Julia (FILM REVIEW)

Julia Film Review by Kam Williams



Rape Victim Resorts to Unorthodox Therapy in Grisly Revenge Drama


Julia Shames (Ashley C. Williams) was already damaged goods before she decided to go out with Piers (Ryan Cooper), a handsome med student with a hidden agenda. Despite having been in analysis for years, the troubled survivor of serial sexual abuse had scars on her arms from repeatedly trying to commit suicide with razor blades.

But bad turned to worse during Julia's date with Piers, when he and several pals proceeded to gang-rape her after spiking her drink with the knock-out drug, Rohypnol. And when the sadistic creeps were through getting their kicks, they left her lying along the banks of a moonlit river, fully expecting her badly-beaten corpse to be carried out to sea with the next high tide. 
 
However, Julia managed to drag herself to safety, though she was too ashamed to report the incident to the police. Instead, she blamed herself for the attack, and dealt with the violation by slitting her wrists slightly and by soaking her woes at a women-only bar located in her neighborhood in lower Manhattan. 
 
There, she finds a sympathetic shoulder to lean on and loins to lock with in Sadie (Tahyna Tozzi). The supportive spirit/lipstick lesbian eventually introduces Julia to Dr. Sgundud (Jack Noseworthy), a shrink who employs an unorthodox approach to healing women like Julia. 
 
His bizarre therapy involves having his patients take out their frustration on rapists, whether by murder or by slicing off their private parts. Since Julia's at the end of her rope, she agrees to give it a try, although she's not supposed target any of the guys that assaulted her. Of course, she forgets about that rule as soon as she passes one of her attackers on the street, and she morphs into a bloodthirsty vigilante bent on revenge. 
 
Written and directed by Matthew A. Brown, Julia is a grisly affair which can't decide whether it wants to be a horror flick or a tale of female empowerment. Either way, the combination proves gratifying enough, provided you don't mind watching a heroine playing judge, jury and knife-wielding neuterer. 
 
A squirm in your seat saga serving up castration as a eunuch experience!


Very Good (3 stars)
Rated R for profanity, sexuality, drug use, gruseome violence, brutal rape and graphic nudity.
Running time: 95 minutes
Distributor: Archstone Distribution


To see a trailer for Julia, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpIM2WwHqWg