*Mild spoilers ahead for Shudder’s For the Sake of Vicious

Horror movie lovers, 2022 is starting with an influx of brand-new films from Shudder. This horror flick boom includes a Shudder Original, For the Sake of Vicious, which is about to hit the streaming service. This bloody thriller takes viewers on quite a ride, and here, you will find all the details you need.

RELATED: Movie Review: The Advent Calendar

About the Movie

For the Sake of Vicious is about a brutal Halloween night when a tired nurse, Romina (Lora Burke), comes home to find two men in her home. One of the men, Alan (Colin Paradine), is severely injured and unconscious, while the other, Chris (Nick Smyth), is menacing. As she attempts to navigate this harrowing situation, a group of masked individuals invades the home, and the three must team up if they hope to survive the night.

As the evening progresses, the story tests all three main characters. They must face one difficult situation after another. The question is, can they learn to trust each other enough to survive? Or, will they all meet an atrocious end?

The film was written and directed by Gabriel Carrer and Reese Eveneshen. 

Trigger Warning

The primary trigger warning for this movie is sexual assault on a child. There is also mention of SA involving an adult. However, the focus is on what happened to the child. There are multiple mentions and references to the SA. There aren’t any scenes of the actual act, but some are related to it because it is a predominant plot device.

In addition, there is an enormous amount of blood and gore. If that is not something you enjoy, it would be best to skip this one.

Gabriel Carrer on the set of For the Sake of Vicious

Photo Credit: Jordan J Chute – Wiki Commons

My Thoughts

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started watching For the Sake of Vicious. Given the description, I thought it might be something along the lines of Mischief Night, and I wasn’t entirely wrong. The home invasion story isn’t new, but this movie had a unique spin.

Imagine someone breaks into your home and demands your help. This person fights with the injured person he brings with him once they regain consciousness.

While this is going on, a different group of people enters, and your only help is the first two jerks, who hate each other.

This film is one of the bloodiest horror movies I have seen. Think Saw-level blood and guts. Also, worth noting is that it’s not just blood for the sake of blood. It maintains a realistic depiction, on par with the various injuries. Also, the scenes don’t focus overly much on the result of the damages. Instead, the focus remains on what is causing them.

With that said, while the injuries seem accurate, the endurance does not. Yes, someone could argue adrenaline is what keeps them going. However, the body would eventually reach a breaking point even with that argument.

RELATED: Check out all of our other movie reviews! 

The acting is well done. All three main actors complement each other and have good on-screen chemistry.

Horror movies that take forever to get to the point are one of my pet peeves. One of my favorite things about For the Sake of Vicious is that it does not waste time; it gets straight to the action. I am happy there was no waiting around wondering if anything would happen.

My two most significant complaints are the end and the big fight scene. My issue with the fight scene is that it went on longer than I felt was necessary, and the story seemed lost. It became about the fight itself. As for the ending, I have two issues. The first is that it was underwhelming and disappointing.

Secondly, I was not satisfied with the “why.” Why were the masked men there in the first place? I anticipated the twist halfway into the movie and still didn’t get the answers I needed.

Lora Burke in For the Sake of Vicious on Shudder

Final Thoughts

Overall, I enjoyed For the Sake of Vicious and would watch it again. Check out the trailer below, then head to Shudder to watch the movie. Let us know what you think of this movie in the comments below!

For the Sake of Vicious is now streaming on Shudder.

This article was originally published on 1/6/21.

Movie Review: RED NOTICE

 

 

 

Becca Stalnaker
Latest posts by Becca Stalnaker (see all)