Senseless

An American business man is held hostage and tortured for his crimes. His captivity is broadcast on the internet where the public vote on his fate.

If the mention of torture in the synopsis leaves you expecting a variation on Hostel or the Saw series you will no doubt be disappointed. In many ways Senseless is the antithesis of those films which use violence and torture to titillate the audience. Instead it actively engages the viewer, forcing them to question their motivation for watching.

This is a brave and provocative film. It plays out in a white, featureless room with only one flawed character for the viewer to root for, and yet within these restrictive parameters the director has fashioned a tight, terrifying story that sucks you in almost despite yourself and gives you that feeling of desperately wanting to turn away, while being too tied up in the characters and story to stop watching.

Yes, the violence is sickening at times, and in many respects it is totally senseless, but I think that's the point.

This is a once in a lifetime film that reminds me of Benjamin Button. It is surely over the top and reaches the highs as The Lord of the Rings. Characters' performances are very acceptable.Action is JUST enough to keep you going and sometimes more than enough. No foolish romance and sympathy is expressed and the story leads you to the essence of the human nature. The film is full of bright moments and they are just flickers in time ,as in the real life is the case. It is left for the viewer to capture the essence of the moments as in real life. I think it is why the rating is low for this film. I would have voted 20 out of ten if it was allowed.

I was on Netflix last night and saw this movie. Just the cover alone with the tagline got my attention. The movie itself was very well done. The acting for me was very believable. It really makes you feel like you are there. During the entire duration of this movie, all I was thinking was how would someone like that keep his sanity without going insane. It truly makes you think about this world and how far the business world will go. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is looking for a torture movie. I love Saw and love any movie where someone is being tortured, but the difference is major; This is a political torture, not strictly teaching someone a lesson, for them to appreciate life. This movie made me think in a way that i didn't think I'd be able to. Im very glad I read.

Watching this 'movie' was an awe-filled exercise in simulated audience participation. The viewer is quite aware - on one level - that it is a movie within a virtual reality show but on another level does prove - if one watches it to the end - that we are fascinated with pain as long as it is not our own to borrow a phrase from the writer. The truth of one statement certainly lingers..."Debt is better than any treaty," and finds its equally horrible juxtaposition that "Sin is nothing without judgment". I cannot say this was a likable movie and no doubt the lesson is as ironic as the statement "Being innocent didn't make anyone not get beat up." If nothing else the viewer goes on a philosophical journey into man's inhumanity to man's steps at civilization versus being civilized. Still appropriate and should remain so...but at some point won't we really have to get better at it?

This is definitely worth seeing. Aside from the violence, and the manner in which the writer chooses to write the viewer into the participation of the violence, this is a movie about ethical choices, and about the man being tortured. Flashes of his back story are interspersed with his imprisonment and torture, and you get the feeling that, regardless of the unfairness of his predicament, he is actually thinking about, and regretting, the choices he's made.True to a great many indie stories, this might not turn out the way you want, but it is a satisfying story.

Fleshing out the movie are a couple of vocal antagonists, a man and a woman, who seem to play a "good cop, bad cop" game with the victim. The bearded man seems to know he is doing right because he is doing what most of the viewers want him to do, and he believes he has morality on his side. The moral overtones start to wear off, and it becomes clear that he is there because he is enjoying his role. The woman appears to want to help the victim. It's worth it if you have 90mins to kill.