I have been a huge Zoe Bell fan since Xena: The Warrior Princess and Death Proof. I have loved Tracie Thoms since I discovered her existence in Wonderfalls and once again, Death Proof. When I heard that they would star in Raze, I knew that I would have to see it. It must have been in theaters for only a few brief seconds because I had to wait until it was out on DVD. When I saw it last night, I thought that Raze had good bones: the promise of a good story with character development on the drawing board and great talent, but the actual execution was divided between the story and the fighting spectacle. I didn’t enjoy my first viewing. Still I was fascinated. After watching the bonus features, I confirmed my suspicions. The scenes that ended up on the cutting room floor should have stayed in the movie. The short film that it was based on should have stayed put as the first part of the film. Today I decided to rewatch most of the movie armed with my special features knowledge and was stunned by how scarily great it could have been. First, Raze confronts the audience with a devastating reality: a patriarchal society that creates a false choice between obeying conventional female roles or asserting female power (allusions to maenads and Sachmis) and discourages team work (crabs in a barrel) only wants to control and consume that power. When actually confronted with the reality of the second choice, that society only seeks to conquer and/or reintegrate this power into society. The story tantalizingly alludes to an ancient Greek order passed down through generations of sons in this Dionysian/Bacchanal ritual both literally and figuratively (there is a vineyard). Second, Zoe Bell and several of the other actresses are some of the best stuntwomen in the business so to see them do what they do best is a real treat. I’m really frustrated that the audience wasn’t given more long shots and fewer cuts. I am aware that the size of the arena prevented this, but another location with similar visuals should have been ideally chosen. The last half hour and first fight are must see scenes for those who just want to see great chick fights and are less interested in the story. I found most of the fight scenes in the middle boring if the character wasn’t well developed. Third, it was great to see some actors who don’t usually get a lot of screen time: Sherilyn Fenn, Doug Jones (usually behind a mask and a lot of special effects), Adrienne Wilkinson (appeared as Xena’s daughter in Xena: The Warrior Princess) and Nicole Steinwedell (appeared towards the latter seasons of The Unit). Finally, even though ultimately, the societal forces are greater than the individual, there is still an impressive call to resistance and a struggle to hold on to one’s humanity. Think Spartacus. “I fight for my daughter!” I wouldn’t mind getting the soundtrack. A deeply flawed, but ultimately magnificent movie.