Gut

There is not much to say about this movie, other than poor. Poor acting, Poor Story( what there is of one) and a dreadfully poor attempt at a movie.

Do not waste your time and money on this.

The movie takes an eternity before something really happens, and when it does you will be wondering why you have sat through it for so long.

now i don't mind slow paced films however there is nothing here to keep your interest, and like me you may find yourself skipping the film forward, and trust me you will not have missed nothing. it surprises me that movies like this are ever made.

Anyone who is ever seen a horror movie before will figure out right away what it is they're about to sit through another hour of dreadfully dull 2-dimensional characterization and seen-it-a-million-times-before filmmaking to find out. This could've been a 20 minute short film, and still wouldn't have been a terribly interesting one at that. I'm not sure how this even so release, and I am positive that the glowing reviews are fakes by people connected with this film, because there is absolutely no way an objective human being Who was familiar with the horror genre at all could lavish praise on this. This film doesn't even try to be good. The filmmakers had one unoriginal idea, and they thought that all they had to do was put that idea on screen and that would take place of plot, narration, character development, Robert themes or any deeper meaning at all, not to mention that this is the single least gory "torture porn" film ever, with a total of maybe two minutes of exceptionally tame blood & guts, so it doesn't even work if that's what you're into. So instead, we get a feature length view of barely-developed characters walk a treadmill to a conclusion that we can see already from near the beginning of the movie. This film makes "Paranormal Activity" look as action-packed as a Michael Bay film, as well-crafted as Hitchcock, and as intellectually challenging as Tarkovsky.

Look, if a couple of high school kids up the block made this movie, I would congratulate them for doing a great job… for a student film (although it wouldn't really be *that* great a job, even for students.) But as a film that got real attention and supposed awards and wound up on a major streaming site that I pay money for? No fargin' way.

Slow independent film sees two become fascinated with a snuff films. These are shown briefly and are odd and disturbing without becoming grotesque. Neither man seems stable prior to this, but then they both become more unstable after joining together to watch these films. There is some semblance of "who's doing this?" But that mystery isn't fully developed. One man is a family man, and he seems to be disturbed after watching these as now his world is too quiet, too dull given the impact of death and blood have had on him. Overall, that is the extent of this film. Poor production quality, poor plot development, no real tension or suspense. Just two men displaying the boredom of their lives and their descent into the grotesque for stimulation rather than trying to develop anything in their existence. Sad film that brings nothing much to this type of film.

Before I even get into the movie, their use of music amounts to torture in itself. It is worth taking several points off any rating. We meet Tom and Dan, friends for a long time, and Dan considers himself sort of a horror film maker, although one he did got really panned. They both work in an office, but what they do is impossible to guess, as Dan seems to do little, and Tom not much more. Tom is bored with his work, and Dan seems like the proverbial sad sack. Oh, Dan often wears his jacket while at work, and they frequent a diner for lunch, as regulars. Dan got an interesting DVD, and invites Tom to watch it with him. It is torture/snuff porn, but is it real? But it is addictive. Tom even gets visions about it. It starts to take over their lives. But it turns out there is a very, very dark side, and that is the latter part of the movie. In a movie, the music can set the mood, and in this movie, the mood is not to watch it. I did make it to the end, where the real horror is.

This is a great debut feature from writer/director Elias. Although classed as a horror, it really is much more of a mystery thriller, with a focus on characters rather than action, and it works very well. This is a great movie for fans of independent film, and a great lesson in low key, slow burn tension building. It covers subjects like obsession, voyeurism, friendship, and the onset of adulthood and responsibility; but it also throws some great gore (and a descent amount of boobs) in the mix too.

The film focuses mainly on two male leads(Tom and Dan), friends since school but now gradually drifting apart as adulthood takes its toll. The other main characters are Tom's wife (who lovingly attempts to keep her husband engaged in their relationship), and also their daughter. Except for a couple of other incidental characters, that is pretty much the whole cast, but it is all the cast that is needed here. The injections of comedy at the start may, at first, seem like this is another attempt at mixing comedy and horror, but it isn't, it simply helps cement the impact of the dark deterioration of the characters later on. This film is, as I said, a slow burn, it's character based and dialogue driven and not one for people who need something explosive happening in every scene, however, fans of psychological horror thrillers should love it. The lead role of Tom (played well by Jason Vail), really captures the disenchantment of adult life, while Dan (equally good) represents that person who clings to his youthful freedom and cant understand why his friend wont stay there with him. Tom's increasing detachment from his friends and family is really the catalyst for all that comes later.

The film makes it clear that the two friends have always been fans of horror, (using various inter-textual references), and in an attempt to get Tom to engage with him again, Dan orders an underground horror movie from the internet; this is where things begin to go downhill. Eventually, Dan persuades Tom to come and watch the mysterious film with him, at first Tom is horrified by it, but afterwards cannot stop thinking about it. Nightmares, strange desires and hallucinations start to add to Tom's already struggling mind while Dan's obsession with these strange videos grows.

The gore in this film doesn't come in huge buckets, but when it does come it is very well done (the film earned a well deserved award for effects), part of me would have liked a little more gore at times, but the other part of me knows that it would have seemed gratuitous and would have detracted from the story itself, so I shall reprimand the gore hound in me for this craving.

I wont go further into the plot to avoid spoilers, but I will say that the ending is very well realised; many films that leave questions at the end either leave too many questions or give no clues to the truth at all. Here, although quite subtle, I think a great balance between closure and ambiguity is reached.

If I had any complaint about the film, it would be that in a couple of points the dialogue seems a little forced and unnatural, but this is very minor nitpicking in an otherwise engrossing, disturbing and well executed film.

I will definitely be keeping my eye out for more from writer/director Elias in the future, I suggest you all do the same.