The Assault (2014 TV Movie) User Reviews (9)

Geeky Randy's summary

[Geeky Randy · 6/10 · 23 February 2015]

Lifetime Movie inspired by the 2012 Steubenville High School rape case. Cheerleader Vega attempts suicide by self-immolation, setting into motion events that could make the community's beloved football team accountable for a very serious crime. Very dramatic for the better. Still, way too cookie-cutter in terms of structure, and the story unravels more like a mystery/thriller than a drama with something important to say. There's also the need to explain too much, indicating an underestimation of the viewer. Khandi Alexander is memorable as Detective Jodi Miller. Buckner's first role in seven years. Good if you have nothing better to do.

**½ (out of four)

Decent Production and acting doesn't make up for the unrealistic and unbelievable plot

[terrsgc · 5/10 · 29 November 2014]

Lifetime does a lot of movies warning kids of what can happen if they aren't careful, and most of them present a realistic story that might actually happen that way. This movie isn't one of those. Still, the message is right and the story is interesting enough, even if it is totally unbelievable. Also, the acting and directing are decent enough. While I feel the father could have been just a little more devastated than he was presented, the portrayal was far better than the usual rabid angry dad most such movies would have. The main problem I have with the movie that I cannot believe the story presented would ever happen that way in real life.

For parents: The subject matter is a gang rape ... enough said.

Several issues I had with the plot:

1) A girl pours gasoline over herself and lights a lighter, setting only her arm on fire. And, her ex-boyfriend tackles her and somehow puts out the fire without even a blanket? Gasoline is far more volatile than presented. Don't try this at home, kiddies.

2) The girl is released from the hospital on some contrived-sounding explanation that her suicide attempt was some sort of temporary PTSD and the Doctors know it won't happen again? It sounds so made-up, it would have been far better if they simply didn't bother to explain.

3) It is stated or implied that video evidence was posted to the internet, and somehow the culprits were able to retrieve it before the police could get a look at it or copies. Once it's out there, it's out there.

4) The victim just happens to voice an objection which, by clipping the beginning and what comes after, can be made to look like she was consenting to be gang banged? I do not believe a girl confronted with that situation would say NO that way. It came across as a contrived piece of lazy writing.

5) The culprits made video evidence? This was an absolute clear-cut case of gang rape, not some other form of sexual assault foolish high school kids might think was minor. Not one of the several perps objected to taking video of their crime?

6) She screamed like a banshee. There were several people downstairs, and the music wasn't all that loud. Why didn't someone burst in on them?

7) She was conscious through the entire event, and can remember none of it? Alcohol can cause some memory black-outs, but the whole thing? At no point did anyone say she was roofied. I don't recall the cops even checking? Date rape drugs remain in the hair until it grows out to the point it's cut away. We are talking a couple years the evidence would remain.

Assault Hurts **1/2

[edwagreen · 6/10 · 25 October 2014]

Forever predictable film where high school jocks go wild after a game and gang rape a high school cheerleader who had just broken up with her boyfriend.

The girl was very much drunk when the crime was committed so who in heaven's name is going to believe her?

The girl's widowed father seems to be sedate during this whole affair until there is definite proof of what has occurred.

I know that we have technology and blogs to show what is occurring, and yet more and more of these tapes keep appearing throughout the film.

Film proves that guys can't get whatever they want and that coincidentally the high school coach's sister is investigating the case and will not give her brother any slack for essentially claiming that young guys shall be young guys.

Are prized players in a football town above the law?

[Wuchakk · 6/10 · 24 April 2023]

A cheerleader at a high school in Eastern America reports that she was raped while partying with some football players at the school. Was it a case of kids just being kids while drinking or was a crime committed? And, if so, can it be proven?

"The Assault" (2014) is a Lifetime production inspired by The Steubenville High School rape of 2012 by the Ohio River in eastern Ohio. It mixes "Are You in the House Alone?" (1978) with the theme of football players taking advantage of cheerleaders observed in "The Swinging Cheerleaders" (1974), which is a worthwhile 'B' flick despite the exploitive title.

The milieu is the same as "The Rage: Carrie 2" (1999), just minus the telekinesis. The horror here is more mundane, which makes it more horrifying in a way. Remember, this was based on a real-life story.

The 'Stockman' sequence needed the kinks worked out and there are some contrivances, which compels me to detract points. But, otherwise, this is a well-done high school drama on a TV budget.

The film runs 1 hour, 33 minutes, and was shot in Worcester, Massachusetts, which is a half-hour drive west of Boston. The school is actually Clinton High School in Clinton, which is 10 miles NE of Worcester. There are several nice aerial shots of the area.

GRADE: B-/C+

Typical and Topical TV Movie

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 7 October 2014]

Dressed as a cheerleader, an attractive young woman walks tearfully onto a high school football field and sets herself on fire. Fortunately, she survives with only minor arm burns, thanks to handsome football player Pierson Fode (as Reed Johnson). In the hospital, we discover more about our heroine - specifically, cute 17-year-old Makenzie Vega (as Samantha "Sam" Gleason) reports being sexually assaulted by a football player. Later, "The Assault" allegedly involves more players. Kind and exceptionally sympathetic police detective Khandi Alexander (as Jodi Miller) is assigned the case. She views Ms. Vega as a brave young accuser, but realistically notes a prosecution will be difficult as Vega was drunk and doesn't recall the incident...

If it were any more predictable, a video of the gang-rape would turn up and prove the victim's case; it's also possible a flashback could be employed. Writer Jennifer Maisel makes Vega more interesting with single father Gary Weeks (as Dan) and director Jason Winn adds hints that her childhood friend Amy Bruckner (as Frankie) may want a same-sex relationship - but neither really lifts the drama above ordinary. Malik Yoba (as Tim Miller) plays the conflicted coach and Christopher Foley aka Cristopher Knight Roberts (as Christopher "Chris" Burch) tackles the main villain role well; both have effective scenes with Ms. Alexander. Photographer Brian Crane favors intimate over-the-head-and-shoulder scenes and John Stimpson edits them nicely.

***** The Assault (9/20/14) Jason Winn ~ Makenzie Vega, Khandi Alexander, Gary Weeks, Christopher Foley

Villains are villains regardless...................

[Dphilly521 · 8/10 · 23 September 2014]

Although I generally do not sympathize with those who get too drunk to remember events, "The Assault" greatly succeeds in driving home the all-too-realistic point that there are individuals who take very unfair advantage of such vulnerabilities, use it for personal gain while going way out of line, and then scapegoat-make to deflect blame.

In a perfect world, no one would get so drunk. On the other hand, society has its share of menaces and extremely bad influences regardless of states of intoxication involved. This portrayal is frighteningly accurate.

With a decent actress portraying the main character, a convincing policewoman determined to bring the wrong-doers to justice, and a no-nonsense father rightfully willing to stick up for his daughter, "The Assault" is genuinely interesting, suspenseful, and cautiously entertaining from start to finish.

Exposing the Big Lie

[lavatch · 8/10 · 16 January 2021]

In "The Assault," the camera lenses used to photograph the exterior scenes evoked a grayish haze throughout the film. It was as if the sun never shined on the depraved Clifton community as the tragic events unfolded.

The focus of the narrative is the heroic efforts of Samantha "Sam" Gleason to expose a violent assault she experienced from the Clifton High School football team. Because football is the lifeblood of the community, the town rallies around the players in anticipation of the big game. But Sam is relentless in her pursuit of the evidence.

One of the most compelling characters in the film was the detective Jodi Miller, the sister of football coach Tim Miller. It was only suggested briefly that in her past, Detective Miller had experienced something similar to Sam. The bonding of the two characters based on a horrific experience was the most moving part of the film, as the investigation moves forward sporadically.

Sam also had a loyal supporter in her dad Dan, as well as a faithful friend in Frankie, who helps to uncover audio and visual evidence. At the big Homecoming Week game at Clifton High, a creative plan will be devised by Sam, Jodi, and Frankie to expose the team. While the tactics used may be implausible, it was a moving ending to a film with a relentless intensity and a heroic central character.

Good Film, laugh a minute

[lilpest9 · 10/10 · 20 September 2014]

This was one of the funniest films I've seen in a while. It had everything one would expect from and love about a Lifetime movie: lead actors who can barely emote, terrible dialogue that oftentimes makes no sense, a heavy handed message that they hit you with harder than a football player hits his wife, homoerotic and incestuous undertones, misunderstandings of technological innovations, and I could go on and on about the great features of this film. It starts with the lead character (let's call her Cheerleader, who can remember the names of these people?) setting herself on fire at a football game and it just gets better from there. At the hospital the doctor tells us she was "sexually assaulted" which we can all tell means she was brutally gangraped by the whole football team. Eventually Cheerleader becomes BFFs BleachBlondDyke and they start sleeping together and they work with HeroicBlackPolicewoman to solve the case and everybody lives happily ever after. And it ended with a blatant lie of a statistic which is always fun.

Assault

[LindsayNshelva · 10/10 · 19 September 2020]

Please let me watch it I really want to watch that movie