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| Maya (Rosario Dawson) is just a smart college student eager for new experiences in Descent (Talia Lugacy, 2007) |
Rape-revenge is one of my least favorite subgenres in horror, mostly because in a rape culture, rape is an all too real horror, and not as often linked to the supernatural (although there are supernatural rapes too). In recent years, more women have tackled this particular subject matter, often in rather unique ways, diverging from the exploitation pics of the 70s that really put the subgenre on the map (such as
I Spit on Your Grave (Meir Zarchi, 1978) or
Last House on the Left (Wes Craven, 1972)). The hardest thing for me is to watch the rape at all--even if there is a great deal of revenge afterwards. I seem to shut down during that scene (or scenes). I vividly remember going to see Martin Scorcese's remake of
Cape Fear (1991) in theaters, and just being "done" after Robert De Niro broke Illeana Douglas's arm and bit her face during her rape...yep, DONE! Since then, I've been really intrigued by how women might represent that scene differently (and yeah, there's usually only one scene rather than a few)
Talia Lugacy's
Descent (2007) really stands out, not only because of its pointed critique of toxic masculinity, but its intersectional approach to both race and gender. Rosario Dawson really shines as the smart, ambitious Maya, who is only a first or second year student (although she looks a bit older) at a local University. Like any young student, she's invited to a party; she's not a heavy drinker, and she's wary of the phenomenal amount of douchebags lurking around every corner.
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| A wary Maya attempts to party |
At this party she meets football-bro Jared (Chad Faust), a gangly white dude who tries some requisite pick up lines on Maya, and then realizing that she's not buying it, says some things that seem really heartfelt. For all intents and purposes, they could be just "meeting cute," but since spectators know damn well what's going to happen, we all just sit in dread waiting for the inevitable. Jared doesn't seem outwardly nasty, and there are no warning flags or sirens to give Maya pause. In fact, even when she comes back to his place after their date at a fancy restaurant, it's not clear what will happen. But it does. Things turn ugly and Maya will never be the same again.
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| Jared (Chad Faust) seems like a sweet date...until he isn't |
Maya's rape is framed almost entirely like the image above, not exploiting their naked bodies, and focusing very closely on Maya's face and her distress. Like any of these scenes, it goes on too long, but is far more brief than most. As spectators, we are entirely focused on Maya's emotional landscape. What follows Maya's ordeal is rather striking. Initially, she becomes more withdrawn, not telling anyone her story, and retreating into a job in retail, where other dickish guys see her as "hot" but unbelievably "cold" for the disinterest she has toward them. Meanwhile, she has a rather transformative summer, and ends up at a nightclub one night filled with people of color, dancing, grooving, getting it on. The vibe is sensual and fun. When she ends up drunk and passed out, the club's DJ, Adrian (Marcus Patrick) takes her under his wing, serving as a protector and a bit of enabler. She slips into a world filled with sex and drugs, but the film never comes off as judgmental, even if we worry about her future after her horrible experience with Jared. She's become jaded, but stronger as well.
Fall arrives, and Maya soldiers on, even becoming a TA for one of her classes (as an undergrad!), but things go pear shaped when she notices that Jared is one of the students, AND she catches him cheating when she's proctoring an exam that he's taking. She calls him on it, and when he intimates that she misses him, she plays along, inviting him on a date where she calls the shots. Audiences anticipate that the revenge aspect of the film has finally arrived, and the film really doesn't get there until nearly the end, focusing far more on Maya's emotional journey prior to the vengeance.
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| Jared enjoys submitting to Maya on their final date |
In the "revenge" scenes in the "rape-revenge" thriller, women avenging their rape(s) tend to get rather stabby and castrating, playing into a male spectator's darkest fears. Women also, unfortunately in my estimation, tend to become very hypersexual in order to seduce the male characters into a vulnerable state, playing into their narcissistic belief that ALL women want them, even after they've brutally raped them (WTF). Jared fits right into this role, really reveling in Maya demanding that he strip, and then blindfolding him and tying him to the bed. It's all in good fun, right? Here, Lugacy does not hold back on the full frontal MALE nudity, and we are served up a whole lot of penis in this film. The camera focuses on Jared's entire vulnerable body, and I'm still on the fence about the final scene, where Maya, with help from Adrian, rapes Jared right back. This scene goes on for a really, really, really, really long time. That two people of color are perpetrating this revenge on this obnoxious white dude is really refreshing, and also downright hard to watch--which seems to be exactly the point. The film asks the question, how much does an "eye for an eye" really get you??
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| Descent takes rape revenge in exciting new directions |
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I recommend seeing the Original Theatrical Version which is rated a totally justifiable NC-17, and really sitting with some of the messages this film is trying to convey. Rosario Dawson's performance is truly remarkable, and its great to see a woman's distinctive voice added to this subgenre's disturbing canon. Coralie Fargeat's
Revenge (2017), made a decade later, makes a good companion piece, and will be streaming on Shudder some time in 2018. A review is forthcoming (I saw it in October at Sitges, and I need another screening to get my thoughts together), but definitely check out
Descent when you can.
