Written and Directed by Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli
Starring Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Anna Maguire, Jesse LaVercombe, Obi Abili
Runtime: 1 hour 47 minutes
Currently playing Sundance Film Festival. To be released on Shudder Mar 25.

by Gary M. Kramer, Staff Writer

The opening moments of Violation feature an animal playing with a carcass in slow motion. It is an obvious (and apt) metaphor for what is to come in this revenge thriller written and directed by Dusty Mancinelli and Madeleine Sims-Fewer.

The thin plot has Miriam (Sims-Fewer) and Caleb (Obi Abili) paying a visit her sister Greta (Anna Maguire) and brother-in-law, Dylan (Jesse LaVercombe) at their remote country cabin. There are tensions; Miriam and Greta have been estranged, and Miriam’s relationship with Caleb is also strained. Moreover, there is a sexual tension between Miriam and Dylan, who genially flirt walking through a forest. But a later scene by a fire, where a possibly drunk Miriam kisses Dylan, leads to her awakening later as he is having sex with her. This crosses the line.

Violation uses arresting visuals—closeups of insects (some of them trapped), and body parts—to communicate its sense of dread, and the soundtrack features sinister music to up the ante. But the filmmakers are going more for psychological horror than bloodletting, although there is a very visceral scene featuring that very act. 

The film’s big set piece has Miriam luring Dylan with the promise of sex, plying him with alcohol, blindfolding him, stripping him naked, and then having her way with him. However, Miriam’s idea of getting it on involves cudgeling Dylan, not cuddling with him. This audacious, extended sequence gives both performers bravura moments. LaVercombe admirably plays being captive and naked. He sports a massive erection during the seduction portion of the scene, and displays some real physicality trying to extricate himself from his compromised situation once he realizes what Miriam has intended. But it is Sims-Fewer’s show. The cowriter/director depicts Miriam’s crime, from an unpleasant scene of her vomiting to her skillfully trying to physically process what has occurred. (Violation makes a great calling card for her clean up services). Oddly, there is less emotional investment in why she commits the crime, and more about will she get away with it. Viewers may be torn in their sympathy for Miriam, which actually works in Violation’s favor.

But the film is told out of sequence, toggling back and forth between timelines which dilutes the power had the narrative been told chronologically. There is an interesting exchange between Greta and Miriam that indicates the latter’s capacity for wickedness. Another conversation, between Miriam and Dylan by the fire, about people being a combination of Hitler and Christ, traverses this same territory. These discussions of good and evil reveal Miriam’s character in broad strokes. 

Violation often talks out of both sides of its mouth. While Miriam is righteously upset about Dylan’s rape of her, she does not take the hint when Caleb clearly indicates he is not interested in sex with her when she tries to initiate something in bed. Likewise, a curious scene has Miriam inserting herself in a fight between a couple of strangers, Ivan (Jasmin Geljo) and Jelena (Cynthia Ashperger), when she witnesses Ivan behaving abusively towards Jelena. The scene is more superfluous than illuminating.

Even when Miriam recounts her dreams—one involves Greta hanging herself, another about seeing her late cats—the meanings are meant to be portentous. But Violation is best when it revels in its ambiguity. The film’s quiet, ominous ending may be its most unsettling moment—other than what transpires between Miriam and Dylan in the film’s centerpiece.

Sims-Fewer does deliver a very alluring performance and watching her vacillate between sincere and sinister is enjoyable. Violation may rely on using symbols and stories to explain Miriam’s behavior, but given the film’s impressive visuals, that is not a bad thing.