The Seasoning House

Absolutely horrendous hideous movie. Pushes bounties that should not be pushed/witnessed, and I highly DO NOT recommend this for anyone on the fritz regarding their boundaries.

A Serbian Film is often quoted as the most extreme movie, but for me the first 1/2 of this exceeds even that. It isn't over the top and it's purely atrocious. This movie isn't mindless brutality, it introduces convincing stories and emotions; making the movie significantly more difficult to sit through.

8/10 as the quality of this movie was very good... and the plot itself existed.. and was even good at that.. plus it really pulled one in emotionally. But make no mistake, this movie is not one meant to be enjoyed. If you found even an ounce of enjoyment from the first 1/2 of this movie; I wish you a short future.

"The Seasoning House" was really not what I had expected it to be from the movie cover. But I must say that I wasn't sorely disappointed that the movie turned out to be something other than what I had thought it to be.

This movie is brutal, not just visually, but also emotionally. Especially because the movie is shot the way that it is, and it is nicely edited. There is just something very realistic, albeit horrible nonetheless, to this movie, and that is really what makes "The Seasoning House" work out so well.

The story is about a group of young girls brought to a remote house, against their will, where they are forced into servitude and have to perform sexual acts for customers that frequent the house. The mute girl Angel (played by Rosie Day) works the house as a helper, also against her will, when fate brings those who killed her family to the house, and things spiral out of control, as fate deals Angel an unforeseen card.

Now, "The Seasoning House" is a very brutal movie, as I mentioned before. Visually because of the scenes portrayed and the horrors that take place in the house where the girls are kept as slaves, drugged and abused. And emotionally because of the events that unfold in the story, and also because the characters are characters you can relate to and very quickly build up some kind of empathy or antipathy for very quickly.

Director Paul Hyett managed to put together something really unique here, and this is definitely a movie that you need to watch. And once watched, it is most likely a movie that will stick with you for a long time afterwards.

The cast were doing great jobs, although the English language with a pseudo-Eastern European accent wasn't really doing the trick. But it was a minor inconvenience, because the rest of the movie overshadowed this flaw.

"The Seasoning House" is well worth watching, despite it being rather grotesque in its story and imagery. But it just goes to prove that movies doesn't all have to be glamor and happy days...

The Seasoning House is a raw, powerful and, frankly, brilliant film. I recommend it, but it's not a date movie.

Hyett has clearly learnt a lot from his time on other film sets. The Seasoning House is a carefully crafted and controlled film which, at times, almost goes too far, but somehow manages to pull itself back from the brink. The direction is excellent, with Hyett infusing the first two acts with a slow, dreamlike, almost ethereal, feel that may reflect either Angel's resignation to the life that she now tolerates or the state of perpetual drug-based anaesthesia that the girls are constantly under.

Rosie Day is an absolute revelation. She is incredible as Angel and, although she doesn't utter a single word, her face tells us everything and we are never lost as to what Angel is feeling. It's notable that this is also Day's feature film debut. As such, and based on her performance here, I would expect to see a lot more of her in the future

The rest of the cast do a superb job. Willem Dafoe-alike Kevin Howarth is outstanding and tackles the role of Viktor with real conviction and we are torn between hating him (deservedly so) and as the film goes on, rooting for him. Sean Pertwee, as militia leader Goran, has never been more menacing, while Dominique Provost-Chalkley gives a brave performance as Vanya, especially considering all that the role entails.

It's bold cinema, make no mistake, and not a film to be taken lightly. Hyett's film is an uncompromising, unflinching and brutal glimpse into a real-life world of suffering that we, living out our comfortable little lives, simply cannot fathom and subsequently ignore. Hyett should be commended on making this film as honestly as this one. It's a film that sticks with you long after the credits have stopped rolling.

All over the world there are women suffering some sort of abuse and oppression, and in some parts of the world it is more prevalent. "The Seasoning House" focuses on an anonymous eastern European country in which there is war, kidnapping, and forced prostitution. It could be a more graphic version of "The Whistleblower."

A young deaf girl given the name Angel (Rose Day) was kidnapped from her home after her mom was killed by soldiers. She became the caretaker of the other kidnapped women who were forced into prostitution. She befriended one girl, and it was her death that forced Angel into violent action.

"The Seasoning House" is a jarring movie that really illustrates how women in all parts of the world are victimized. Unfortunately, not many women (if any) have a Liam Neeson to pursue their kidnappers and punish them. The cold reality is that most women's cries for help go unheard or unanswered. At least in "The Seasoning House" one girl fights back.

With the Balkans war as setting this film begins very strong, mostly on the emotional side. In fact the initial scenes describing the terror of war crimes against unprotected and desperate people (mostly women and children) are brutal and tough (but very well done!). However, it's just the context to what is in fact a revenge film and a cat-mouse game. And if here the sides seem to be very disparate (strong military men against one single mute girl…) you know you should never despise your adversary and his weapons for little and inoffensive they might seem… It's a nice film that shows us the cruelty and sadism of wartimes! I score it 7/10.