My quick rating – 3.2/10. The Vindicator opens the way many slashers do. A woman running for her life, chased by someone we’re clearly supposed to fear. Don’t worry, we’ll definitely come back to that. Or at least, the movie thinks we will. From there, we’re introduced to a group of true-crime podcasters who could generously be described as “annoying” and less generously as “a few dipshits with microphones.” Naturally, they’re given the opportunity of a lifetime, getting exclusive access to the last known location of the infamous serial killer known as The Vindicator. What could possibly go wrong?
Instead of journalism, they’re treated to a bargain-bin Saw setup crossed with a live-streaming podcast gimmick. The hosts are locked into a gameshow-style nightmare where The Vindicator himself forces them to play a twisted version of truth or dare. They’re fitted with shock bracelets that supposedly keep them trapped. Bracelets they put on themselves and could absolutely remove just as easily. But hey, the movie needs to happen, so let’s all agree not to think about that too hard.
The “tasks” are where the film really shows its hand. If you’re expecting elaborate death traps or creative brutality, think again. This isn’t Saw. It’s more like Oversharing: The Movie. The killer’s grand plan mostly involves forcing people to answer embarrassing or morally compromising questions on camera. It’s less horrifying punishment and more awkward group therapy session run by a murderer. Riveting stuff.
The acting is, unfortunately, terrible across the board. And while bad acting can sometimes be fun, here it just compounds the real problem – the writing. The dialogue feels like it was drafted during a lunch break in elementary school, revised once, and immediately sent to set. I’m confident I wrote better material in high school without even trying. I bet you did, too. The plot twists, or lack thereof, are especially painful. You will guess the killer almost immediately, not because you’re clever, but because the film gives you no other viable options. It’s like a whodunit where only one person bothered to show up.
And the motivation? I won’t spoil it outright, but let’s just say it relies on the killer playing an absurdly long game with absolutely no guarantee it would ever pay off. If you watch this nonsense, you’ll know exactly what I mean. Add to that moments where victims fail to notice the killer standing practically beside them, and you’ve got a film that regularly insults basic human perception.
To its credit, The Vindicator doesn’t look cheap. The production value is surprisingly decent, and it at least resembles a real movie rather than someone’s home project uploaded with confidence. I should also clarify that despite sharing a title with an ’80s film involving robots (yes, that was a thing), this has absolutely nothing to do with that movie. Too bad, since killer robots might have been an improvement.
Ultimately, The Vindicator hopes to be edgy and witty, trying desperately to be relevant in modern social circles. But what it really manages is to be frustrating, and even comically so. Watch this for an evening only if you enjoy yelling at screens and wondering just how something with this premise managed to go so wrong.
