#315 -- The Final (2010)

Director: Joey Stewart
Rating: 4 / 5

I was interested in this movie the moment that I happened upon it. The idea of nerds getting revenge on the cool kids has always been something that piques my interest, probably because it's something I've dreamed about for pretty much my whole life. I was on the receiving end of quite a lot of shit-talk and teasing back in middle and high school, so I know how it is. It wasn't as bad as what these kids got, but it wasn't always pleasant either. The worst I got was a bunch of guys driving by and pelting water balloons at my house. And getting shoved into a wall by some guy I'd never even seen. Other than that, it was mainly just insults shouted across the hallway or classroom that really didn't even bother me. Oh, I'm a freak? Cool. I'm weird? Thanks! I'm a dyke? You're just jealous 'cause I get more girls than you do. That kind of stuff never really bothered me. The physical torment, though limited, is what got me, not because it made me feel bad, or because it made me sad; but because it just pissed me the fuck off. I don't know you, so don't fucking touch me, asshole. But anyways...The point is, I understand being angry with people for treating you like an outsider and tormenting you just because you're different. Though I only daydreamed about sweet revenge once, and I never seriously considered getting even with any of those people, I definitely understand where these kids are coming from. Those cool kids made their lives a living hell. They made them wish that they'd never been born, and all for what? Shits and giggles. It didn't benefit them at all, and it made these kids feel worthless just because they weren't what was considered "normal." They didn't deserve it. They'd done nothing to warrant the way these people treated them. Was torture a reasonable response to this? Well, they certainly thought so.

The group consists of Dane, Andy, Jack, Ravi, and Emily. They each have their own little quirks; in other words, they each have a unique reason to be constantly tormented. They get their revenge by way of a Halloween costume party. They send out anonymous invitations to the kids that tortured them, knowing that they'll jump on any chance to get fucked up and/or laid. The popular kids don't know anything about the party or who is throwing it, but they don't care. They only have one thing in mind here: having fun. But their fun is short-lived when the alcohol supply is spiked with some sort of drug. They all wake up, chained to the floor, and are each subjected to a different form of torture. Most of the torture is purely physical -- a kind of lotion that eats away at the flesh, having needles shoved into various parts of the body, etc. -- but some of it is mental torture as well. At one point, a boy is forced to cut off a girl's fingers, with the promise that if he does so, he will be spared. It is obvious that the outcasts have spent quite a lot of time planning this little party.

The movie does have a kind of spooky feel to it, mostly due to the costumes that the outcasts choose to wear. Dane wears a big gas mask, Emily wears a plain white one; Jack dresses as a scarecrow, Ravi is an evil clown, and Andy is what looks like a Nazi soldier. They're creepy, I'll give them that. But there's no fear factor with this movie, at least not for me. I was rooting for these kids. I saw what they went through, I've been through it myself, so I wanted them to have their peace of mind. In the real world, I don't think anything justifies torture. But this is a movie, and I wanted those assholes dead just as much as the outcasts did. Don't get me wrong though. Don't think that I'm complaining at the lack of scariness. I'm not. It was actually a really great movie and, even though I understood what they were doing, it was a bit unnerving to see such young kids doing such horrible things -- and with such skill! You'd think they'd been doing it for years. But no, they had been through a meticulous planning stage that was unseen to viewers. That much can be assumed.

This isn't a visual horror movie. Though seeing these kids in their costumes doing these horrible things will leave you with a weird feeling in your heart, that's not what it's about. It's a mental horror movie. It will make you feel uncomfortable in spots, and you might feel weird for being on the side of the so-called "bad guys." But I think that's the point. The kids, though they're doing unspeakable things, aren't meant to be the bad guys, which is interesting. The bad guys are the ones who pushed them to that extreme limit. I believe it's also a morality tale. Be careful who you tease and torment. If you bully the wrong person, you just might end up in the middle of nowhere, chained to a floor and missing half your fingers.

#284 -- Mum and Dad (2008)

Director: Steven Sheil
Rating: 3 / 5

Before I tell you anything of real importance about this movie, let's talk about that poster. I think it alone tells you just about everything you need to know. Those two people pictured are, of course, Mum and Dad. See how they look like the average every day couple. Mum's standing behind Dad, where he probably believes she belongs. Dad looks kind of sullen and angry, like everyone says every husband feels. It's safe to say that they appear to be a very normal married couple. But in the background there, you can see a severed head on a shelf, so I guess they're actually not quite normal. The tagline is "They're dying to have you over," which I think is kind of incorrect. They're not dying at all, but you will if you don't follow their rules. To me, at the very core of their relationship, Mum and Dad seem like the stereotypical 1950s couple. Dad's the bread winner, and Mum is the one who keeps the house in order. He wants to make sure she's happy, and she's there to calm him down whenever he gets a little bit too angry. They seem like they're in love, and I'm sure it would have been impossible for either of them to find someone else to satiate their needs, so they're actually quite a perfect couple. Aside from the craziness, of course.

The story centers on Lena, a young Polish girl working as a cleaner at an airport in London. She's new, and she makes it clear that she doesn't really have anyone that she can count on. She says that she and her parents don't get along, and she is distant from her siblings. I'm not even sure that her family lives nearby, so it's safe to say that no one would miss her if she disappeared. She's a sweet and smart girl, and she's pretty, so of course everyone should want her. She meets two other employees at the airport, Birdie and her brother Elbie. Birdie seems cheery and nice, even though she's quick to steal things she finds lying around. Elbie doesn't speak at all, but he never seems weird. He's just a shy guy (maybe...), and it's obvious to me that he has a good heart. After a night of working together, Birdie invites Lena over for drinks, but Lena declines stating that she has some things she has to do and that she'll try to go the next day. Birdie obviously isn't happy about this. Not long after that, a few things happen that cause Lena to miss her bus home. It isn't anything major; Birdie says that she forgot her phone and asks Lena to go back inside and help her look for it. I had the feeling, though, that Birdie had her phone all along, and that she only wanted to make Lena miss the bus. So when the bus does, indeed, leave without her, Birdie invites Lena to come stay with them for the night, so she'll at least have somewhere to sleep. Left with no other options, she accepts. Once she arrives at their home, it becomes clear pretty quickly that something isn't right. Birdie and Elbie disappear immediately, leaving Lena all alone in the kitchen. She's conked on the  head, knocked out, given a drug that leaves her unable to speak, and tied up in a dirty room.

Mum and Dad only have one child of their own, an apparently mentally retarded girl they keep tied up in an upstairs bedroom. The rest of their "children" are people they abducted. Birdie and Elbie are among those, but they were able to become "a part of the family." Dad often tells Lena that if she follows the rules, she will be okay, so we can assume that's what Birdie and Elbie did: they went through unspeakable amounts of torture and never misbehaved. And now, they help Mum and Dad capture new children, and they're free to come and go as they please. Lena is tied up and has designs cut into her skin. Once, she is locked into a suitcase and beaten with a wooden mallet. But these are not the acts of both parents' lust for blood. Mum is the one who enjoys torture, and she simply calls it "playing with her children." Dad doesn't even like them, it seems, and he only tolerates them for Mum's sake. But when they misbehave, he is there to deal out the punishment. Dad's the disciplinary figure, while Mum is the caring maternal figure who takes care of the family.

For the most part, they're a normal family. The have family dinners around the table, all the children have their own set of chores to do, and they even celebrate Christmas (with gifts like knives and naughty magazines). But instead of the traditional Christmas decorations, they've got bodies nailed to the walls. And instead of traditional family television, they watch porn while they're having their family meals. Oh, and sex is not kept a secret from the children, as they are invited to watch as Dad fucks a chunk of raw meat that most certainly belonged to a former "child."

Lena learns very quickly that she'll have to suck it up and take whatever they throw at her if she wants to survive; because if she misbehaves too much, she'll end up like the other chopped-up body parts that Elbie is seen incinerating in the back yard. She does an okay job of it at first, but there's only so much torture a person can take, and she soon starts fighting back. It becomes clear that if she doesn't escape soon, she'll be dead meat.

Mum and Dad definitely isn't a movie for everyone. Some would call it disgusting and disturbing, which it is. But as a horror fan, it's definitely not the worst case of abuse/torture that I've seen. I think the real torture is having to be stuck in that house with them, rather than the actual things that are being done to Lena; it is the knowledge that she'll either have to escape or die, and dying certainly seemed easier. There was one scene that I found particularly disturbing, but other than that, it's really not all that bad. It is fairly easy to enjoy, with characters that are easy to relate to, hate, and root for. It will keep you engaged through most of it, and it'll keep you wondering what they'll do next. I really enjoyed it up until the end, which I found was too abrupt and not very difficult. It spent the entire movie establishing the difficulty of escape, but then turned around and made the escape easy. There wasn't enough struggle or consequence; there wasn't enough fighting back or injury for me to really believe that Lena had a tough go of it. It left me wondering why she wasn't able to do it sooner. But other than the quick ending, I'd say it's definitely a movie that's worth seeing. It's not boring, it doesn't feel rushed or forced, and most importantly...the story isn't completely stupid.

#260 -- Hostel Part 2 (2007)

Rating: 3 / 5
Director: Eli Roth

I had been wanting to see this for a while, since I really enjoyed the first movie. So when I saw it on Fearnet's VOD, I was stoked. I couldn't wait for Creepmas to end so that I could watch it right away. I guess since I was so excited to see it, I was disappointed with the outcome.

At the beginning, Paxton (the survivor from the first movie) was at home and doing okay considering the circumstances. He was on some kind of medication, and he suffered from nightmares and severe paranoia. He was sure that they were looking for him, and that they'd find and kill him for what he knew. His girlfriend resented him for the way he acted, just because his night terrors kept her awake. That, and the fact that he wouldn't go to the police in fear that it would get them both killed. To me, that was just downright selfish. She had no idea what he'd been through, and honestly, she'd probably be a lot worse off if she'd had to go through the same things. But it didn't last very long, because they did find and kill him. They cut his head off and sent it to the big kahuna of whatever company ran the whole thing.

The movie focuses on a group of three friends. It's pretty much the same as the first movie, except this time they're girls. It was kind of obvious to me that they wouldn't last long at all, since females are usually weaker than males. Except for the "last girl" of course. So there was Whitney (Bijou Phillips), Lorna (Heather Matarazzo), and Beth (Lauren German). They were visiting Rome and getting ready to go on to Prague. While on the train, though, they met a young woman who convinced them to go with her to see some amazing hot springs in...you guessed it--Slovakia. It seemed to me that Beth thought everything was shady from the beginning, and she didn't trust anything or anyone. The other two girls were not so lucky.

Lorna, the sweet and shy one, was lured to the factory by a charming man who made goo-goo eyes at her and made her feel special.

It never showed exactly how Whitney ended up there, but I'm guessing it had something to do with the fact that she'd go anywhere with any guy who smiled at her. Beth was more difficult, so they had to take a more direct approach, by chasing her, cornering her, and giving her a healthy dose of chloroform.

Another way this one was different from the first is that it shows the "behind the scenes" stuff. In the first, we weren't really sure what was going on until the end. In this one, we already know that people pay good money to torture and kill people--especially if they're American. It showed just how everything worked, how their names were put into some sort of system when they offered their passports at the Hostel, and how everyone was notified so that they could all bid on the ones they wanted. Whoever bid the highest, got to go to Slovakia and have their way with them. The two men they focus on here are Todd and Stuart. Apparently Todd bought Beth for Stuart's birthday. Todd seemed like the type of person who just didn't care about anyone or anything, but Stuart seemed different. He was extremely hesitant throughout the entire thing, and I was sure he wasn't going to be able to go through with it. But once they got to the factory, it was Todd who couldn't do it, and Stuart turned out to be a nutcase. But not as big a nutcase as Beth, apparently.

You see, Beth's mother died when she was twelve years old, and she left her enough money so that she could have bought Slovakia if she wanted to. This is where the movie lost it for me.
She was pretty much able to buy herself out of the sticky situation. There were some conditions, of course, but they were nothing that Beth couldn't handle (it involved a pretty graphic castration, by the way). I liked Beth because she was an extremely strong woman who could definitely hold her own, but I didn't like that she got out of it so easily.

Hostel Part 2 was definitely a good movie, I won't deny that. But it's not as good as the first by any means. First of all, there was really no suspense, since I knew from the beginning what was happening. I can't really fault it for that, though, since it is a sequel. The torture and kill scenes weren't as violent, and they were far too quick. There were only two, actually. Lorna, and Stuart. They didn't show Whitney getting killed, which was a huge bummer. I think they should have at least given us more kills, more blood and violence, and much, much more gore. It would have helped the movie since it lacked the suspense factor. I did really like the ending--it was disturbing, as it depicted a group of kids (the Bubblegum Gang) playing soccer with a decapitated head. It's definitely enjoyable, it gave us another strong character that we could care for, and the direction by Eli Roth was wonderful as usual. But it just wasn't as strong a movie as the first, I'm sad to say.

Recommended? Definitely yes.