Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Jenna Walter The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Coventry Every once and a while, you encounter a B-movie that you simply cannot fathom entirely, regardless of how many repeated viewings or how much time you spend contemplating about it… "Rape Squad" is such a modest but unfathomable exploitation product from the early '70s. Obviously this film isn't the biggest cinematic enigma ever made, but still you never really figure out to the fullest what director Bob Kelljan wanted to accomplish here. Just another sleazy and misogynic rape and revenge flick like there were so many others during this drive-in/grindhouse era? Or the first ambitious and truly courageous exploitation movie with honest feminist undertones and earnest indictments against the way rape victims are treated by the men in their surroundings? "Rape Squad" – or "Act of Vengeance", which sounds slightly more sophisticated – is often clumsy, amateurish and unintentionally comical, but the script nevertheless contains a few conceptually great ideas and passionate performances by the respectable female cast. But, you know what? Perhaps I'm using too many complicated terms to describe a film that is called "Rape Squad"… After all, it's only a B-movie about a perverted scumbag in an orange jumpsuit and hockey mask that devotedly stalks and brutishly assaults poor women while he forces them to sing Jingle Bells and scream out that he's the greatest sex partner they ever had. The police treat the victims insensitively and don't undertake enough efforts to catch the serial rapist, and thus the women unite in a hot tub and decide to form their own vigilante squad. Led by mentally strong and stubborn Linda (Jo Ann Harris), they offer moral support and advice to other oppressed women, organize awareness campaigns, attend self-defense courses and embarrass small sex-offenders. But Linda's hatred against the Jingle Bells rapist is so enormous that her main objective remains seeking revenge against him. "Rape Squad" is a curious effort, with hit and miss moments and a couple of bizarre characters. The rapist – Jingle Bells – could easily have been one of the most memorably menacing exploitation anti- heroes of the seventies, what with his fierce outfit (I even wonder if he inspired the looks of both Michael Myers in "Halloween" and Jason Voorhees in "Friday the 13th") and violent modus operandi, but due to his endless babbling and stupid fetish for his own persona he actually becomes more of an annoying caricature. A handful of scenes, including the fate of the poor girl painting in the countryside and the finale in the abandoned zoo, are genuinely tense and unsettling, so overall I wouldn't hesitate for one moment to recommend the film to fans of the genre.

Michael_Elliott Act of Vengeance (1974) ** (out of 4) Linda (Jo Ann Harris) is raped by a masked maniac who also forces her to sing Jingle Bells while he attacks her. She goes to the police but they're less than helpful and she eventually meets four other victims of the Jingle Bells rapist. The women decide to form a support group for rape victims and soon their attacker wants some more of them.ACT OF VENGEANCE comes from AIP and it's not nearly as good as its reputation would have you believe. I had heard a lot of good things about this film but I honestly found it to be pretty boring and without too many interesting things going on. The film might want to take a serious subject like rape and so something decent with it but instead this is basically just an exploitation at heart.I say that because these type of movies often want to give the idea that they support women standing up but this is more of a gimmick than anything else. The film has pretty much everything you'd expect in an exploitation movie from some silly kung fu battles between creeps and a female karate instructor and there's also loads of nudity. There's not only nudity in the rape scenes but there's also a shower sequence, which as fans of exploitation knows is a must for the genre.The performances are decent for what they are but no one really stands out with a great performance. The cinematography and score aren't all that impressive as both are victims of the "B" movie feel. The biggest problem with ACT OF VENGEANCE is that it just really doesn't try to be anything good or even special. It's just a cheap exploitation film that has a trashy vibe.

lazarillo This is an interesting movie. On one hand, it is a completely earnest. TV-movie style flick about a group of women who have all been victimized by the "Jingle Bell rapist" and ban together to fight against piggish male behavior in general and eventually take on their hockey-masked, Christmas-caroling assailant. Of course, the women are also sexy as hell, frequently undressed, and ALWAYS under-dressed, which supposedly compromises the feminist message. Why? I'd reckon 100 percent of heterosexual men like to see sexy, undressed women, while maybe 2 percent (a lot of whom are already in prison) really want to see ANY woman violently raped (and I'm not talking about one of those ridiculous Japanese "rape" scenarios here). So for 98 percent of men there is no contradiction here. Many present-day filmmakers feel they need bow down to the altar of man-hating "feminists" like Andrea Dworkin who conflate any expression of male heterosexuality with rape, but I thank god 70's filmmakers didn't. And as for female viewers, are they only allowed to relate to rape victims if they are unattractive, butch lesbians who dress like Lizzie Borden on a cold day? There are some ridiculous scenes (I know I always meet with MY vigilante gang while sitting naked in a hot tub). The end where the gang goes to a deserted zoo to confront the "Jingle Bell rapist" without the one woman who knows karate is pretty dumb. But this movie is also much more believable than most rape-revenge films in that the women don't immediately and easily turn into remorseless fighting/killing machines. Nothing is less believable than the modern-day "butt-kicking babe" stereotype where a 105lb. fashion model takes on guys three times her size just because she knows karate (and, of course, these big guys never do).The gang here is led by Joanne Harris, who played the young girl who successfully seduces Clint Eastwood in "The Beguiled". I've seen Filipino actress Jennifer Lee in various films. Perennial cheesecake actresses Connie Strickland and Anneka DiLorenzo were both in the similar (but more misogynistic) "The Centerfold Girls". This movie is basically a much more naked and violent version of "Charlie's Angels". But, hey, there's nothing wrong with that. . .

HumanoidOfFlesh A rapist hidden behind hockey mask is on the loose.He forces his female victims to sing Jingle Bells during rape.A group of five women learn martial arts and team up to stop his dirty deeds."Act of Venegance" aka "The Rape Squad" has the special place in my heart,because it was along with Wes Craven's "Last House on the Left" the first rape and revenge flick I have ever seen.It's an odd and strangely unsettling thriller with sleaze and misogynistic violence.The script is lurid as it condemns the act of rape and sides with its victims but also presents those acts in an over-the-top and exploitative style.A must-see for exploitation fans.8 out of 10.