Act of Vengeance (1974)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Bob Kelljan

Writers:

H.R. Christian (writer)
David Kidd (writer)

Release Date:

August 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

The Story of The Rape Squad!

Plot:

Linda gets raped by a man in a hockey mask. She finds that a few other women have had the same treatment...

Plot Keywords:

Mask | Hockey Mask | Stalking | Obsession | Murder

Cast

Jo Ann Harris	...	Linda
Peter Brown	...	Jack
Jennifer Lee	...	Nancy
Lisa Moore	...	Karen
Connie Strickland	...	Teresa
Patricia Estrin	...	Angie
Lada Edmund Jr.	...	Tiny
Tony Young	...	Bud
Steve Kanaly	...	Tom
Ross Elliott	...	Sergeant Long
John Pickard	...	Dr. Schetman
Ninette Bravo	...	Joyce
Stanley Adams	...	Bernie / Foul Mouth
Joan McCall	...	Gloria
Anneka Di Lorenzo	...	Chris

Also Known As:

Rape Squad (Australia)
The Violator (UK)

Runtime:

90 min | UK:81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | UK:18 (heavily cut) | USA:R

Company:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Quotes:

Woman in Nude Spa: Excuse me, I overheard you talking about your group and I have a question- a couple months ago I was attacked...
Linda: Raped!
[woman in nude spa smiles vacantly and nods]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Water Power (1977)

Terrible movie with some unnerving scenes

"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.