 Henry Weintraub’s short revenge flick
Depraved tells the story of one woman’s traumatic experience and
how she copes with it. Like with any retribution tale, coping usually
consists of severely butchering those who have done injustices, and
why stray away from the norm. Coming in at twenty-six minutes, the movie
packs a hefty punch, one not seen in such a short revenge movie since
Ryan Nicholson’s Torched. Depraved
is both emotionally saddening and brutally violent and as far as shorts
go, this is one of the better ones I have seen.
Though not as in-your-face as other rape
revenge film, Depraved focuses more on the revenge factor. Rape
is never actually shown in the movie but only hinted at. Whether or
not Weintraub didn’t want to film it due to subject matter or if it
was due to time frame issues I’m not sure of. However, I feel that
they made the right move leaving it out. Even with its absence, you
still feel remorse for Edith due to clever scripting and Lorien Emmerich’s
amazing performance as the victimized woman turned killer.
Since they focused primarily on revenge,
they had a green light in terms of where they could take the movie violence
wise. Overall, the movie does make for some pretty intense scenes, one
in particular involving the severing of a tongue. The effects were good
as far as independent pictures go, and the movie went in the direction
of using rather simple tricks as opposed to going over-the-top. This
made for a much more realism and worked well given the rape revenge
storyline, so as far as brains and intestines go, you won’t find them
here.
The movie also proved to be technically
sound and looked and sounded like a well made independent movie. The
digital video was top notch and was complimented by the audio. The score,
which ranged from depressing to intense fit the mood of the movie perfectly
and aided in telling the story. But what I found most impressive about
the movie was the cinematography as well as the lighting. It doesn’t
matter what you shoot on, if you do these two things correctly, your
movie will be much more appealing. Depraved made for some great
camera work and the lighting added to the overall gloomy and miserable
tone that was portrayed in the movie. If only more indy filmmakers would
take the time to set up shots and light them… I wouldn’t have to
sit through so many unattractive movies.
The movie can be purchase on DVD from
531productions.com and includes: commentary, outtakes, featurette about
working with Lloyd Kauffman, stills, music video and easter eggs; for
only $7 you can’t go wrong. It’s a good short, not quite in the
realms of Aftermath, Genesis or Cutting Moments,
but for a low budget picture it’s hard to beat. If you’re still
not sold, for all of you Troma fans out there, Lloyd Kauffman makes
a cameo as a doctor in the movie, and who doesn’t like Lloyd Kauffman?
Well shot, well scripted and overall well made, Depraved
is a solid 26 minute movie that is sure to please fans of such films
as I Spit on Your Grave or Ms. 45.
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