Revenge! (1971)

A family of father, stepmother and three adolescents are in an edgy mood, having left the courtroom where the case of their murdered daughter is not going as planned. Later, a family friend who has lost a daughter to the same scourge shows up with the news that the case will be dismissed on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

They are all outraged at this news when the same friend takes them on a brief trip where they stalk the accused man and watch him on his daily path, which is elongated, especially to include him walking and stopping right in front of a children’s school playground.

A plan is hatched hastily in a rage, and a botched attempt takes place that very evening with more than a few moments of alarm. The “paedophile murderer” is brought to the basement storage room of the pub that also serves as the family home.

Carol (Joan Collins) is upstairs but soon catches on and is only too happy to rip into the supposed criminal, captured like a caged animal, surrounded by three men with nowhere to hide. He is brutally beaten until, much to everyone’s horror, it seems he has been strangled to death. Nerves jangle uncontrollably as the family must carry on as normal, and the pub opens for business, pints and smiles as usual, but it’s not long before the burden of bearing the secret of murder begins to take its toll.

Frenzied, desperation gives way to a slightly calmer state of mind when it is discovered that they hadn’t killed the decrepit old pervert anyway, and now the issue was how to get rid of him without him spilling the beans to the police. Depriving him of food and drink and leaving him to rot away was the solution that would be hoped would bring swift rewards, but soon the news from the police station emerges that they are now interrogating a new suspect for the same crime!

So, the expected twist is that the man wasn’t the sexual predator they had thought he was, and now James Booth, the head of the family, attempts to set things right by suddenly being very kind to the man he had nearly murdered just hours ago. Meanwhile, unable to take the stress of the situation and perhaps their savagery, the family breaks down completely with the husband hitting the bottle and Joan Collins consumed by guilt. Their accomplice and close friend flees for a far off city. There are uncomfortable moments when the elder son Lee senses his manhood being challenged. He responds by ripping the clothes off his mother-in-law and raping her in the basement in full view of the startled “paedophile”. The friction levels between stepmother and daughter grow to a snapping point. Collins and Lee depart the scene leaving James Booth to compensate the abducted man somehow and hopefully get him to agree never to tell the police about what happened. A terrible mistake had been made but thankfully, other than a few scratches here and there; everyone was alright. However, all is not alright with another turn of events to bring the film to its conclusion.

Released in 1971, Revenge arrived the same year as another film with a similar backdrop, Straw Dogs. While Straw Dogs went on to notoriety and critical acclaim and box office success, Revenge was forgotten as a decent thriller that didn’t quite have the tension or bite of a Straw Dogs. Looking back, perhaps the controversy generated by the “rape scene” in Straw Dogs generated interest in the film, but perhaps far more likely is that director Sam Peckinpah was much more adept in creating tension and horror while executing his movie that made the difference. Revenge is a thought-provoking and to a large extent, well-acted film however, the director is unable to raise the levels of alarm or tension as the film goes along. Yes, there are moments of reasonable suspense, yet the film should have been an exercise in extreme nail-biting tension. It may well have been under the stewardship of a director more in line with the kind of genre that this movie represented. Still, unfortunately in the hands of Sidney Hayers the film is unable to generate the tension that a film of this nature needs to build upon to engage and indeed grip its audience.

Paedophilia is not exactly a Box Office favourite. Still, it was the early 70s and a wonderful time for mainstream cinema to be delving into all sorts of fascinating subjects and directions. The film plays like a suspense thriller light on both suspense and thrills but still has enough of interest to set it apart from most movies. Firstly, the subject matter itself is a touchy one that most major studios would not touch with a bargepole (Though Hammer had done so earlier in the rather excellent Never Take Candy From a Stranger). Secondly, the acting of the main cast is top-notch, with Joan Collins especially shining brightly but with solid support from James Booth and the rest of the cast. Thirdly, a film set partially in a pub is also of interest not so much because it is of sociological value but more because it is only appropriate for a movie representing the early 70s to reflect a culture as ingrained as it was in Britain at that time. Also noticeable that though the film is set in London, there is no sign or hint of an immigrant or non-English speaker – how times have changed. London today is a different orbit altogether.

Revenge is an engaging thriller with solid performances, yet the feeling remains that had it been handled by somebody more in loop with the suspense thriller mode, it should have been so much better. However, it is certainly worth a viewing for those interested in the fabulous Joan Collins, British thrillers or the films of the early 70s. Revenge is worthy of an “X” Certificate (18 and above only), while Straw Dogs was soon banned. The ‘code of censorship” in the UK at that time. Censorship evolution is such a fascinating topic as humanity moves forward and things change.