Act of Vengeance (1974)

Linda gets raped by a man in a hockey mask. She finds that a few other women have had the same treatment. Together they form a squad that starts looking for the man and also changes the mind of would-be rapists.

Director:

Bob Kelljan (as Robert Kelljchian)

Writers:

David Kidd (as Betty Conklin), H.R. Christian

Stars:

Jo Ann Harris, Peter Brown, Jennifer Lee Pryor

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jo Ann Harris	...	Linda
Peter Brown	...	Jack
Jennifer Lee Pryor	...	Nancy (as Jennifer Lee)
Lisa Moore	...	Karen
Connie Strickland	...	Teresa
Patricia Estrin	...	Angie
Lada Edmund Jr.	...	Tiny
Tony Young	...	Bud
Steve Kanaly	...	Tom
Ross Elliott	...	Sgt. Long (as Ross Elliot)
John Pickard	...	Dr. Schetman
Ninette Bravo	...	Joyce
Stanley Adams	...	Bernie / Foul Mouth
Joan McCall	...	Gloria
Anneka Di Lorenzo	...	Chris (as Anneka DeLorrenzo)

Storyline

Linda gets raped by a man in a hockey mask. She finds that a few other women have had the same treatment. Together they form a squad that starts looking for the man and also changes the mind of would-be rapists.

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Plot Keywords:

hockey mask | mask | masked killer | black pimp | punched in the face | 

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Taglines:

Let the Revenge Fit the Crime!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 August 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rape Squad

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Movielab)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was shot under the title "Rape Squad." After American Internation Pictures got cold feet over releasing a film with the word "rape" in the title the title was changed to "Act of Vengeance" shortly before its release. After the film did not do as well as AIP hoped, the film was released as "Rape Squad" in hopes of drumming up some publicity.

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Goofs

In the scene where the group trashes a man's apartment, a male crew member with a mustache is visible in a mirror's reflection when one of the women breaks the mirror.

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Quotes

Bernie: I always knew dirty phone calls would eventually lead to actual sex, and tonight's the night!

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Alternate Versions

The film was unreleased until 1987 in the UK and then cut by 4 minutes 48 secs by the BBFC with extensive edits to the attack on Linda and further cuts to the assault scenes.

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Connections

Referenced in 42nd Street Memories: The Rise and Fall of America's Most Notorious Street (2015)

User Reviews

This movies DOES have its cake and eat it too

This is an interesting movie. On one hand, it is a completely earnest. TV-movie style flick about a group of women who have all been victimized by the "Jingle Bell rapist" and ban together to fight against piggish male behavior in general and eventually take on their hockey-masked, Christmas-caroling assailant. Of course, the women are also sexy as hell, frequently undressed, and ALWAYS under-dressed, which supposedly compromises the feminist message. Why? I'd reckon 100 percent of heterosexual men like to see sexy, undressed women, while maybe 2 percent (a lot of whom are already in prison) really want to see ANY woman violently raped (and I'm not talking about one of those ridiculous Japanese "rape" scenarios here). So for 98 percent of men there is no contradiction here. Many present-day filmmakers feel they need bow down to the altar of man-hating "feminists" like Andrea Dworkin who conflate any expression of male heterosexuality with rape, but I thank god 70's filmmakers didn't. And as for female viewers, are they only allowed to relate to rape victims if they are unattractive, butch lesbians who dress like Lizzie Borden on a cold day?

There are some ridiculous scenes (I know I always meet with MY vigilante gang while sitting naked in a hot tub). The end where the gang goes to a deserted zoo to confront the "Jingle Bell rapist" without the one woman who knows karate is pretty dumb. But this movie is also much more believable than most rape-revenge films in that the women don't immediately and easily turn into remorseless fighting/killing machines. Nothing is less believable than the modern-day "butt-kicking babe" stereotype where a 105lb. fashion model takes on guys three times her size just because she knows karate (and, of course, these big guys never do).

The gang here is led by Joanne Harris, who played the young girl who successfully seduces Clint Eastwood in "The Beguiled". I've seen Filipino actress Jennifer Lee in various films. Perennial cheesecake actresses Connie Strickland and Anneka DiLorenzo were both in the similar (but more misogynistic) "The Centerfold Girls". This movie is basically a much more naked and violent version of "Charlie's Angels". But, hey, there's nothing wrong with that. . .