Director: Josh C. Waller
Cast: Zoe Bell, Rachel Nichols, Tracie Thoms, Doug Jones, Sherilyn Fenn, Rosario Dawson
Certification: 15
Running time: 99 minutes
Advertised as having a large female cast, RAZE was definitely a title to watch under the judgement of any feminist viewers. However, labelled under the ‘exploitation’ genre, with a narrative containing an extreme amount of violence, the film takes a turn into crazy, nearly-unbelievable town.
Beginning with a blacked-out screen, a message appears detailing how 350,000 American women go missing every year, and that a lot of them are never to be seen again. This then cuts away to a noisy bar scene, with a young couple (and our first female victim) flirting to their hearts’ content. However, when Jamie (Nichols) awakens in a darkened tunnel, and comes face-to-face with the solemn Sabrina, she soon realizes that her evening hadn’t gone completely to plan. Welcome to the coliseum, run by psychopathic couple Joseph (Jones) and Elizabeth (Fenn), where you not only have to fight for your own survival, but also for the lives of your loved ones…
A cross between HOSTEL and THE HUNGER GAMES, Sabrina – along with the remaining girls – are told that freedom will be granted to the victor and that they will be returned to their families, rehabilitated back into normality. But as the battles continue, the women start to get restless, demanding release and a chance to live. However, that’s not to say that Sabrina is a weakling, winning her rounds over and over, guaranteeing the safety of herself and her ‘daughter’. And when push comes to shove (and turns into a vicious punch), she’ll do anything to escape.
As stated at the beginning, the cast is largely female, with men depicted as meat-headed, gun-toting, violent guards. This contrast highlights the film’s huge downfall, with it filled with sexist, misogynistic elements throughout. Granted, the female fighters aren’t naked, but are forced to wear white vest tops and slouchy sweatpants emphasising their figures…and the enormous amount of fake blood splashed about in every scene. The fact stated at the beginning is almost used as an excuse as to where real kidnapped women are taken, trivialising the reality of the crime involved. Treated like animals with the male guards as their masters, the women are kept in cage-like cells and are threatened with a taser if they dare step out of line, making for uncomfortable viewing throughout.
Although Bell and her co-stars give believable, engaging performances (and you really do feel for the women at times), it’s hard to suspend your disbelief for a film as graphic as this (perhaps the reason why we feel for them so much). Although we’ve seen man versus man time and time again (GLADIATOR, FIGHT CLUB), RAZE and its narrative make for an interesting – if unpopular – change, and if the ending is anything to go by then the women depicted in these films don’t have much luck.
Whilst the performances are strong and individual, director Waller just seems to have added misogynistic fuel to the already sexist fire.
[usr=3] RAZE is released on DVD on 16th June.
