Violation

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Violation

2020

1h 47m

Drama

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

108 Reviews

75%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

With her marriage about to implode, Miriam returns to her hometown to seek solace in the comfort of her younger sister and brother-in-law. But one evening a tiny slip in judgement leads to a catastrophic betrayal, leaving Miriam shocked, reeling, and furious. Believing her only recourse is to exact revenge, Miriam takes extreme action, but the price of retribution is high, and she is not prepared for the toll it takes as she begins to emotionally and psychologically unravel.

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Critics Consensus

Violation presents a powerful depiction of one woman's trauma -- and its uncomfortably gripping aftermath.

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Katherine McLaughlin

Sight & Sound

May 11, 2021

Madeleine Sims-Fewer co-writes, co-directs and stars as Miriam in a daring and referential debut that questions the nature of revenge.

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Cody Corrall

Chicago Reader

Apr 5, 2021

The culmination of a film career built on interrogating rage, justice, and the intangible promise of catharsis.

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Steven Nguyen Scaife

Slant Magazine

Apr 2, 2021

3/4

Violation impressively pushes against the typically straightforward trajectory of the rape-revenge film.

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Manuel São Bento

MSB Reviews (Ghost.io)

Jul 24, 2023

B

Violation is one of the most visually shocking, gruesome, disgusting films I’ve seen in quite some time. An extremely dark path of revenge told through an interesting nonlinear storytelling structure.

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Paul Lê

Nightmare on Film Street

Jul 23, 2023

8/10

There is an unapologetic rawness to this visceral movie that plucks it from the crowd and places it squarely in its own category.

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Alessandra Rangel

InSession Film

Mar 15, 2023

A

Violation is an unsettling tale of vengeance exalted by haunting chants and a gloomy cinematography that enrich the feeling of tension.

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Mike W

@ManiManyMovies Aug 24, 2026

I'm gonna be honest, I'm still not 100% sure I know what happened in this movie as far as the timeline goes, but that's probably because I just wasn't paying attention to some of it. This movie is a slow burn, but once it gets rolling, it's punch after punch after punch. The movie completely earns the gore warning up top and probably could have used an emetophobia warning too (IYKYK). It's a bloody, violent tale of revenge that really highlights parts of the struggle of abuse survivors that not many other movies touch on. 4/5 because I do feel like the timeline splits could have been a little more clear.

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Jeffrey P

@vanillavoodoo1 Mar 21, 2026

That stupid Miriam... starts out doing some really interesting things with the camera in wilderness settings, then I guess they ran out of budget or got bored because it goes downhill once they move indoors and becomes mostly a series of pointless close-ups. The lead character is idiotic, the story was boring and slow and borderline stupid, plus - it jumps around in an almost incoherent manner. Everything after the main event is absolutely nothing to care about unless one likes their mind being slowly grinded for nothing. For how this ended, it should have been a 30-minute short with the rest of it chopped off... what was the imaginary violation the stupid Miriam was worked up over anyways?

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Veers R

@Veers Feb 9, 2026

Sorry, no. This was essentially a feature length snuff film, with a (bonus!) incredibly detailed and lengthy instructional on body disposal. There was some good acting here, but entirely on the margins. Disturbing doesn't even begin to describe it. The enthusiastic reviews only make it more so. WTF?

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claire W.

@claire77 Jan 20, 2026

so deranged. I can’t get it out of my mind.

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Rich C.

@Cordu0702 Jan 17, 2026

Loved the lead actress in this film, but totally lost at the end of the film.

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Frank G

@FrankG23 Jan 16, 2026

Undeniably well made film. You may not like it. It may be too much for you. But the rawness and the excessive use of soft-core porn was necessary to show the power of violation. Predator and prey themes throughout; Fox and rabbit, spider and fly, woman and man… (interestingly, the main character who was violated tells her husband not to kill the spider while she’s planning her revenge on man.)

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Madeleine Sims-Fewer

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Synopsis

With her marriage about to implode, Miriam returns to her hometown to seek solace in the comfort of her younger sister and brother-in-law. But one evening a tiny slip in judgement leads to a catastrophic betrayal, leaving Miriam shocked, reeling, and furious. Believing her only recourse is to exact revenge, Miriam takes extreme action, but the price of retribution is high, and she is not prepared for the toll it takes as she begins to emotionally and psychologically unravel.

Director: Dusty Mancinelli, Madeleine Sims-Fewer
Screenwriter: Dusty Mancinelli, Madeleine Sims-Fewer
Production Co: MPI Media Group
Genre: Drama, Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 25, 2021
Runtime: 1h 47m

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