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Bound to Vengeance
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Shout! Factory Review written by and copyright: Anthony Arrigo (16th January 2016). |
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The Film
 There’s something about the revenge pictures of the 70's and 80's that has gifted them with endless rewatchability (if that isn’t a word it is now), whether because they are legitimately good or because there’s a certain charm to those old-school B-pictures. But most revenge film plots are the definition of rote, making it a bit tougher to slog through everything made from the 90's on up. Obviously there are exceptions to the rule, but in general most are forgettable; a dime a dozen. Adding itself to that pile is “Bound for Vengeance” (2015), a film that stretches the realm of credibility and contains far too many illogical choices to be even remotely satisfying in its blood lust. At an isolated house far out in the California desert, a young woman, Eve (Tina Ivlev), is chained to a bed and held captive. When her abductor, Phil (Richard Tyson) shows up to give her a meal, Eve smashes his head with a brick and manages to escape her shackles. Instead of doing her best to get back to civilization, she goes back into the house and makes a discovery: a box containing Polaroids of women, all of whom have a name and a number listed. How convenient. Making a monumental assumption all of these women are alive, Eve decides she’s going to go into “badass rescue chick” mode and have Phil drive her around to every holding spot until all of the women have been set free. He agrees, but, of course, achieving her self-appointed task isn’t going to be easy. Imagine yourself in Eve’s position. You’ve been abducted, chained to a bed, possibly beaten, probably raped, certainly emotionally scarred for life, and you just managed to beat your host with a brick before making a break for the free world outside. Now, even after the crushing realization that you’re miles away from anywhere, far out in the desert, what would you do? Panicked, maybe you would just run and run until you made it to the main highway. Alternatively, if you’re feeling a bit bolder maybe you would go back inside, beat that bastard with a brick a couple more times, pilfer his keys and then get moving. Hell, in a moment of clarity you may even check his pockets for a cell phone and call the police. Show of hands – how many of you would go back inside, rifle through the belongings inside, come across a series of photos that may be related to your plight, and decide “You know what, screw getting out of this hellish situation and back to a sense of normalcy? I’m going to attach myself to the psycho who has kept me here for who knows how long and force him to take me to all of these other girls who may or may not be alive.” Superb idea. Keep in mind, at no point does this film establish Eve as being remotely survival-savvy or capable of defending herself, yet this 105-pound cupcake is going to keep a man twice her weight on a leash? Look, I accept this isn’t a documentary and most films take great liberties with reality, but characters should at the very least be established as able to perform certain functions, or look like they could. Eve’s karma train is derailed more than once as she hops from house to house, with each instance of failure confirmation her plan is a stupid one. And, so, her movie, too, is stupid. “Bound to Vengeance” could have been a little more interesting if Eve had, oh, I don’t know, an MMA fighter past or something. If it seemed like she could pull off her terribly inept plan. But the film does nothing to make her the badass it’s trying to sell. The best part of the film is seeing Richard Tyson, who as usual turns in a performance that is subtly menacing. Buddy Revell for life. But he also spends most of the film bloody and bound in the back of a van. “Bound to Vengeance” is bound to mediocrity; more forgettable film fodder.
Video
The 2.40:1 1080p 24/fps AVC MPEG-4 encoded image is typical of a low-budget digital production. Grain is nowhere to be seen, black levels are a bit on the hazy side and the overall color palette is kind of ugly and drab. Don’t expect to see many, if any, primary colors popping off the screen. Much of the film is shrouded in darkness; detail holds up fairly well under these conditions though it is hardly crisp.
Audio
The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound track (48kHz/24-bit) delivers a solid mix which is nicely balanced. The score can be eerie at times, adding a decent atmospheric touch to the film. Dialogue comes through clean and clear with no issues. As usual, an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo track is also included. Subtitles are available in English.
Extras
DISC ONE: The only extra on this release is the film's theatrical trailer (1080p) runs for 1 minute and 37 seconds. DISC TWO: This is a DVD copy of the film.
Packaging
Comes housed in a standard 2-disc Blu-ray keep case.
Overall
Bound to Boredom, this is one revenge film that won’t be stalking around my home video collection.
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