The Victim (2011) Review
Good old Michael Biehn is one of those actors that whilst never becoming a box office draw in his own right has always been a reliable fixture and his name in the cast of a movie normally guarantees a degree of watchability.
From the excellence of the original Terminator to the fire-power and adrenalin rush of Aliens to the recent shock horror of Bereavement Biehn is solid through and through. With The Victim Biehn not only stars but directs his first full feature length movie (in 2010 he co-directed The Blood Bond with Antony Szeto) from his own screenplay based on a story by Reed Lackey.
Biehn’s missus Jennifer Blanc stars as Annie. On the run from a couple of bent cops (Ryan Honey, Denny Kirkwood), one of whom murdered her friend Mary (Danielle Harris), Annie stumbles across a remote cottage where she meets potential saviour Kyle (Biehn’s character a nod to his Terminator role).
Kyle is a recluse at one with the calmness his surroundings afford him, looking to piece his life together after a traumatic episode from his past. Annie’s unexpected arrival and plea for help suddenly throws his life into a spin. Soon Harrison (Honey), the future sheriff, and Cooger (Kirkwood) come a-knocking and there’s a back story about a number of missing women in the area that all comes together for a surprise finale.
Opening with a Se7en inspired titles sequence it’s clear from the off that this is not going to be showcasing anything new in terms of thrills and the storyline that follows is fairly standard. For awhile there is an element of doubt in play as to whether any of the characters are really who they say they are and this aspect of the movie plays well.
Once everything has settled into place and there’s no real doubt as to who’s who – even with a final twist which isn’t really much of a surprise – interest is lost and The Victim slips into nondescript standard fare. Until then the film’s ambiguity sustains the interest and makes for a mildly entertaining distraction.
In watching the extras it’s hard not to admire that such a small team of people put the film together however it plays as more of a showcase for Biehn’s missus and listening to her speak is akin to listening to the girlfriend of the lead singer in This Is Spinal Tap.
In fact it gets so monstrously overbearing that you kind of wish you hadn’t selected to watch the Behind the Scenes footage as it taints your overall opinion on the film you have just watched and for this critic the extras should enhance the pleasure of watching a film not make you feel worse about it.
The performances are decent and as mentioned before everything has an uncertainty to it until one final ‘surprise’. It’s always a pleasure to see Danielle Harris on screen and here she shares a flick with J.C. Brandy with whom she shared the role of Jamie Lloyd in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, Halloween 5 and Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers respectively.
Jennifer Blanc, Biehn’s wife, business partner and co-producer of this film is adequate as Annie but unbearable in the extras. As for her husband Michael he turns in a decent job both in front and behind the camera given the limited resources and with a shooting schedule of a measly eleven/twelve days. The Victim is a reasonable distraction for an evening’s entertainment just make sure you stay away from the Behind the Scenes extra. Now that’s REAL horror!
