The Torturer

Don't confuse this well-written, well-acted movie of substance with the Italian film of the same name. This is NOT a weak plot that serves as an excuse for graphic sex and violence -- it is a thoughtful and insightful indictment of certain elements of our military.

It is a horror movie, but not just because there's horrifying violence. It's a horror movie because the events depicted could happen ... and for all we know, actually have happened somewhere.

There are a number of pivotal twists to the plot, where you think one thing is going on and it turns out it's something completely different, so I can't really say much about the action in the movie without spoiling it.

The primary actors are two up-and-comers, and Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura in the original Star Trek) who called the role of "Doc" her best role since Uhura.

The reason Dexter is so popular, IMHO, is because he's a sympathetic and plausible character who happens to be doing horrifying things. The same is true of Rick (Andrew Walker), the lead in this film.

Rick is a man raised with solid American values, who was trained as a "special interrogator" in Iraq. He does and experiences things there that cause him PTSD. When he is debriefed by a therapist (Doc), strange things begin to be revealed, and as the creepiness factor starts to rise we realize that all is not as it seems.

I rank this 9 out of 10 because it has superb acting, plot, message and surprise factor. The Torturer is particularly scary because it could really happen.

I wasn't expecting much from this - after all it is almost a duologue, albeit with 3 main characters, if that makes sense. However I found myself getting quite gripped by the story, and the duologue between Ayesha and Rick is quite superb.

Although clearly partisan the script is subtle and we can sympathize with both the aforementioned characters, though perhaps not with the callous 'Doc'. The message is quite clear, whichever side you take. It manages to demonstrate an aspect of the 'war on terror' that we perhaps know too little about and which many find distasteful, but without preaching a simple 'good versus bad' sermon.

Walker and Masoudi are mesmerizing in their portrayal of two characters who come from opposite ends of what many see as a definitive good or bad spectrum, filling in some of the grey areas that many overlook. The simple and understated twist at the end is brilliant, and says in one short scene what 10000 words could not portray effectively.

It's not a horror story so don't watch it for that, nor is it really a mystery. It's a powerful and thought-provoking drama from an excellent writer.