The rape-revenge film is about as disreputable as mainstream exploitation gets, and you won't find one further away from polite society's sensibilities than the outrageous Indonesian action film I Want To Get Even. Though it doesn't unleash the gore and nudity as many of its peers, this one doesn't even blink as it treads into truly dangerous and shocking territory that probably feels even more uncomfortable today than when it opened. Also known on VHS under other titles like Lady Exterminator and Commando Wild Cat, this leans way, way heavier into the rape part than the revenge, so bear that in mind before crossing this threshold.

Working as a ticket handler at a nightclub frequented by very shady types, Irma (Special Silencers' Arnaz) has a deeply dysfunctional marriage to Rudy (Sangra, onetime husband to and frequent co-star with his wife, horror queen Suzzanna), who can only function sexually by smacking her around and swinging her around the room. For some reason Irma sympathizes with his "condition" and promises to always forgive him, even though his abuse obviously jeopardizes the baby she's carrying. Her workplace is a den of sex and drug trafficking overseen by the brutal and sleepy-eyed Cobra (Takengon), who's also jockeying to take over his business partner, Roni (Zuklarean). When Irma falls into the clutches of Cobra and his buddies, they sexually assault her in the woods and plan to silence her permanently. However, she escapes and makes her way back home where Rudy responds by blaming the unborn baby as a curse and telling his wife to get rid of it -- even if it means tossing her out of a speeding car. From there it's one torment after another until Irma and Rudy embark on separate and joint paths to get back at the rocket launcher-training bad guys.

Even taking into account the vast cultural differences from one country to the next, it's tough to know what on earth they were thinking with this one as it seems to shrug off domestic abuse and endorse infanticide as marital therapy at the same time. Granted this isn't really the kind of film you'd watch for any kind of serious social enlightenment, and it's best viewed as some kind of gonzo, irrational spectacle that feels like it's been dreamed up on a wholly different planet. If you're okay with the incredibly mean-spirited first hour (which culminates in a surgery scene that will have you sliding off the couch), there's also a reward waiting when the action kicks in with the psychotic bazooka and martial arts mayhem you've been craving. On top of that there's a fun Giorgio Morodor-style soundtrack that really kicks into overdrive during that finale, not to mention the spectacle of people running around yelling "Cobra!" that makes it feel like a really depraved episode of G.I. Joe.

Presented under the on-screen title Violent Killer, the 2025 Blu-ray release from Neon Eagle is a nice upgrade from the horribly dupey VHS copies that have been floating around for years. An opening disclaimer notes that this presentation isn't up to their usual standards but is better than not having it out there at all, which is hard to contest. It actually looks fine if you've seen enough of these Indonesian exploitation films for context; some shots were quite obviously out of focus or a bit on the soft side, while some noise reduction accounts for some other issues here. It's colorful and properly framed though, which is a large part of the battle here. The DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono options include the wild English dub track (which makes Rudy's character a little easier to take thanks to its sheer absurdity) and the more organic original Indonesian-langauge track, with optional translated English subtitles. If you hunt around a little on the main menu screen, you'll also find a brief video appraisal by filmmaker Joko Anwar (1m31s). An audio commentary by Andrew Leavold (The Search for Weng Weng) is essentially a sequel to his track for Special Silencers as he lays out the essentials of the Indonesian exploitation heyday including its major players involved here. He also makes an amusing aside early on that the gender politics of this film would be a central point of discussion if Kat Ellinger tackled this commentary, and while you don't get that, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas has it covered in the limited edition insert booklet with an essay, "An Eye for an Eye," addressing the specifics of rape-revenge films and Indonesia, the tricky business of assessing the topic across different cultures, and the particular merits of this film as an unrepentant piece of exploitation that prods some very uncomfortable parts of psyche.

Reviewed on July 5, 2025