Watch Defenceless: A Blood Symphony For Free

What a waste of my time!!!

just watch it!

Better Late Then Never

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

This is a hard one to rate. On the plus side, the no-dialogue conceit works quite well, the slow pace is a virtue, and the lead actress manages to be charismatic even without any spoken dialogue. That said there are serious flaws. -the movie looks like it was filmed on videotape, giving it a cheap, unwelcome brightness and sharpness to its visual look. I found this a distraction. -too much of the extreme violence looks clumsy and badly simulated. -while the story is properly simple, it still doesn't always make sense. At the halfway point the lead character is murdered, after the villains previously murdered everyone close to her. OK, except they needed her signature on a property contract--how does killing her solve this??I'd say the film's second half is stronger, when the murdered woman emerges from the sea reborn, as some elemental pre-verbal creature to take revenge. The interlude with the young girl she befriends just after her resurrection is maybe the film's high point. But the flaws are glaring and keep the film from ever really taking flight. Also, yes I know we're in the extreme horror sub-genre, but why such fixation on genital mutilation? Is that needed to advance the story? Shock for shock's sake doesn't impress me. But in the end, I go back to the cheap videotaped look; making this on actual film would have been by itself a big improvement. So, not trash, but only partway successful.

DEFENCELESS is a very "different" kind of film. Blurring the lines between "arthouse" and exploitation cinema, the film is essentially an amalgamation of several genres which are combined generally to good effect. Being that the film is shot without dialogue, it's a good thing that director Mark Savage has a lot to "show" us, and can maintain interest through the feature-length run-time...A woman is embroiled in a shady development deal that she wants no part of, but whose partners will go to any lengths to finalize. When the woman refuses to sign off on the necessary paperwork, the other businessmen resort to extremely underhanded tactics to get what they want. First killing the woman's husband, then raping and killing her lesbian lover (that she takes after her husband's death), and finally raping the woman herself and killing her son. Nine months later the woman is "reborn" as a vengeful cannibalistic mermaid killing-machine with a one-track-mind to punish those that have wronged her...Being a huge exploitation/sleaze fan - there's a lot to like about DEFENCELESS. There are two rough rape scenes (both including a good bit of vag-stabbing), two graphic penile removals, a hinted-at side plot of a kiddie-porn snuff ring, self-mutilation, cannibalism...the list goes on and on. It's apparent both from the film and some other information that I've read on Savage that the director is a big exploitation, XXX "roughie", and Japanese pinku eiga fan - and these touches are all apparent in his film. I enjoy these sort of "nods" to other genres and found them fitting. From a film-making standpoint - though shot-on-video/digital (not sure which), it's clear that Savage cares about how his film looks and took a lot of care in both the actual filming and editing of DEFENCELESS - it doesn't look like your typical no-budget shot-on-hand-held crap-fest that many of these newer "underground" horror films are. With that said, there are several things that I found (for lack of a better term...) "unappealing" about DEFENCELESS. After the woman's "rebirth", her demeanor was almost (unintentionally, I assume) comically robotic. I couldn't help but draw parallels to the reanimated wife in FRANKENHOOKER which seemed out of place for such a "serious" film. The classical music score, though "elegant" in some instances, eventually became repetitive to the point of distraction, especially in the first half of the film. Most of the gore FX seemed limited by what I assume would be budgetary constraints, and were more campy than disturbing, and I may be nit-picking here, but most of the blood in the film appeared extremely syrupy and fake which didn't help the realism-factor. Honestly, it's hard to put my finger on exactly WHY certain aspects of the film left me a bit cold - it's just an overall impression. I feel that DEFENCELESS is definitely a must-see for exploit fans looking for something different, and I applaud Savage for his unflinching and uncompromising vision, and for bringing some originality to the oft retreaded rape/revenge genre. It is obvious that he is a horror/exploit fan making films for those same fans, and that's to be commended. I'll be checking out more of his work shortly and hope that the rest is as decent as this film. A few minor issues with DEFENCELESS that in my book keep it from being a "great" film - but definitely solid, original, and something to seek out...7.5/10

This is going to polarize audiences because half the population out there hate nothing more than someone with a personal vision. The other half admire it. Reviews on here are positive so far, but this was slammed by Variety, and i can understand why. It's an unapologetic blend of high art and grotesque exploitation. You can't categorize it. The wife threatened to walk out of the Monday afternoon screening, but didn't make good on her threat. It took me a while to get comfortable with its dialog-free narrative, but I emerged a true admirer. The set-up is quite straightforward, although the complications mount. A woman, played by a beautiful Australian actress named Susanne Hausschmid (who was new to me), is murdered by real estate developers. She then takes revenge on them -- while dead. Yes, dead! Director Mark Savage hasn't made a film that will please all fans of bloody revenge movies because he's working from his own formula, not one thirty years old. The film has a strong French influence (a very Eric Rohmer-like seduction scene) and isn't possible to categorize. Is it horror? Partly. Is it art-house? Partly. For God's sakes, does it really matter? Do we have to know what it is? It's very different. And very explicit at times. Most importantly, it's highly individualistic. That's why it won't be loved by many. Nobody loves an orphan.

There's no real easy way to describe DEFENCELESS. Surely it's one of the most hypnotising, most brutal and savage films to see release in a long time. And that is terrific news. This is the way films of this genre should be made. Somewhere between true high-art and suspense, Savage manages to keep the viewer on the edge of their seats, using some breathtaking imagery and the amazing feat (these days) of no dialogue. Produced and filmed in a country which has no real support or backing for this kind of film, Savage has to be congratulated for such a fine job. Here's hoping he moves from strength to strength, and can bring further fine tales like this to the screen soon.