Do Revenge lands on Netflix today (September 16) – and it's already proving popular with critics. So much so, in fact, that the twisty black comedy is being earnestly compared to campy cult classics Heathers and Mean Girls.
Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train, which is in turn inspired by Patricia Highsmith's novel of the same name, the film was directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson. It centers on Drea (Riverdale's Camila Mendes), an IT girl who falls from grace when a nude video of herself intended for her boyfriend is leaked, and Eleanor (Stranger Things' Maya Hawke), who is shunned by her peers when a rumor about her forcibly kissing another girl starts spreading. Determined to turn their lives around, the pair team up to take down one another's bullies.
Euphoria's Austin Abrams, 13 Reasons Why's Alisha Boe, Ms. Marvel's Rish Shah, and Game of Thrones' Sophie Turner also star, while Sarah Michelle Gellar makes a cameo as The Headmaster.
The New York Times' Amy Nicholson (opens in new tab) describes Do Revenge as "a playful, sharp-fanged satire that feels like the '90s teen comedy hammered into modern emojis: crown, knife, fire, winky face." Elsewhere, The Daily Beast's Coleman Spilde (opens in new tab) boldly calls it a "cackle-inducingly funny" and a "generation-defining masterpiece."
Mama's Geeky Tessa Smith (opens in new tab) claims Hawke and Mendes make a "phenomenal" duo, while Digital Spy's Ian Sandwell promises viewers "plenty of darkly entertaining fun" and Ready Steady Cut's M. N. Miller (opens in new tab) describes the flick as "wickedly entertaining and full of surprises". The Guardian's Adrian Horton (opens in new tab) gives it four stars.
A.V Club's Courtney Howard (opens in new tab)
UPS
Digital
Marvell
SPY
Boeing
Revenge
Wicked
Alfred Hitchcock
Maya Hawke
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Austin Abrams
Patricia Highsmith
Camila Mendes