The Victim (2011 film)

Not to be confused with Victim (2011 film).

The Victim is a 2011 American horror film directed, written and starring Michael Biehn,^[1] produced by and co-starring Jennifer Blanc. Thought to be a financial success due to Biehn's effort selling out theaters across the nation, neither he or producer Jennifer Blanc know final sales figures, due to open litigation with the film's investors.^[2]

The Victim
Film poster, North America
Directed by	Michael Biehn
Written by	Michael Biehn Reed Lackey
Produced by	Jennifer Blanc Lucien Flynn Lorna Paul Travis Romero
Starring	Michael Biehn Jennifer Blanc Ryan Honey Denny Kirkwood Danielle Harris
Cinematography	Eric Curtis
Edited by	Vance Crofoot
Music by	Jeehun Hwang
Production company	Anchor Bay
Distributed by	BlancBiehn Productions
Release date	April 12, 2011 (2011-04-12) (AMC Kansas City Festival)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$800,000

The film was produced and shot in less than two weeks^[1] in Los Angeles in 2010. Most of the principal photography took place in the Topanga Canyon, close to Malibu, California.

Plot summary

Annie's (Jennifer Blanc) life is in jeopardy after she's witnessed the horrific rape and murder of her closest friend. Fleeing from two attackers (Ryan Honey, Denny Kirkwood) she stumbles across Kyle (Michael Biehn), a recluse living in the middle of the woods. Kyle finds the stillness of the woods comforting. The ruggedly handsome loner stays far from civilization - that is - until a single knock on his door throws his solitary life into chaos.

Cast

• Michael Biehn as Kyle Limato
• Jennifer Blanc as Annie
• Ryan Honey as Harrison
• Danielle Harris as Mary
• Denny Kirkwood as Coogan

Reception

Stars and co-producers Michael Biehn and Jennifer Blanc promoting the film during an August 23, 2012 appearance at Midtown Comics in Manhattan.

Alan Cerny of Ain't It Cool News characterized The Victim as "a fun sleazy grindhouse film", in which Biehn was lauded for both giving a good performance and getting good performances out of his actors. Though Cerny stated that Biehn's directing effort exhibited imperfections such as a driving montage scene that he felt was too long, he appreciated that Biehn understood the genre in which he was working, commenting, "Biehn has a clear path to what he's shooting for, and for much of the film's running time, he gets it", and "It's a specific genre with a specific style, and working from that, Biehn gets way more right than he does wrong."^[3]

The New York Times wrote, "Directing his own screenplay, Mr. Biehn (working from a story by Reed Lackey) pays more attention to genitals than spatial coherence, unaware that labeling a film grind house doesn’t excuse soap-opera emoting and laughable dialogue. Wait, what am I saying? Of course it does."^[1] The film has a 35% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 17 reviews.