NAKED VENGEANCE (1985) *** ½

After her husband is killed by a mugger, former actress Carla Harris (Deborah Tranelli) moves back home with her folks to recuperate.  She quickly realizes that just about every man in town, from the gas station attendant to the gardener to the ice man, is a perv or a letch.  Carla takes her protests to the sheriff, who naturally does nothing.  One night, the guys get drunk and rowdy, and they band together to gang rape her.  When her parents come home unexpectedly, the men gun them down.  Carla has a mental break and is admitted to a hospital for observation but sneaks out of the facility to get revenge on the men who violated her and murdered her family. 

Directed by Video Vacuum Hall of Famer Cirio H. Santiago, Naked Vengeance plays like his version of I Spit on Your Grave.  He does a good job of aping that movie as there are variations on Grave’s gas station, castration, and motorboat scenes.  He even replicates the slow burn opening, although not quite as successfully. 

What makes it stand out is the fact that it’s more action oriented.  There are car chases, fight scenes, and the sequence where the woman-hating all-male posse take arms against Tranelli is a real showstopper.  The finale, an all-out, no holds barred battle between Tranelli and her final surviving attacker is a real doozy too and helps set Naked Vengeance apart from your average Rape n’ Revenge exploitation flick.  Tranelli’s performance also helps propel the film from being merely another I Spit on Your Grave imitator.  She’s quite good during her revenge scenes, calling men “BASTERD!” with lots of gusto.

The only real flaw is the Death Wish-inspired scenes with Tranelli’s murdered husband that bookend the film.  Although it’s satisfactorily wrapped up in the end, these scenes just kind of needlessly add to the already inflated running time.  That said, this is a solid effort through and through and another winner from Santiago.

AKA:  Vengeance.  AKA:  Mad End.  AKA:  Satin Vengeance.