The Tortured

source: The Tortured

For a movie called "The Tortured", I feel pretty tortured from watching it. I would've given it 0 stars if it was possible. This wannabe horror-movie thriller is badly acted, coarsely edited, the audio is unsynchronized, the list goes on and on. Oh, and of course it's disgustingly graphic, which can be justified and work in some movies (i.e. Se7en), but it was just unbearable and gross in this movie. To start off, this movie's plot just screams cliché. In fact, a good way to describe this movie is just one big horror movie cliché. The horrible plot is this: A psychotic man kidnaps a couple's son while the dad is distracted and the wife is at work. The police can't find sh*t, and of course the mom, being emotionally vulnerable as she should be, blames the cops for not finding her son. Screw logic! I mean seriously, investigations take a long time, and if the killer left no clues or evidence, then it will be harder. But, the mom just "needs someone to blame", as she says later, and of course she has to stick it on the hard-working, low-paid officers. Then, the police find the man, illegally enter his home, only to discover the son is already dead. Wow. Then, as the clichés roll on, the couple decide to get revenge on the man. Nothing in this movie ever deviates from formula. In fact, I'm not even sure if there IS a formula to this movie, as it seems like a jumbled mess. Besides the formulaic, cliché plot line, the editing is horrible. Many times, a character might be saying something but their mouth isn't moving, or it's unsynchronized. Hence, the title of my review. Whoever edited this movie needs to go back to film school immediately. Another thing is the picture and cinematography. The whole movie, save the flashbacks, is all washed out in color. This is a misconception with horror film directors that by washing out your film, it makes it scarier. All it does is make you look desperate and your film look amateurish. On another note, the cinematography was also abysmal, scoring no points for this otherwise dismal film. The shots were rough, almost feeling like a montage. They would have the same shot just moved a couple of inches over. Why they felt the need to do that is beyond me. Also, the shots had no style or feel to them, as if the editor and cinematographer just said "screw it" and slapped together the shots to make this movie. Moreover, the movie is disgustingly graphic. What was once fresh and gripping in Se7en is now overall gross and appalling here. The couple shows no mercy as they torture their sons killer. At least John Doe had SOME shred of human decency! Additionally,it was horribly acted. I cannot fathom how these actors made it into Hollywood. They cannot act! I am half confident that I could do a better job then they did! Jesse Metcalf just sulked and sat there while Erika Christensen blathered on about how they would move on and find a better life. That was the whole first half of the movie. Also, the script was disappointing. The dialogue was-- yes, you guessed it!-- all clichés! Jesse Metcalf says to Erika Christensen, "Killing (our sons killer) isn't going to change anything." Wow, the screenwriters couldn't come up with anything more original? That's sad. To close, this was an abysmal, depressing, disgustingly graphic D movie with D list stars. I leave you with one thing: You'd be hard-pressed to find a worse horror movie then this. HandHStudios Rating: 0/10

I won't give away any spoilers here, but this movie was a roller-coaster ride of emotions. It's about a little boy that was kidnapped/tortured/abused/killed - and then it's the parents time to get justice. I know everyone would say that if someone killed their child, they would kill them, well it's along that mindset. It's funny, because I was rooting for the parents, didn't feel remorse about what they did to him, because let's face it, if we were ever in a situation like that, who would NOT want to take the law into their own hands and inflict pain and suffering on someone who killed your kid. The gore was not really too much, not on par with Saw or Hostel, but there are some moments that will make you wince, and feel very uncomfortable. The acting was very good for a straight to DVD movie, and on the whole it was a pretty good movie.

I personally don't get the point of movies like this other than to make money. (All movies must really) I am not interested in this type of thing because it is pointless has almost no narrative and I couldn't care less about some lunatic serial killer or in the case of this film someone out for vengeance. I guess the point might be the victims. Ha! Don't think so. Wouldn't it be amazing if this film won an Oscar for best screen play best picture and whatever. No? Good. This is a movie I would not take my pet snake to if I had one. You can almost bet that some weirdo is going to take his kids to see this. I saw Scream (Yes I am embarrassed) and there was some nut with young children with him. They are probably in jail or a mental hospital by now. Don't worry he is probably just fine. I can't image why anyone would want to see this. Really bad day at the office? Other more serious problems? So what if the pig in this film gets what he deserves! Well anyway Boooooo!. By the way I really didn't bother to see this one thank Christ!

"Killing him isn't punishment enough." Elise (Christensen) hugs her son goodbye and goes to work. Craig (Metcalfe) is going to play soccer with him but goes in the house to get sunscreen for him. He looks out the window and sees a man grab him and run off. Unable to catch up to the truck he calls the police but the don't find the boy in time. When they hear the the kidnappers punishment is only 25 years to life they take it upon themselves to give him the sentence he deserves. My disclaimer for this is the same I had for "God Bless America". I am in no way advocating what is in this movie but it's something that almost everyone would agree with. The parents find a way to kidnap the kidnapper and proceed to torture him in a way that is both disturbing and satisfying in order to make him feel what he did to their son. While not quite to the level of "Saw" or "Hostel" there are still some pretty graphic scenes in this that make you want to turn away a couple times. There really isn't that much to this movie except the torture, but if you liked movies like "Death Sentence" then you will love this one as well. I did. Overall, a disturbing, graphic and satisfying movie that actually has a neat ending that shows you why you shouldn't take the law into your own hands. I give it a B+.

When I'm feeling bored, I like to relax at a movie....today's choice, this one, was a poor choice. "z grade" movies are often fun, in their awfulness; This was just plain bad without the fun. The movie moves very slow, the torture sequence are okay, overall its just a waste of time, I do not recommend anyone to watch this movie. The end had a twist, which spoils the whole effort of the couple in the movie.Bad acting with cheap story, have never seen a B movie with such polish or talent. If you have 1 and half hours to kill and you are not likely to walk out of the theater because it sucks, then you should see it. This is by far one of the worst movies that i have ever seen.

I saw this for the first time recently inspite of the dvd lying in my drawer for more than a decade. I still remember buying the dvd cos of the poster of that of a man upside down in a mask n letters written boldly, from the producers of Saw. I never got interested in playing the dvd aft reading some bad reviews stating that it is another torture * n i hate torture porns. Well, this movie has a good story n a bit similar to Seven Days. Coincidentally I revisited Babysitter Wanted jus a day back which has Bill Moseley in a tiny role n this movie too has Moseley in a tiny role. The bothering stuff is that the movie is filled with too many plot holes. The couple's plan is ridiculous n it is not at all a good plan. Leaving fingerprints all over the van, surviving a van tumbling down, can't recognise a face just cos it's blood stained, not getting cautious when a man with a dog enters the cabin, cops taking hell lottuva time to locate a cabin inspite of the instructions given by the man with a dog, cops never bother to check the cabin or search for the other missing convict, cops never bother to take the man with the dog n ask the details about the couple holding the convict in the cabin, the list goes on..

A case of 'Don't judge a book by its cover' I fell for that… It has a similar feel to 'Law Abiding Citizen' if you have seen that. Basically, it is couple seeking revenge on the man who destroyed their lives. They 'achieve'this in brutal circumstances so be warned. I would seriously recommend viewing this movie. You might think it isn't cutting it for you but watch until the end, I will predict that 8/10 people will say at the end 'Actually, that was quite good' However, it felt like it was missing something to give it that extra quality… maybe the timing, it was relatively short which may have been the missing part for me. All in all, a good watch and worth the time.

This shambling mess of a film is a true disgrace - to use the torture murder of a 6 year old boy in such a glib, throw-away entertainment driven way is a parlous utter travesty and these film-makers should be lambasted high and low. These tragedies do happen - to use them for such low brow entertainment is so utterly disrespectful I wonder how the film makers sleep at night. No exploration of the moral dilemma of inadequate justice, no development of the main characters, no meaningful examination of the impact of this behaviour on the torturers. Plot device garbage that contrives at every turn and then the obligatory 'twist'. I really enjoy extreme films that are well done but this heap of dung fails at every turn - bad lighting, jump moments, blood letting - is it too much to ask to actually make a film as opposed to a lame excuse in which to appease gore-hounds' desire for unmitigated torture. For a complex and truthful exploration of this harrowing subject of extreme loss through murder of the innocent, please watch the wonderful French film 7 Days that at least tries to convey some of the emotional struggle, the uselessness, the folly and the inadequacy of revenge in the face of incalculable grief and loss.

This is absolutely the worst waste of time of my movie-watching life. I wanted to watch a good revenge-horror film. But I wish I could rewind my life & not watch this film. To save others from similar fate, I will summarize the movie's ending. ***** Spoiler below *** The incompetent couple capture and torture the wrong guy (who looks very different from their son's real killer) despite the fact that the killer was tried and convicted at a trial that the couple attended. So despite the fact that everyone, including the audience, knows that they have the wrong guy, the oblivious ex-parents brutally torture him. This is such unbelievably incompetence that you wonder if they are the actual parents of the murdered child or crazy idiots whose child is at a summer camp but believes that the murdered child is theirs. The real killer meanwhile escapes but is recaptured by the police.