Faces do Medo: Bem Vindo a Família

And it's not for the plot, special effects, terror, surprises and most of the actors. The father was just plain bad and his kid even worse. Another reviewer wrote he wished the kid was behind it all and I confess I wish that were so. He was so annoying he spoiled what would have been a passable film. So why bother? The headliner, Katharine Isabelle. I suspect the producers and director had her in mind when they decided to waste funds on this little yarn that's been done so many times before you pretty much know what's coming next. She is becoming my favorite modern scream queen. If not for her talent I frankly wouldn't have bothered but with her in it I might just give it another try and skip the scenes with the father and his kid. And to top it all off she kicks ass. A survivor through and through. Anyway you've been warned.

I don't want to suggest that Torment is an awful movie, but it comes close. It's not for a lack of trying, so to speak, but the overarching problem is that the movie is essentially a carbon copy of all the slasher/home invasion movies in the world and contributes very little of note. I suppose the killers' masks, taken from the heads of giant stuffed animals, is the extent of the film's originality.

Cory Morgan (Robin Dunne) and his new bride Sarah (Katharine Isabelle) arrive at Cory's summer home (secluded, of course), with Cory's son Liam (Peter DaCunha) in tow. The kid resents his stepmom a little, because she's not Mom. Mom's dead, in case you were wondering. Unfortunately, that fact has almost no bearing on the plot, which feels like a tremendous waste of opportunity. At any rate, when the Morgans arrive at the house they quickly learn that squatters have been there very recently - there's spoiled food left out and some blood on the wall. They call the cops, and good ol' Office Hawkings (Stephen McHattie) tells them that teenagers probably hung out there and had a party or something. Doesn't explain the blood too much, but the Morgans don't press him for more info. Just another kindly old officer of the law lending a homespun helping hand, is all.

During their first night in the house, Sarah awakes to a noise downstairs, which happens in most horror films anyway. When she and Cory investigate, they find nothing out of the ordinary - except that little Liam is now missing. And thus begins endless searching (for the boy) and fleeing (from the crazy cult who snatched him and is right next door) that comprises basically the balance of the movie. Run into forest, be pursued by masked lunatic, fire off every flare in your road flare gun so you can see where you're going, escape into your house, get attacked by another masked lunatic, run out of the house and into a muddy stream where you fend off the attacker, and so on.

Isabelle looks great and appears capable of being a damsel in distress. Dunne is a little more lackluster. Young DaCunha's performance felt more authentic than that of any of the adults. But what made this film particularly maddening were the little hints of backstory that are never really resolved. For example, when Cory does find Liam and confronts the kidnapping maniacs, it's strongly implied that he (Cory) knows who these people are, knows their history, knows why they've chosen poor Liam. Do we, the audience, get to discover this as well? We do not. And maybe it would have helped if we did, because a gentle, plausible twist would have been welcome over the generic, often listless storyline.

Torment is not so bad it's good. It's a mediocre entry in a field that's already very overloaded with mediocrity. There isn't even all that much blood, thereby depriving those who love a good gorefest from getting their money's worth. So, no gore, a thin plot, lousy acting, and and overwhelming sense of pointlessness all add up to a movie that's just not worth your time.

After the death of his beloved wife, the widower Cory Morgan (Robin Dunne) marries Sarah Morgan (Katharine Isabelle) and they travel on vacation to an isolated house with his son Liam Morgan (Peter DaCunha). Cory expects that the resented Liam, who misses his mother, gets close Sarah along the next days. On the arrival, they discover that intruders have lived in the house and they summon the local Sheriff Hawkings (Stephen McHattie) calms them down telling that the strangers that have broken in have gone. During the night, Liam disappears and soon they witness Hawkings tied up to the steering wheel of his car. When the car explodes, they realize that they are under attack of sadistic killers and they need to fight back to survive.

"Torment" is a stupid slasher with a lame story, excessive use of clichés and poor development of the characters. The motive for the killing of the insane family is shallow and senseless. The brain washing in the teenager Mary Bronson (Amy Forsyth) is unexplainable and hard to believe. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Faces do Medo: Bem Vindo a Família" ("Faces of the Fear: Welcome to the Family")

This movie is definitely not terrible. It's not as classy as The Strangers or as fun as some other recent home invasion flix but, I honestly thought it was good enough to watch twice. Katharine Isabelle always demands my attention and this time I think the film worked for her. At the very least the film adds positively to her standing as one of our favorite new age scream queens.. The film is shot well, the acting's not terrible, there's some genuine suspense here and a fairly scary bad guy with a little twist or two along the way. As an avid horror fan who wades through piles of crappy movie weekly looking for the hidden gems, I'd say this film will please most genre fans. I don't know just good a sequel would be though. Might have to steer clear of that one...lol.

The best thing about this film is that it has good, creepy costumes, but other than that there really is nothing very good about it. The operative word is cliché, it pushes no boundaries and creates nothing new. The twist at the end caused me to say, "oh, that's mildly interesting", but it really had no capacity to really surprise or even any relevance. The adult leads play their parts well enough, and the motivation for the assault is plausible enough although not very likely. The leads are not as incompetent as in many such movies, but nor are they particularly compelling or innovative.

Watch it if you have nothing better to do but don't make an event out of it by inviting over a bunch of friends and expecting a scare fest, because it does not deliver much on any front.