Undocumented

As much as there is to criticize about "Undocumented," I have to admit it does a very audacious thing, at least for a horror picture made on the caliber and budget of cheapsploitation classics like "Baker County" and "I Spit on Your Grave": it forces you to actually turn the camera eye on yourself and your beliefs on illegal immigration, whatever they may be, and then confront the very real, but often unseen, after shocks of those beliefs.

Pretty boy and girl Scott Mechlowicz and Alona Tol head up a group of five scarily naive grad students who are doing their thesis on the plight of illegals and their often fatal journeys across the border by...get this: actually aiding them in their trek. If you can get past this admittedly foolhardy and absurd premise, the rest of the film is actually *easier* to swallow, and that's what makes it so much harder to watch and, by turns, to look away from.

On arriving on New Mexico soil, they are immediately ambushed by a gang of paramilitary "patriots" led by "Z" (an insanely chilling Peter Stormare who remains masked for virtually the entire film). What follows is nothing we haven't seen before in the "Hostel" films: ritual humiliation, torture, and full-on carnage, but...this time it's not for the lark of a few rich and twisted businessmen to get their rocks off. No, these sadists actually have a point to make and, for me at least, this really catapulted this snuff box of a movie into a very discomfiting and visceral space in my brain.

"Undocumented" isn't the first horror film to shove hatred into our line of sight and then force us to ingest it, but it does it in such a convincing stylized nightmare way to make it difficult to shake off. More than a few people I've talked to have had a rough time forgetting this film purely because much of Stormare's didactic prattling has inadvertently (or not) come from their own mouths at one time or another. It's disquieting in a way few horror films manage to achieve because, unlike high-handed circle jerks such as "Funny Games," you can see where the villain's bile originates.

In addition to Stormare's tour-de-sicko turn, Mechlowicz continues his run of quietly breakout performances: from "Mean Creek" to "Gone" to this film, he seems bent on forcing you to look past his air-brushed looks by turning in very convincing portraits of deeply-troubled, morally conflicted heroes and villains. The fact that he effectively 180's you from believing his character a pompous a-hole to someone you feel genuine pity for is pretty amazing in itself.

Look, this isn't Citizen Kane. It's not even Citizen Ruth...newcomer Chris Peckover doesn't have the chops of Alexander Payne or Orson Welles. Not yet, anyway. Still this isn't your big brother's crappy little torture flick from the turn of the millennium. No, this one is a bit too true to life for something you'll forget that easily. Even if you wish you could.

This movie reminded me of The Most Dangerous Game where a hunter grew bored with hunting animals and turned to hunting humans instead.This hunter lived alone on a remote island and relied on the surrounding hidden rocks for the shipwrecks that supplied his victims. And so with Undocumented. The humans in this movie, the undocumented immigrants, would never be missed or could never be tracked. I found the movie very hard to watch but it was an effective a warning of man's inhumanity to man as you could get. Do I think that this could really happen......yes! Peter Stormare was very convincing as the psychopathic leader, Z, and I thought the acting was strong all round with an especially fine performance by Scott Mechlowicz as the lead journalist. This film was tight, tense and unforgiving to the senses but it's a story that needed to be told to remind us all that we are all brothers and sisters no matter where we come from or what our circumstances. And yes, we all have a Z inside of us waiting for that spark. Proceed with caution.

If Martyrs and Altroz and The Farm somehow merged together and had a baby hybrid, this is the baby that would come out. The movie is actually pretty decent. It's not great, but it was a fun watch. I think there is a deep message in this movie, and that's that even if you want to do the right good thing, do something good, sometimes it's just better not to.

Even though some segments in this movie seem unrealistic, like the Pinata scene, which was really out of place, for the most part, the movie is a wild ride. I would go that far to classify this as somewhat of a Grindhouse flick like Hobo With A Shotgun. It just has that kind of energy.

I understood for the most part what was going on, however, I wish I watched this with subs, but there were none. (There were English subs only in the Mexican parts). I was expecting that the blonde chick would be executed first, how much she fought against the villains. But luckily her boyfriend and the Mexican father survived.

I think there was a scene where a pregnant woman was supposed to be worked on, but that scene never occurred. I was preparing for that to be very graphic but they never showcased it, which is probably for the better.

If you are into a slasher and crime films like Altroz, or Teriffier, I think this would rock your boat. Z is insane.

I could not take my eyes off of the screen. The plot and performances were all top notch. My heart was racing through the entire movie and for long after. The story was totally believable and I felt sucked into the movie. This movie brings out the hero in you. Without giving anything away, it made you walk out of the theater thinking ... If I was in that situation, then I would have ____ (fill in the blank with something heroic). Many parts of the movie were very difficult to watch, yet I could not take my eyes off of the screen. This movie is a must see for anyone that likes Thrillers. It's not for weak stomachs. Scott Mechlowicz was amazing in the movie. This was his best performance yet.

The idea behind undocumented is truly terrifying. It would not surprise me to find that something similar to this goes on near the US border. However, as a film it is just a run-of-the-mill average torture-porn.

This film won't win any awards for creativity, writing, or acting. But for those who just want to watch a gory flick that appeals to your sense of empathy it does deliver. The gore is believable and there are plenty of gut-wrenching emotional scenes.

This isn't a thinking film. You won't come out of it scratching your head, ready to discuss its deeper implications. But it has more heart than your average slasher film.

Avid horror fans will not be impressed, but it's not a bad flick for the average film-going Joe.