Suspected paedophile child-killer Seely (Kenneth Griffith) is released by the police due to insufficient evidence. Pub landlord Jim (James Booth) and Harry (Ray Barrett), the fathers of two of the murdered children, decide to abduct Seely and force a confession from him. Together with Jim's son Lee (Tom Marshall), they bundle the man into their car and take him to the pub, where they push him into the cellar. Things get out of hand, however, and Seely is beaten up by Jim, Harry and Lee, and then strangled by the publican. The men presume Seely to be dead and try to figure out how to dispose of the body, but it later turns out that their victim is still alive, leaving the abductors with the problem of what to do next. Meanwhile, Jim's wife Carol (Joan Collins) discovers the man in the cellar, as does Jim's young daughter Jilly (Zuleika Robson), the situation spiralling more and more out of control.
Revenge starts off in great style, with the tense abduction, brutal beating and apparent killing of Seely, but once this part of is over, the film rapidly runs out of steam, as though the writers didn't know where to go next (at least until the conclusion). The script treads water for a long time, with the characters arguing amongst themselves about how they should handle the problem, whilst trying to keep a couple of pesky policemen at arms length, all of which gets rather repetitive. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the film is the question of Seely's guillt: is the man in the cellar really a child-killer, or have they got the wrong man? This eventually comes into play in the final act, when Jim comes to believe that Seely is innocent and tries to make amends... at least until he leaves the man in the pub alone, and Jilly's pretty friend Lucy comes a-calling...
Moderately violent, with some cheap titillation from Collins (the actress appearing in her underwear), Revenge is a passable piece of British sensationalism/exploitation, but I couldn't help but feel that director Sidney Hayers could have pushed the boat out further with the overall grittiness.
