SWEET/VICIOUS (2016)

(VOD) Sadly, this one season wonder has been unavailable to stream pretty much since its launch, which sucks because it launched right when the world needed it the most.

SWEET/VICIOUS is essentially a woman-fronted college campus vigilante story. There’s a bit more to it than that, but I don’t want to spoil matters. However, I will say: when you’re on a campus, you’re either predator or prey, and they’re leveling the playing grounds.

MS .45 (1981)

CONTENT WARNING: This post includes mentions of sexual violence.

To be completely clear: I do not like rape/revenge tales. While I realize that they can be cathartic for some, I almost always find them singularly unpleasant and poorly handled and wonder why I put myself through that, so I usually don’t. (This is partially why I’m mentioning it during my 31 Days of Horror posts.)

Abel Ferrara’s MS .45 is one of the few exceptions. I could go into detail about the film, but I’ll simply summarize it as so: a mute seamstress is raped twice in a day and, after the second, matters escalate.

It’s a visually striking film (partially thanks to its film stock), it feels sympathetic, and it features an amazing debut performance from Zoë Lund as a woman who just wants to be left alone. It feels subversive, especially for its time.

Instead of discussing it further, as I’m not quite the right person to do so, I highly suggest reading the RogerEbert.com exchange between Christy Lemire, Sheila O’Malley, and Susan Wloszczyna as they break down the film.

M.F.A. (2017)

(Plex/Prime/Tubi/VOD/Vudu)? A revenge thriller from director Natalia Leite (BARE) and actress/writer Leah McKendrick that pairs well with PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN. It’s a stylish tale about assault and baring yourself in your work, unfurls at a fine clip, and is more complex than you might expect.