Julia (I) (2014) User Reviews

Modern-day, Reality-based Blood & Gore

[in1984 · 6/10 · 13 February 2015]

6.5 of 10. While the Saw films accomplished the same modern-day, reality-based blood and gore, the extremes and contraptions involved took a willingness to fantasize to believe something like that could happen. With Julia, there's no need for imagination or fantasy and nearly everything that's left to imagination in other films is visualized on screen.

Amongst other parts of it to enjoy are the soundtrack integration and the focus of the film. It doesn't try to be something more or imply something other than what the story is about.

What's missing seems to be pacing and acting and a few unedited non-sequiturs. Otherwise, you get a goth/emo-chick horror with some mystery without suffering through make believe monsters or heroes.

Not half Bad

[zmorganchiswick · 6/10 · 24 February 2015]

Compelling, for the first 30 minutes of the film when the audience is left wondering what this magical form of therapy is that can free a rape victim from regret. When you realise that it involves cutting dicks off things go South a little.

I appreciate the concept that to truly become empowered you have to focus on the enemy in general and not the specific offender. But that doesn't last long and satisfyingly our Heroine cannot resist and punishes the 'nice guy' who raped her, but he really didn't want to.

I enjoyed the way this film went full arc. Julia does drink some vodka, hate f**k and castrate some guys, become a lesbian and torture her offenders but it offers something slightly different from the torture porn genre.

The villain reveal is disappointing but Julia and her aptly named lesbian lover 'Sadie', tag team him to the death. Right before Julia realises Sadie has betrayed her and she kills that bitch too. No riding off into the hoo ha coloured sunset for them.

Let's just say there have been better but there certainly have been worse. An interesting idea with a very typical execution. Yeah, why not?

Therapy at a whole new level

[shawnblackman · 5/10 · 25 September 2016]

This is a rape/revenge film that differs a little bit from the others. Julia is a plastic surgeons assistant who agrees to a date at a man's house only to be drugged then later raped by four men.

While debating what to do she learns of a therapy group that caters to her need for revenge. This is an off the grid group that teaches you confidence and how to kill rapists by actually taking you on a field trip to kill a rapist as a group effort. She gets deeply involved with the group and soon breaks their cardinal rule of killing without telling them.

Some squeamish scenes and tense ones as well but worth the 90 minute trip. A few extra layers in the plot make it worth it.

Above average

[skyrim2011 · 9 February 2015]

The ratings is not really doing this movie justice at all in my opinion. Technically its superbly shot and in this aspect the director has really done a good job. I just loved the soundtrack of this movie and it greatly blends and embellishes to again suit the specific atmospheres. Tracks of Lark, Vuvuvultures and Ske are featured among others. Acting is also above par.

The main issue with this movie has to do with its script that undermines all the positives above. As a man I was uncomfortable watching this. The woman are brutalized by a huge group of almost ordinary educated young men, her male therapists stay faceless until the end of the movie when he is also revealed to be a monster as the "breakthrough therapy" (with the "100% success rate") he sells involves murder. Again, like in so many movies men are portrayed as monsters. The generalizing theme go further when the lead totally reject all males after the incident and become lesbian. I was thinking about how hypocritical the whole movie and gaming industry has become. GTA5 for example is heavily criticized for its stereotyping of women, yet no sex is more stereotyped and dehumanized than males.

I did however realize that one may be a bit oversensitive about the stereotyping aspect. Reason is it would be difficult to make a horror movie without some degree of stereo tying. Also the victims themselves become savagely brutal in their revenge, killing some characters that did not do her harm. Is this the directors way of saying that revenge on this scale turns you into a full spectrum monster? We don't know because she is never caught or show any regret. Or will some viewers see this as a society that made her a vengeful monster playing into the hands of the male hating radical feminists? This is the problem.

Although a morose topic this is definitely worth watching if you can look past the possible thoughts of stereotyping.

Julia

[a_baron · 1/10 · 12 April 2015]

This film has been called a revenge fantasy. A lonely young woman meets a guy on a date, but he drugs her, she is gang-raped, and dumped by the river. She doesn't report the rape but meets a mysterious woman who refers her to what has been called a therapist, a man whose therapy includes some rather gory stuff.

Needless to say this is also very nasty, all the more so because our damsel is a mouse-like creature who clearly needs a little kindness rather than to be thrown into some bizarre plot hatched by a psychopath on the pretext of helping people like her. Instead, she is dragged down to below the level of even her violators.

At the end of the day this film isn't simply deeply unpleasant, it is more than a little confusing. Don't waste your time on it.

Heinous act

[kosmasp · 5/10 · 14 May 2015]

Let me first state that I am completely taken aback by a comment/review that states that men have nothing better to do than rape women (socially-wise) when they meet up. That's putting it in a nutshell, which is still just plain wrong on many different levels. I'm not a fan of the "genre" (if you can call it that), but this movie tries to put some other layers to the whole thing (not that they all work out perfectly, quite the opposite).

But the movie has some strong points (even things I don't agree with) and takes a bit of different path as to what you would expect. It kind of mixes another factor into the whole revenge thing. Not worked out perfectly and the one thing I do wholly agree with the other reviewer is that "American Mary" is far superior. But it wouldn't be fair to judge this movie like that. The technical aspect might not be up to speed with other productions, but this is low budget, no matter how much globalization has evolved ...

Trust Me, Don't Waste Your Time.

[downtherabbithole14 · 1/10 · 16 February 2015]

*this review may contain spoilers* I had high hopes for this movie, I tend to enjoy a good revenge tale. But this was almost unwatchable. Firstly, the main character was incredibly unlikable and very difficult to care about. She shows absolutely no emotion apart from the occasional tear we see roll down her cheek. She's stoic and barely speaks throughout the entire film.

Then there's the issue with the plot making absolutely no sense! Everything that happens is completely illogical. So many things go unexplained.

Why oh why are there so many slow motion sequences? There are a few cool and interesting uses of cinematography but I don't understand why there are so many parts where they just randomly shoot the lead character in slow motion. I think they intended for this to be cool, edgy and artsy but it just makes it seem tedious.

*spoilers ahead*

This movie had me scratching my head in confusion at so many points.

Why did she and the rest of the cult kill innocent people? Is it some sort or crime for a man to flirt? Does a man flirting with a woman in a bar mean he should be castrated?

Why did the random guy follow her to her apartment without any invitation?

Why were there so many lesbian make out scenes while they were covered in blood?

Why did she kill her lover in the end?

What was the deal with the scene at the end with the therapist torturing her?

Am I the only one that wishes they'd explained this cult she got involved in a little more???

Are we supposed to enjoy watching a mousy, stoic girl lose her mind and become a monster?

Bottom line. This movie is pretentious and confusing; ultimately very unsatisfying and poorly done. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. Well, unless they enjoy watching men being castrated in vivid detail for no good reason.

I spit on your Med School

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 21 January 2018]

Nurse Julia (Ashley C. Williams) gets drugged, gang raped, and left for dead. She doesn't report the crime and overhears some women talking about a new therapy. Julia is taken in and is given new self esteem and is told not to take revenge and make it personal. However, being a New Yorker, Julia has got "your personal", right here. This is an artsy I Spit on Your Grave."

F-bomb, rape, nudity (Ashley C. Williams)

Style over substance

[begob · 4/10 · 23 April 2015]

Depressed girl avenges the rape committed on her by annoying frat-boy types.

Second time I've watched this, and I really didn't get anything more than the first time.

Music is great, photography impressive, the actresses look so good in close up. The lead actress in particular has a fascinating face, and I do like a fringe with over-sized spectacles (prescription or not).

But I kept checking every ten minutes how long there was to go. I can't put my finger on it, but the story doesn't compel my interest. A revenger is usually a black & white story that uses explicit violence to keep audience interest - the only explicit violence here is a clock-sice scene, which left me wondering, "The balls! Why not chop off the balls?"

The weird cult thingy doesn't cohere, although the final scene does make sense. In other words, depressed girl ends up just as depressed as she was at the start. C'est la vie. But that's a documentary, isn't it?

Seriously, this needed black humour - maybe the writer/director/producer should have sought creative input. Very impressive in his style, but it deserved something more.

Must see for any fan of this genre

[alex-eastaugh · 7/10 · 20 February 2015]

I just watched this film and came away completely surprised by it. At first I thought it was just another run of the mill horror flicks as I didn't watch any trailers and just went on the movie artwork. How wrong was I. I was so impressed by this film I logged onto IMDb hoping to see some well written reviews of this gem but to my shock Im presented with a 4.4 score!! Who is coming up with this stuff?

Let me just make this simple for you, if you liked the film Drive and don't mind a bit of violence and want a strong female lead then this is the film for you.

Fantastic score and visuals and a real moody vibe to the whole thing. Yeah, some scenes are a little bit unnecessary but I can totally let it off.

Great flick.

7/10

So bad, I booed when it was over.

[manuelasaez · 2/10 · 12 February 2015]

One of the worst films I have seen this year, it is just ridiculous that people get away with making these types of abominations. We have seen the set up before; mousy girl is raped, physically and mentally damaged, seeks revenge. It was done in I Spit on Your Grave, Last House on the Left, etc. and there is a reason why these movies simply retread the same territory with little variation. Where you can vary (such as inventive kills), the movie skips these over almost completely, instead opting to showcase the aftermath. Why make a revenge film if you are going to censor it so heavily? Give me something visceral, gut wrenching and horrific, not this made-for-Chiller-T.V. snooze fest that left me with more questions than I started out with. The acting was decent (surprisingly), and the only real stand out was the soundtrack; Japanese vocals, heavy bass and inventive rhythms make this an audible treat. But the movie itself is so utterly banal, that I was exasperated mind way through at the lack of anything interesting happening, and by the end I was just glad that it was over. Disappointing is an understatement. It was just a weak experience overall.

Great movie!

[skelyrata · 9/10 · 29 October 2015]

I just saw this movie at the Puerto Rico Horror Film Festival. I was surprised that it had a 4.4 score on IMDb. This is a great rape/revenge film with an original twist with a strong lead character, good rhythm, suspense and horror. To make a better comparison, I am a cult fan of "I Spit On Your Grave" (the original) but I admit this movie was very slow and I had to jump to the more interesting scenes. But Julia kept my attention all the time. I wasn't bored for one minute. Matthew A. Brown's script was wonderful and he directed the movie in a great way. Ashley C. Williams captured did an amazing job performing a victim and then a hunter, her transformation from a shy woman to a "femme fatale" was extraordinary. When this movie comes out on DVD I will buy it for sure.

The madness of a woman scorned!

[Zulfmanauthor · 7/10 · 11 March 2015]

'Julia' is a film, which covers the genre of rape and revenge by portraying the story through the mind of the victim. Ashley Williams delivers a stirring performance as a timid woman who is brutally attacked and finds herself trying to recover by joining a violent cult. This movie is strange but innovative which is hard to watch at times yet it's dark and disturbing atmosphere adds to the shocking nature of the story. Many people who have slated this film as a cheap rip off of 'I spit on your grave' have not understood what it is showing and how it is different. This film does not focus on revenge itself but instead on the loss of control driven by the madness and fury within the mind of the victim. The film is extremely explicit and it is meant to be so that the viewer enters the mind of 'Julia Shames' and shares in her need for revenge.

seen it all before...

[tiggersuk · 3/10 · 13 February 2015]

i sometimes wonder just what exactly has gone wrong with both human and cinema evolution that tired old movies about criminal acts and revenge are still being made all be it a female revenge this time but that's hardly anything new what with i spit on your grave, ms45 and various others over the years... Julia is your standard seen it all before nasty rape, left for dead, seeks out and takes revenge on the men who assaulted her type movie, it doesn't leave you feeling thrilled or excited or good or empowered, it just leaves you questioning why you wasted time with it and how come you just never fast forwarded it to its clichéd predictable ending... i do appreciate actors, camera people sound technicians etc all need to make a living and maybe for them this was just another job and a few weeks work but i really don't see how anyone involved could seriously expect the film to be anything other then a very minor success at best... 3/10

A feminazi terrorist like film. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME!

[artyom_aa · 1/10 · 10 February 2015]

Usually I don't like to leave reviews with spoilers but I will in this case because I will be saving you a lot by strongly advising not to watch this trash. The conclusion of this movie is the creation of a terrorist female who likes to kill innocent men and mutilate them in answer to an incident where she was raped. The morality of the entire premise of this film is deeply troubling and disgusting. Moreover, it is extremely depressing through the triumphant ending for the monster female main character.

There is good story no good dialog no good suspense or even drama. It is just pure absurdity mixed with gory disgusting scenes. The reason why I included the feminist side in this review is because of this new trend by feminist film makers that produce garbage where female characters who have been raped or assaulted by men, in a transformation where they become the monster and end up getting away with it. This just makes me sick!

Bloody disgusting

[jessicartim · 1/10 · 7 July 2020]

If you are one of those angry feminists that hates men and wants to kill them just for flirting with you then this movie is indeed your revenge on all man fantasy. I for one absolutely hated it and its message. -10/10

Revealing the true irony, the true paradox, in this class of film...

[A_Different_Drummer · 2/10 · 10 February 2015]

Newbie feature director Matt Brown clearly saw this as his "breakout" work.

Other IMDb reviewers have covered the basic story arc. Sort of an "I Spit on Your Grave" #45, with long stretches of zero dialog, lots of goofy lighting, editing so frenetic you might think you imbibed a forbidden substance before viewing -- even if you did not -- and lighting that favors the dark end of the spectrum, which simply adds to the mayhem that is this very forgettable film.

Not to mention that, if the film should bomb financially, it could be re-packaged as a Youtube how-to on male castration.

So, since we are already knee-deep into this review (or, at least, knee-deep into SOMETHING) let's go a bit deeper.

The core problem with this kind of film -- AND THIS IS IRONY AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL -- is that, if you are a film-maker with artistic aspirations, globalization (where films made in one country are intended for distribution in another) has wiped out what used to be called, in decades past, the "art house" market.

Note that even Tarantino tried to point this out in his own work by trying to "bring back" the genre.

So -- here is the premise of the review, please work with me on this -- even as Modern Society has become so homogenized that opportunities for archetypal rituals of male bonding have been reduced or disappeared, the entertainment biz has similarly reduced or disappeared the opportunities for a film-maker to produce something done primarily to exhibit artistic expression.

To simplify: Limited male bonding opportunities in modern society (can't go to the nearest village ... and pillage) have left (sad to say) gang-rape as one of the few activities that can be attempted today. Even if the aforesaid participants did not really want to commit the act in the first place.

Limited genres of commercially accepted film have left the so-called horror film as one of the only remaining genres in which a director with artistic intent can unleash that intent with any expectation of commercial success ... even if he did not actually want to make a horror film in the first place.

So, the ultimate irony, you have men committing an act they did not actually want to commit (because of limited opportunities) and film-makers memorializing said act because there is no opportunity to make the film they really want to make.

Alternative point of view: if you consider the above to be overkill, let me simply say this is a terrible movie and if you want to see the same theme done correctly, find a copy of American MARY.

Hmmmm not good at all

[Ianwilks1 · 2/10 · 10 March 2015]

Look. To start off with this movie had no real character or character development. At least any that I payed attention to. The acting was below average, the actress playing Julia looks like she's about to pass out...... The whole movie! I could go on about other revenge horror flicks that could top this easily but let's face it if your at this point then your probably gonna watch this garbage anyway. That being said there were a couple of moments that could of had potential but the director just didn't make the grade. The soundtrack at times kinda filled in where the atmosphere was lacking but in the end I don't think even a full orchestra could have saved the end result.Bloody..... Yeah a little. Story...... Yeah a little. Acting..... Ummmm No. Overall Enjoyment..... Hell No.

I've Seen Better Films Such As Meir Zarchi's Cult Masterpiece: I Spit on Your Grave (1978) , Wes Craven's Cult film The Last House On The Left(1972)

[Vivekmaru45 · 3/10 · 13 February 2015]

At least that film was an experience that cannot be forgotten easily. The main point I didn't like with Julia is the shoddy execution of the script. Any capable director would rise to the occasion, but debutante director Matthew A. Brown fails to make any headway with his film.

A really poor cast of characters, with no veteran player to lead them. The background sound-effects are mediocre and do not produce any thrills. The photography and lighting are excellent, but because of the dull plot, all the efforts that were spent by the cameraman are wasted.

The film is about a woman called Julia (Ashley C. Williams) who arrives at someone's apartment and is invited in. Probably she may have been dating the guy through the internet, but this is never revealed in the film. This man gives Julia a drink spiked with succinylcholine. As she lays totally incapacitated, some friends of of this man arrive.

Later on, while fully aware but paralyzed, she is brutally raped by this man and his friends. Afterwards, these men dump her near a riverfront and depart. Julia slowly recovers after the drug wears off. She manages to make her way home, where the viewer discovers that Julia has spent most of her life being abused by various tormentors and has turned to self-harm as a result.

Later Julia overhears someone discussing a therapy that has rape victims taking back power from their attackers. She's introduced to Dr. Sgundud (Jack Noseworthy) through the mysterious Sadie (Tahyna Tozzi) and through Sgrundud's teachings Julia begins to target various men as a way to empower herself by humiliating them. Julia eventually decides to use Sgrundud's methods to seek revenge against her rapists. But unknown to her, Dr. Sgundud has a secret agenda of his own...

Watch the film to see what happens next.

Verdict: See the above mentioned films if you haven't already. Some more recommendations: Wolf Creek 1&2, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise of films(there are too many to list), Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes And Sequel, Eden Lake, Dean Koontz Intensity(1997), High Tension(2003), Inside(2007), James Wan's Saw And Its sequel films by different directors and Eli Roth's Hostel (2005).

a Decent Film, with hidden meanings

[megahort-31386 · 6/10 · 19 March 2015]

Ghost Whisperer meets the Devil.

Revenge movies are always unpleasant to watch. But Julia has an underbelly that is dark.

On the surface it's just another revenge story, but beneath that is the occult, Julia's helpers are more like demons than people.

They take her in her weakness and turn her into one of them.

She goes from destroyed, to destroyer.

She becomes like the devil, stealing men away from life.

If you look at these mentors as the symbols of demons, and not human, as they appear to be, this movie really takes shape.

Typical Rape Revenge

[billcr12 · 4/10 · 15 February 2015]

This has been done before, and better, as with I Spit on Your Grave. Julia(Ashley Williams) seen earlier in the even more bloody Human Centipede, gives a decent performance in the otherwise tedious, dark, and poorly written Juila. It begins with our heroine wearing ugly, oversized glasses walking up the stairs to an apartment for a date with a fellow intern from a nearby New York City hospital. He gives her a drink, which of course is spiked with something to knock out the young lady. Through a series of flashbacks, we are shown her assault by five very angry young men. She overhears a conversation at a seedy bar by women recovering from rape. Of course she pursues them and eventually gets her revenge on her culprits. The movie drags on for ninety five minutes and is a waste of time.

A tight pack of revenge violence, loved it!

[TerribleKatherine · 8/10 · 20 May 2018]

I enjoyed this movie a lot. I found it dark and stylish. I think the cast did an outstanding job, especially Ashley C. Williams. Considering revenge violence is kind of a worn-out genre, this movie managed to bring it a new fresh but a simple pov. A special shout-out to the soundtrack, it is now on my Spotify permanently.

Good Movie But Could've Been Better

[tbenson97 · 6/10 · 19 July 2021]

I really liked majority if this movie, but it lacks in background info. If there was more on the "therapist" and his so called treatment it would've added so much more to the story. Plus, we never know what happens after that ending...if Julia gets caught or how she's doing in general. After all she went through a huge trauma and then even more afterward.

nothing new here

[georgio-26490 · 5/10 · 30 June 2020]

Twisted blood fest , teen rape revenge, castrations and gore. quiet shy girl turns into belladonna with drugs, knives and scalpels. decent acting, great soundtrack, average effects, basic plot and story. spit on my grave rip off to be fair , however, worth a spin

The Trouble With Mary Jane...

[crickwill · 4/10 · 26 December 2019]

Another inferior and inadequate picture bolstered up with Ms.45 and I Spit On Your Grave type promotion.Probably the only people it made any sense to were it's makers.An impish androgyne recruits rape victims to avenge his own sordid past and indulge castration fantasies and the destruction of the male sexual psyche....did I miss anything? Seriously, hands up anyone who feels they could have taken this one out of the director's hands and made a far better movie? One annoying question persisted during Julia's big scene where she settles the score - how on earth does anyone remain coherent and in control of their faculties after just having had both eyeballs sliced out of their skulls? I think most people at the end of this idiotic exercise will feel a bit like poor Sadie.Ultimately cheated.