Taglines: Even bad girls need protection.
Annie’s (Jennifer Blanc) life is in jeopardy after she’s witnessed the horrific rape and murder of her closest friend. Fleeing from two attackers (Ryan Honey, Denny Kirkwood) she stumbles across kyle (Michael Biehn), a recluse living in the middle of the woods. Kyle finds the stillness of the woods comforting. The ruggedly handsome loner stays far from civilization – that is – until a single knock on his door throws his solitary life into chaos. Two worlds collide in this psychological thriller that will make you question your trust in mankind.
The Victim is a 2011 American horror film directed, written and starring Michael Biehn,[1] produced by and co-starring Jennifer Blanc. Thought to be a financial success due to Biehn’s effort selling out theaters across the nation, neither he or producer Jennifer Blanc know final sales figures, due to open litigation with the film’s investors. The film was produced and shot in less than two weeks in Los Angeles in 2010. Most of the principal photography took place in the Topanga Canyon, close to Malibu, California.
Alan Cerny of Ain’t It Cool News characterized The Victim as “a fun sleazy grindhouse film”, in which Biehn was lauded for both giving a good performance and getting good performances out of his actors. Though Cerny stated that Biehn’s directing effort exhibited imperfections such as a driving montage scene that he felt was too long, he appreciated that Biehn understood the genre in which he was working, commenting, “Biehn has a clear path to what he’s shooting for, and for much of the film’s running time, he gets it”, and “It’s a specific genre with a specific style, and working from that, Biehn gets way more right than he does wrong.”
The New York Times wrote, “Directing his own screenplay, Mr. Biehn (working from a story by Reed Lackey) pays more attention to genitals than spatial coherence, unaware that labeling a film grind house doesn’t excuse soap-opera emoting and laughable dialogue. Wait, what am I saying? Of course it does.” The film has a 35% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 17 reviews.
The Victim (2012)
Directed by: Michael Biehn
Starring: Michael Biehn, Jennifer Blanc-Biehn, Ryan Honey, Danielle Harris, Denny Kirkwood, Tanya Newbould, Dana Daurey, Alyssa Lobit, Nicole Bilderback, Phoebe Price, Kym Jackson, Amy Honey
Screenplay by: Michael Biehn
Production Design by: Mark Zambrano
Cinematography by: Eric Curtis
Film Editing by: Vance Crofoot
Costume Design by: Mandy Pauline, Sydney Spratte
Set Decoration by: Sean Gwilliam, Mark Zambrano
Art Direction by: Mark Zambrano
Music by: Jeehun Hwang
MPAA Rating: R for strong violent and sexual content, language and some drug use.
Distributed by: Anchor Bay Films
Release Date: September 7, 2012
Hits: 97
