10 Intense Horror Movies You (Probably) Haven't Seen

Coralie Fargeat's rape revenge picture, aptly and straightforwardly titled Revenge, may seem simple enough on the surface, but it packs an invariably gruesome and hallucinatory trip.

Impaled on a tree and left for dead, the privileged socialite Jen (Matilda Lutz) must fight for her life against the elements and a trio of sleazy hunters hell bent on covering up their crimes. Swiftly learning the harsh realities of a cruel world, she adapts to her surroundings in an effort to turn the tables on her pursuers and seek some kind of justice.

With brutal kills, a hit of peyote, a self-branding scene, and a few grim nightmares just for good measure, the film is replete with visuals that marry Evil Dead (the remake), American Psycho and hints of Nicolas Winding Refn, overlaid on a dusky desert palette.

But, far from the trashy exploitation flicks of yore – I Spit On Your Grave (1978/2010), The Last House On The Left (1972/2009), and perhaps its most obvious forebear, Deliverance (1972) – Revenge offers a more empowered, semi-feminist picture. By repositioning the basic components of these features and reclaiming the narrative, it turns the entire venture into a worthwhile piece of cinema.