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elidrys
Reviews
Raze (2013)
DO NOT WATCH or support this awful movie
I saw the picture and read the synopsis like anyone else, I was curious if there was any statement made, or if this movie would have any substance beyond just a bunch of disgustingly brutal fight scenes. I wasn't entirely hopeful, but I was curious and went in open minded. I glanced at the cast list. Zoie Bell is a stunt person who has done a bit of acting, but really she is known for brutal and bad-ass stunt work and fighting. I saw Rachel Nichols and got a bit more optimistic. Rachel Nichols is a very talented actress, very good at portraying real heartfelt emotions, and relatable vulnerability, among other things. I felt like she might be able to add some heart to the movie.
So I begin to watch...
SPOILDER WARNING SPOILDER WARNING SPOILDER WARNING The movie opens with Rachel's character. Again I am a little optimistic. She gets kidnapped predictably. Then she wakes up in the facility where you know everyone is kept and the fighting will happen. She meets Zoie Bell's character, who leads her to enter a room. The door closes, trapping them both inside, then Sabrina (Zoie) attacks Jamie (Rachel). Screen cuts to a black screen announcing this is basically fight 1 Sabrina vs Jamie. Jamie really feels like the human here and Sabrina's humanity has already or very nearly been lost, as she's been here and done this before. Jamie tries to defend herself. She tries to subdue her attacker into some kind of submission, keeps telling her to stop. She puts up a good fight for a bit, she even gets her on the ground and almost has her choked out, but Sabrina 'taps out' asking for mercy.
Jamie gives it to her, thinking Sabrina will stop. Instead Sabrina takes advantage, turns the tables, hits her brutally in the head and throws her against the wall. Jamie, reeling from the blow, tired, shaken and disoriented realizes she's screwed and there is no stopping someone like Sabrina. The look on Sabrina's face is completely monstrous and the look gets colder and crueler in the next few seconds. Jamie stands back up and half heartedly tries to defend herself with the last of her strength, but Sabrina comes at her hard. When Sabrina knocks her to the ground and straddles her, she doesn't just beat her or kill her, she beats her, kills her and keeps beating her in such grotesque fashion it was unbearable to watch.
Sometimes in movies a character will kill someone and keep beating their face in to show how unhinged they are. This scene went back and forth showing the lovely Rachel Nichols' face recognizable but bloodied, and then flashed to Sabrina's. Each time it flashed back and forth Rachel was less recognizable and so was Sabrina. Any shred of humanity was gone from Sabrina and any desire in me to watch any further was gone too. Although Jamie felt like she could have been a good protagonist, a heartfelt human element, she was snuffed out (with disgusting brutality) by a monster in just THE FIRST 12 MINUTES! Then we are supposed to watch another 80 minutes cheering or rallying behind that monster as some sort of twisted protagonist. No thanks.
Now I am an avid movie watcher and hardly of weak heart. I've seen some nasty movies, some bad movies, some gross but great movies - all kinds of movies. This was just terrible. I would literally call it unwatchable past the first 10 minutes.