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# MOVIE REVIEW: Vengeance (2022)
- URL: https://www.bensmovieguide.com/vengeance-2022-review/
- Published: 2026-10-18T18:18:04.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-18T18:18:04.000Z
- Description: A New York writer visits Texas after the death of a woman he barely knew and turns her family’s suspicions into a podcast. Vengeance mixes a murder mystery with uncomfortable humor and some pointed questions about who gets to tell someone else’s story.
- Author: Ben
- Tags: #title-only, #movie, Movie: Vengeance (2022), comedy, mystery, thriller, 2020s, Rating: R, #Runtime: 108, #Rated For: language and brief violence, #Verdict: Rent, #Watch: Major Platforms, #Eyebrow: HE BARELY KNEW HER

Getting a call that your girlfriend has died would be terrible. Having to work out which girlfriend the caller means makes for a particularly awkward conversation.

That’s how *Vengeance* introduces Ben, a man whose casual approach to relationships has apparently left somebody with a very different impression. Now her family expects him at the funeral.

**What It’s About**

B.J. Novak plays Ben, a New York writer who travels to West Texas after learning that a woman he occasionally hooked up with has died. Her family believes they were in a serious relationship. Ben doesn’t quite know how to correct that misunderstanding (and there probably isn’t a good moment).

Her brother, played by Boyd Holbrook, is convinced her death wasn’t an accident. He wants Ben to help him get revenge. Ben sees an opportunity to make a podcast.

With encouragement from his producer (Issa Rae), he stays to investigate. The family welcomes him into their home, and a local music producer (Ashton Kutcher) offers another perspective on the young woman Ben barely knew.

Ben arrives expecting to explain these people to his audience. He might want to understand them first.

**Who It’s For**

If you enjoy a mystery with uncomfortable humor and people talking themselves into trouble, there’s plenty here to keep you interested. The investigation gives the story direction, but the conversations often provide the best material.

Holbrook makes the brother’s loyalty and grief believable, even when his conclusions seem questionable. Kutcher is especially effective playing someone whose calm, thoughtful manner makes you pay attention whenever he speaks.

The movie also gives its Texas family room to surprise Ben. His assumption that he’s the smartest person in the conversation becomes a problem the film enjoys poking at.

Some of the dialogue sounds a little too carefully written, particularly when characters start explaining what’s wrong with modern America. The shifts between comedy and darker material can be abrupt, too.

Still, *Vengeance* is worth watching for the performances, the awkward humor and the growing discomfort of a man realizing that somebody else’s tragedy might be more than his next career opportunity.

A New York writer heads to Texas thinking he understands the people he’s about to turn into a podcast. Watching that confidence unravel is half the fun.

![MOVIE REVIEW: Vengeance (2022)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e9/54/e9540ff8-9c7a-495e-932d-5ba71686447c/content/images/2026/10/Vengeance-2022-16x9.jpg)

![MOVIE REVIEW: Vengeance (2022)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e9/54/e9540ff8-9c7a-495e-932d-5ba71686447c/content/images/2026/10/Vengeance-2022-2x3.jpg)

![MOVIE REVIEW: Vengeance (2022)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e9/54/e9540ff8-9c7a-495e-932d-5ba71686447c/content/images/2026/10/Vengeance-2022-4x5.jpg)

![MOVIE REVIEW: Vengeance (2022)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e9/54/e9540ff8-9c7a-495e-932d-5ba71686447c/content/images/2026/10/Vengeance-2022-5x6.jpg)

![MOVIE REVIEW: Vengeance (2022)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e9/54/e9540ff8-9c7a-495e-932d-5ba71686447c/content/images/2026/10/Vengeance-2022-6x5.jpg)

![MOVIE REVIEW: Vengeance (2022)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e9/54/e9540ff8-9c7a-495e-932d-5ba71686447c/content/images/2026/10/Vengeance-2022-3x1.jpg)

![MOVIE REVIEW: Vengeance (2022)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e9/54/e9540ff8-9c7a-495e-932d-5ba71686447c/content/images/2026/10/Vengeance-2022-1600x727.jpg)