to give it a point for that, but the editing was all over the place and did not make it easy to follow or enjoy the movie.

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This is my first viewing of a Madeleine Sims-Fewer - also the protagonist - and Dusty Mancinelli's film. I added Violation to my Sundance's schedule due to the macabre yet interesting premise, and I knew it wasn't just another random rape-revenge movie. The first half clearly demonstrates how impactful and visually shocking Sims-Fewer and Mancinelli want their film to be, but the final act stretches the story a bit too far for my taste. Still, it's a movie with an evident purpose that justifies all the cruelty with a traumatizing event that many women, unfortunately, have to deal with.

From explicit male nudity - something quite rare - to the excruciatingly long takes, Adam Crosby's lingering camera transforms already gruesome, vomit-inducing scenes into something even more difficult of keeping the eyes on the screen. I instinctively looked away in certain seconds. Miriam's turn to the Dark Side is depicted in a slightly abrupt way, and her revenge takes an excessively ruthless path I struggle to accept as something remotely possible. Some actions just raise one too many questions that ultimately hurt the narrative for me.

Despite the horrible event that changed her life, Sims-Fewer's character isn't exactly someone easy to root for since she wasn't the best sister/wife way before that moment. Some character moments feel earned, while others are just violent for the sake of visual shock. Regarding the cast, everyone's great, but Sims-Fewer delivers a powerful performance that left me feeling uneasy throughout the entire runtime. Technically, a final praise to Andrea Boccadoro's score, which is incredibly ominous, contributing to the suspenseful, eerie atmosphere, but occasionally it's just overwhelmingly distracting.

Violation is one of the most visually shocking, gruesome, disgusting films I've seen in quite some time. Madeleine Sims-Fewer shares direction and writing credits with Dusty Mancinelli, but she also portrays a somewhat divisive protagonist. While I understand her reasons and absolutely despise what happens to her, she isn't exactly an easy character to connect with or even root for. The narrative follows an extremely dark path of revenge, told through an interesting nonlinear storytelling structure. However, its setup is slightly rushed and developed beyond my limit of fictional logic and comprehension. Despite being excessively violent at times, most of the brutal scenes feel justified. I deeply appreciate the lingering cinematography and the ominous score. I recommend it to non-sensitive viewers who'd like a more meaningful take on the revenge subgenre.

Rating: B

I love the visuals.

Jumping back and forth in timeline makes it really confusing. I didnt know whats happening till i gotta go read other people's review.

Now its like teaching people how to fry an egg by telling them first to flip the egg and then you crack the egg into a bowl... server the fried egg on a plate... then add oil... wait for the egg to cook... pour the egg on the hot pan... Wish they stop doing all the fancy schmancy cuts and tell the story like normal people do... in chronological order.

Disturbing movie that one would call a revenge thriller, but it's really not. It hits the nail on the head when it comes to its difficult subject by making all of it incredibly grey, denying us any catharsis. This isn't a "feel good for the victim" movie. This is a deeply messed up film about violence giving birth to more violence, showing us everything in a nightmarish fashion, mostly through the eyes of the main character.

Do I suggest it? It's hard to say. I suggest it to people who are into movies like this. It's really not for everyone. It's not disturbing like Martyrs or The House That Jack Built. There's some intense body horror, but it's not gore, it's not a shock fest. It's a movie about being violated by someone close to you and having your world torn apart. And the consequences, that are neither justified nor condemned.

The chronology can be confusing at the first watch. It could have been polished a bit more, but I loved it for what it was.

The awfulness of this film has compelled me to write my first review.

I'm in my 70s so it's safe to say I've seen more than my fair share of cinema.

As other reviewers have pointed out there is so much wrong with this film that a list would be endless Some notes to the film makers- you need at least one character the audience can empathise with otherwise you can kiss that same audience goodbye. The three main characters are so obnoxious that it becomes a case of "who cares".

In trying to reinvent / reimagine the genre this film is completely pointless.

Attempting to dive into to the whole Taxi Driver / Bad Lieutenant vibe brings nothing new to the table and just shows this up to be a huge turkey.

The film makers should stick to their short films because this is a bloated mess that outstays its welcome by more than an hour. Hopefully they won't unleash any more feature film atrocities on an unsuspecting public Hey,,,, but at least the scenery is beautiful !!!!

Don't get the bad reviews here. Timeline was not confusing, the movie just demands attention to details. And the fact that male nudity triggers so much repulsion. Come on already.

The only thing I don't get is why it's supposed to be a horror movie. Maybe that triggers the wrong expectations.

Is the protagonist victim, avenger or offender? Hitler and Lenon kind of hit the spot there....

A reminiscent of Lars Von Trier's 'Antichrist,' Dusty Mancinelli and Madeleine Sims-Fewer's 'Violation' is a beautifully-written rape-revenge horror that hits hard and mercilessly twists your stomach into knots. It's also full of interesting directorial choices. While its depiction of sexual assault from a female perspective is both bleak and gut-wrenching - which includes and not limited to front and back male nudity, an erection, a prolonged murder, and graphic butchery of a corpse - the film is told out of sequence, spliced together with disjointed scenes and time jumps which dilutes the power had the narrative been told chronologically. But it's the performances in the film that really shine, especially from leads Sims-Fewer and Jesse LaVercombe. Their transition from natural, friendly chemistry to completely sinister is nothing short of remarkable.

A totally piss-poor film.

Trying to make some statement of revenge, but it becomes a jumbled mess.

None...I repeat NONE of the characters are at all, well... likeable.

Hope they all got decent paychecks for this.

Led by a quietly unhinged showcase from its leading lady, Violation covers a troubled woman's vicious campaign of retribution in the wake of a traumatic betrayal while capturing her anguish & agony with raw intensity. Still, the story's strong themes & provocative power often get bogged down by issues of its own makings and is further diluted by its narrative & stylistic choices.

Written & directed by Dusty Mancinelli & Madeleine Sims-Fewer in their feature film debut, the plot goes back n forth with time-jumps that are difficult to follow at times and needed a better streamlining of events. Add to that, the disorienting camerawork, slow-mo sequences, slanted angles & shots of nature fail to enrich the ride and only come off as unnecessarily pretentious.

The entire revenge act & its aftermath however is brutal, graphic & disturbing to watch and is drawn out for maximum effect. But the meandering pace, fragmented structure & convoluted storytelling prevent it from making the desired impact. Sims-Fewer also plays the protagonist here and her performance is excellent as she depicts her character's inner pain & resentment with aptness.

Overall, Violation packs an uncomfortable premise, revels in stomach-churning gore and works in bits n pieces. It had all the necessary ingredients to deliver a gripping & thrilling anti-revenge story but the execution is unfocused, thus resulting in an underwhelming drama-horror. All in all, this dark & deranged story of a violated woman going extreme on her vengeful crusade is not for the easily distressed.