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
Jay Fletcher	...	Pimping Percy
Marie O. Henry	...	Kathleen
Ginger Mason	...	Diane
Holly Harris	...	Woman At Ranch
James Kingsley	...	Athlete
Esther Sutherland	...	Woman At Laundromat
Hank Rolike	...	Vendor
Alyscia Maxwell	...	Regina
Cheryl Waters	...	Tamara
Guy Hemric	...	Suspect #1
Fred Lerner	...	Suspect #2
Marc Seaton	...	Buddy
Troy Melton	...	Bartender
Clint Young	...	Dave
Dennis Cross	...	Larry

Directed by
Bob Kelljan

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
H.R. Christian		writer
David Kidd		writer (as Betty Conklin)

Produced by
Buzz Feitshans	....	producer

Original Music by
Bill Marx

Cinematography by
Brick Marquard

Film Editing by
Carl Kress

Set Decoration by
Charles B. Pierce		(as Charles Pierce)

Makeup Department
Adelbert Acevedo	....	makeup artist
Mary Skolnik	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Salvatore Billitteri	....	post-production supervisor
David Sheldon	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bruce Chevillat	....	first assistant director
David Shamroy Hamburger	....	second assistant director (as David Hamburger)

Art Department
Richard Evans	....	assistant prop man
John Rozman	....	lead man
Fred Westcott	....	property master (as Fred Wescott)

Sound Department
Lowell Brown	....	boom operator
John Dignan	....	sound mixer
Jerry Stanford	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Roy L. Downey	....	special effects (as Roy Downey)

Camera and Electrical Department
Roland Bell	....	still photographer
David Dalzell	....	camera operator
Frank P. Flynn	....	key grip
Gene Kearney	....	grip
Calvin Maehl	....	best boy (as Cal Maehl)
Ross A. Maehl	....	gaffer (as Ross Maehl)
Les Martin	....	first assistant camera
Bob Stradling	....	second assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Lynette Bernay	....	wardrobe (as Lynn Bernay)
James M. George	....	wardrobe supervisor (as James George)

Editorial Department
Bill Berry	....	negative cutter
Leo Guerra	....	assistant editor (as Leo Gomez-Guerra)

Transportation Department
Paul Casella Jr.	....	transportation gaffer
Walt Freitas	....	transportation captain (as Walter Freitas)

Other crew
Irene Barbas	....	assistant to producer
Ann Lander	....	publicity woman
Andrea Nachman	....	production secretary
John Prizer	....	production executive
Karen Rasch	....	script supervisor
Paul Roedl	....	auditor (as Paul D Roedl)

Production Companies

• American International Pictures (AIP)

Distributors

• American International Pictures (AIP) (1974) (USA) (theatrical)
• Astral Films (1974) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (1996) (USA) (VHS)

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:

Linda: How do you feel about forming a rape squad?
Nancy: What do we do?
Linda: We do what hundreds of women all over the country are doing. Look, there's an article about it right here!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Water Power (1977)

Who you gonna call? Rape Squad!

Although it's not as sleazy or violent as it sounds (or as others of its ilk), "Rape Squad" is still a solid and entertaining entry in the hole "rape revenge" genre with a strong feminist touch. It's about a group of women who have all been raped by the same hockey mask and orange jumped suit wearing rapist who makes them sing jingle bells right before he rapes them. Believing the police aren't doing enough to catch him the girls form the "rape Squad" a group dedicated to helping women who have been raped and punishing the rapists. The big catch however is the one with the hockey mask.

Anyway, this film isn't particularly nasty, but it does have some pretty sleazy elements I dug, one of those being the forced singing of "jingle bells". The rapes aren't shown on screen, but there is power in the suggestion. And honestly its pretty obvious that director Bob Kelljan is trying to make a "female empowerment" rape/ exploitation film but unlike other directors who tried to pull that off like Quentin Tarantino in "Death Proof" and Meir Zarchi in "I Spit on Your Grave" (sorry guys, never understood the appeal of that one) this one manages to work, mostly because Kelljan is able to get his point across without beating the audience over the head with it and acting self righteous. Now, it does drag here and there and I still wish it was more violent and sleazy, but this is still a solid film. This really needs a DVD release.