While "Savaged" came off as a movie with a ludicrous storyline, if you read the synopsis prior to watching the movie, then appearance do deceive. Although while the storyline was sort of too far out there, then the movie actually turned out to be entertaining.

And what made the movie entertaining, was how macabre and graphically brutal and visually detailed the movie was. The make-up and special effects team really made this movie what it was. And it is for that alone that the movie is well worth watching.

The story does bear some resemblance to revenge movies such as "I Spit On Your Grave" and the like. But add an extra ingredient to the mix, that being the spirit of a long dead Indian (native American, that is) taking up residency in the body of a dead and abused young woman to seek vengeance for his own sake and the sake of the woman. Right, I told you that the storyline wasn't all that great. The spirit of a dead Indian was just a little bit too far fetched.

I will say that the acting in the movie was great, and people did good jobs with their given roles and characters.

But hats off to the special effects department who worked on "Savaged". They really worked their magic here, and it was a nice visual treat - albeit quite brutal and gory - to see how Zoe slowly, but surely, was decomposing and coming apart. That was what really worked for me, because there were so many awesome details and effects here, and they just punch you in the gut and leave you to sit there and just take it all in. Thumbs way, way up for the special effects and make-up people who worked on "Savaged".

The graphic violence in the movie was nicely executed and really came off as being realistic. Although it was brutal, it was nowhere near the levels of extreme as seen in the remake (and the sequel as well) of "I Spit On Your Grave".

One thing that should have been made differently was the ending. Are you kidding me? What a stupid way to end an otherwise great movie. When the fiancée finally get out of captivity and found the remains of his dying (or undead?) fiancée, he just doused her with gasoline and set her ablaze. Wait, what? That was just idiotic on an unfathomable scale. Throughout the entire movie he has been searching for her and trying to come to her rescue, and then as he finally finds her, he just sets her on fire? No, no, no! That was just spitting and slapping the audience in the face.

Despite a questionable supernatural subplot to the storyline and a horrible ending, then "Savaged" is well worth a watch. Just be warned, that the visual violence in this movie is quite graphic and might just not be suitable for everyone.

Story wise you're not going to get anything too exceptional, though the "touch" (or twist if you want to call it that), might be appealing to some. Other than that, you do have a lot of criticism, if you want to look at it that way, about America in general. Which is a bold move, considering that is the market this is supposed to make money in that country.

On the other hand, it's obvious that it tries to leave old thinking behind and is about tolerating. The whole "native" revenge thing is convoluted though, not that you'd expect a movie like this to make much sense anyway. The effects are pretty decent for a movie with a budget limitation as this one had.

SAVAGED is nothing more than a supernatural spin on the I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE storyline. A deaf-mute girl is travelling by car through the desert when she accidentally witnesses a murder committed by a gang of thugs. With no intentions of letting her leave alive, they take her back to a house where she is raped and abused, before finally being killed in an escape attempt.

At this stage the story begins properly. The girl is brought back to life by a Native American shaman while the spirit of a long-dead Native American war chief hops on board. From then on it's an orgy of mean-spirited violence as the girl goes on an odyssey of vengeance and gruesome, body-mangling horror. To add to the gore effects, she's a literal shambling corpse, her body gradually breaking down thanks to the effects of the plot events.

SAVAGED is a pretty typical but well made example of this revenge-horror genre. The gore effects are plentiful and only tempered by some less-than-impressive low budget CGI which could have been done without. The script is lean and pared down, focusing on the action which is always a plus, and Amanda Adrienne gives a heartbreaking performance as the put-upon girl. Not exactly an enjoyable movie, this, but an entertaining experience all the same.