Vendetta is a 2015 American vigilante action film directed by the Soska sisters starring Dean Cain, The Big Show, and Michael Eklund. It is the first film in the "Action Six-Pack" series. The film was released in a limited release and through video on demand on June 12, 2015.
Contents
Plot
Hard-nosed Chicago police detective Mason Danvers and his partner Joel Gainer successfully ambush and arrest Victor and Griffin Abbott, a notorious crime syndicate duo of brothers. However, three months later, the case collapses and the brothers are released from custody after a key prosecution witness mysteriously vanishes. Seeking retaliation, Victor breaks into Mason's home. Mason receives a taunting phone call from Victor and races home with Gainer, only to arrive too late; Victor brutally beats Mason's pregnant wife, Jocelyn, to death before allowing himself to be arrested by the arriving officers.
Devastated by the loss of his family, Mason spirals into aggression. He tracks down the remaining brother, Griffin Abbott, and executes him in cold blood. Mason is subsequently arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment, deliberately ensuring his incarceration at Stonewall Correctional Facility—the same maximum-security penitentiary where Victor is currently serving his time.
Upon arrival, Mason discovers that the prison is completely dominated by Victor, who operates a lucrative, unrestricted criminal enterprise from within the facility. This system is actively enabled by the corrupt Warden Snyder, who had a pre-existing financial arrangement with Victor contingent on his outside business operations. Snyder intends to use the volatile dynamic between Victor and Mason to her advantage.
Victor immediately targets Mason, ordering his loyal faction of inmates to assassinate the former detective. Mason survives a near-fatal ambush in the prison laundry room and begins systematically hunting down and killing Victor's enforcers one by one. Realizing that Victor's personal feud with Mason is disrupting the prison’s internal economy and threatening her operations, Snyder withdraws her protection from Victor, explicitly stating that he is no longer of use to her while locked in an escalating turf war.
The conflict culminates in a chaotic, full-scale prison riot orchestrated by the volatile environment. Seizing the breakdown of authority, Mason confronts Victor directly. After a brutal physical brawl, Mason successfully kills Victor, fulfilling his revenge. With Victor eliminated, Mason turns his attention to the systemic corruption within the facility, ultimately exposing and dismantling Snyder's illicit criminal ring.
Cast
Dean Cain as Mason Danvers
The Big Show as Victor Abbot
Michael Eklund as Warden Snyder
Kyra Zagorsky as Jocelyn Danvers
Ben Hollingsworth as Joel Gainer
Aleks Paunovic as Griffin
Adrian Holmes as Drexel
Jonathan Walker as Lester
Juan Riedinger as Booker
Uros Certic as Marco
Matthew MacCaull as Ben
Paul Anthony as "Daddy Mak"
Production
Vendetta was filmed in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada.
Vendetta was part of a six-film deal WWE Studios made with Lionsgate that will be releasing WWE's Action Six-Pack, a series of unconnected action films.
Release
Vendetta received a limited theatrical release. It was released to theaters and video on demand on June 12, 2015.
Reception
The Hollywood Reporter described the film as "the sort of B-movie violent actioner that makes you feel your testosterone level rising as you watch it", while the "screenplay offers no surprises, mainly serving as a springboard for the endless series of fight scenes in which Cain demonstrates that he's become a serious movie badass." The Soska sisters "prove themselves quite proficient at staging the brutal skirmishes which inevitably lead to a climatic prison riot."