Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Vendetta Blu-ray Movie Review

What was "V" for again?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 18, 2015

Michael Eklund, who plays a nefarious warden in this prison revenge drama, more than adequately sums up the entire film in an interview appended to this Blu-ray as a supplement. “Vendetta,” he intones with a certain amount of wry humor. “The title pretty much says it all.” That’s a bit of an understatement, it turns out, for if there is an unpredictable element in Vendetta, it’s simply that the film turns out to be better than it has any right to be, at least considering its absolutely formulaic plot and by the numbers machinations. Dean Cain portrays Mason Danvers, a hard working cop who, in the film’s completely mechanical opening sequence, tracks down a vicious thug named Victor Abbott (Paul Donald Wight, Jr., here exploiting his WWE moniker The Big Show). Abbott is brought to justice, at least momentarily, but in yet another unoriginal development, is let go on a technicality, whereupon the insanely large predator makes a beeline for Danvers’ pregnant wife and brutally murders her. That attack at least guarantees Abbott will be jailed for a considerably longer time than his first stint, but it of course just as predictably leaves Danvers a shell of his former self. Some passing substance abuse only further roils Danvers’ psychological waters, until the former good guy seems to be segueing over to his veritable dark side. Need it even be mentioned that Danvers decides to take matters into his own hands (in more ways than one), ultimately leading to his own arrest and imprisonment in the same corrupt facility where Abbott is already housed?

Vendetta is rather insouciantly directed by the Soska Sisters, the siblings whose Twisted Twins Productions imprint is probably more than aptly named, having offered horror fans the “delights” of such fare as Dead Hooker in a Trunk (one my personal favorite horror film titles), American Mary and See No Evil 2. Here the twins have eschewed an overt “horror” setting while also dealing in certain tropes of the genre, not the least of which is a series of rather spectacularly staged and increasingly gruesome death scenes. In fact Vendetta exists mostly as a trek from set piece to set piece, though Justin Shady’s screenplay at least attempts to weave things together into a coherent narrative whole.

The film initially seems to be more than willing to breathlessly careen through any number of clichés in order to get to what is certainly a completely predictable and unavoidable showdown between Danvers and Abbott, but perhaps surprisingly, after the initial arrest, release and murder of Danvers’ wife, Vendetta takes its own sweet time in detailing Danvers’ mental deterioration and ultimate strategy to wreak havoc on Abbott in the same way the criminal has on the cop. That may be a slight hiccup for some viewers who will want the adrenaline rush to keep on coming after a one two punch early in the film.

Once the film segues to its prison setting (with Vancouver, British Columbia’s evocative former mental hospital Riverwood serving as the creepy locale), Vendetta pulls few punches, both figuratively and literally. The film pretends to be developing a “mystery” of sorts detailing the inner life of the facility, but with a cartoonish character like the nefarious warden, there’s little suspense as to what’s actually going on. A number of supporting characters play into the overall scenario, but at least a few of them might just as well be wearing red shirts, Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 1 style, since it’s more than obvious they’re simply going to be around for a while until they’re violently dispatched.

While the film’s plot points are almost ludicrously predictable, what works, and works surprisingly well, in Vendetta are the two main performances. Cain reveals a rather unexpected depth and ferocity as Danvers, giving into some feral tendencies that may surprise some fans who may associate the actor with more unambiguous characters like a certain erstwhile denizen of Krypton (Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman). Just slightly paunchy looking, Cain brings a real intensity to the role and acquits himself quite well in a couple of extremely violent fight scenes. Equally as remarkable is The Big Show, who manages to go to a pretty dark place as Abbott. The performer, obviously an imposing guy to begin with, actually manages to make his attitude as dangerous seeming as his pure bulk, and he seems poised to be another breakout star from the WWE stable.

Vendetta Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Vendetta is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films and WWE Studios with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is an often abundantly sharp and well detailed looking presentation, one which benefits from an absence of ubiquitous color grading and which tends to exploit a more naturalistic palette. Detail and fine detail are both excellent and at times exceptional, offering up close and personal looks at elements like Cain's increasingly battered face. There have been a few bells and whistles appended to the image in post, including a couple of "distressed" sequences which minimally limit fine detail. Contrast is consistent and helps the film to weather some segues from bright exterior lighting conditions to the shadowy interiors of the prison.

Vendetta Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Vendetta's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 explodes into visceral life during some of the set pieces, whether those involve guns or "simpler" weapons like "brass knuckles", offering good discrete channelization of various effects and some forceful LFE at various moments. Dialogue and The Newton Brothers' propulsive score are also presented cleanly and clearly with excellent prioritization. Fidelity is fine throughout this presentation, and dynamic range very wide in a problem free environment.

Vendetta Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Making of Vendetta (1080i; 6:37) is about as by the numbers an EPK as the film is by the numbers in its own way, but it does feature some fun interviews, including the perky Jen Soska.


• A Haunted Location (1080i; 6:13) is a fun look at the former mental hospital that serves as the film's prison.


• A Big Transformation (1080i; 6:20) profiles The Big Show.

Vendetta Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's nothing even remotely surprising about most (if not all) of Vendetta, but the film works up considerable momentum based solely on the intensity of the performances from Cain and The Big Show. While resolutely predictable in terms of its overall plot mechanics, the film is briskly paced and some of the kill scenes are crazily inventive, adding a kind of sly winking subtext to what is ultimately a series of set pieces. Technical merits are generally strong and with certain caveats noted, Vendetta comes Recommended.