I Am Rage( 2023) Written Review

 

I Am Rage

 

 

Cast: Erin Hannaj Bang Bendz, Marta Svetek, Antonia Whillans

Writers: Stephen Durham, David Ryan Keith

Director: David Ryan Keith

A woman with anger issues goes on a trip with her new boyfriend and others to visit his family estate for the weekend.  But things are not as they appear as she and another woman are abducted and groomed to be hunted for rich clients. But what these hunters don’t realize is that the girl they captured is a lot more than what she seems.

While this movie has echoes of such features like I Spit On Your Grave and Fresh.  I Am Rage lacks the raw ferocious power those films possessed.  I never once felt worried about our lead character because it’s established pretty early on that she can fight very well.  Our supposed bad guys were almost cartoonish in their attitude.  Especially Margret who behaves very much like Yosemite Sam from a Bugs Bunny cartoon just minus the long beard and hat that is way too big.

There is a back story about our lead character that would have made a way more interesting story than the one presented here in this one. Before Erin(Hannaj Bang Bendz) went on this trip.  She was kidnapped and tortured for several years and I would have loved to have seen how she escaped.  The movie should have started with that instead of a scene where Margret(Marta Svetek) tortures someone that we never see again.  We only get small clues about Erin from dreams and exposition dialogue from other characters.  I would have liked to have seen more.

The two actors I actually liked in this movie was Antonia Whillans as Sarah (the other girl who gets abducted) and Luke Aqulina as Michael(the brother of Erin’s boyfriend).  I really liked the growth of Sarah and thought she should have been the one that gets to rage out on everyone. Especially because at the start, she is not that much of a fighter but really becomes quite the force when pushed into a corner.  Michael was the only villain that was an actual threat to the girls out of everyone in this movie.  Compare the fight he has with Erin to the one she has with Margret.  There is a lot more action in one than the other.

 

I Am Rage would be better if the movie took more risks with some scenes.  There is one moment when Sarah is being tortured and yet I wasn’t disturbed or felt sick when watching it.  I knew that she was going to be ok because of what I saw Erin do previously but I somehow I wish that the filmmakers would have saw Martyrs or something from the French Extreme genre before shooting that scene.

To quote the gents from the Film Rage Podcast.  I’m giving I Am Rage  * out of Five *’s .

   In other words it’s a rage from me