FOR THE SAKE OF VICIOUS

Directed by: Gabriel Carrer, Reese Eveneshen

Starring: Lora Burke, Nick Smyth, Colin Paradine, James Fler

 On the night of Halloween, An overworked nurse called Romina returns home to find two people in her house - one unconscious, the other crazy - and that's just the start of the most harrowing night of her life…

 I was slightly worried with this film's opening scene.  I thought for a moment I was having to sit through yet another in-media-res, as we find Chris standing over a bunch of bodies and then dragging someone off-screen. But thankfully, no - while this is not a literal flash-forward, it does serve as a warning of what is to come…

 One thing we learn about Romina very early is that she is a fighter. A huge struggle ensues between her and Chris when he makes himself known, intruding on her. However not everything is as it seems, and Chris is able to convince Romina to - reluctantly - help him. The unconscious man is Alan, who was accused of raping Chris's daughter but was found not guilty at trial due to a lack of evidence, other than a single fingerprint. Chris wants to force him to confess that he really did it.

 This is an already compelling set-up and you have this feeling of unease - is Chris right? Is Alan telling the truth? There are other details which come out which could sway your judgement in either direction. Is Chris torturing an innocent man or meting out righteous justice?

 Things get worse when a bunch of masked killers break into the house and Chris, Romina, have to fight for their very lives. This is incredible tense, incredibly violent and gory. Whilst the fight choreography does an awesome job of making the fights look as unchoreographed as possible, the fx department make the injuries caused by bullets, knives and a claw hammer as nasty as possible.

 There is very little in the way of plot - I've withheld some details for the sake of spoilers. Instead this is a film of action rather than words. There are some amazing , orchestrated tense moments, such as when Romina goes to open the front door only to realise whoever is on the other side is actually trying to break in.

One of the film's refreshing aspects is that it is set within a "normal"  2-3 bedroom house, rather than something mansion sized that we would normally see. Romina is a hardworking single mother and her home reflects that. This is a small space and when you have 4-5 people fighting for their lives it becomes quite claustrophobic. Furniture and fittings get smashed left right and centre not so much by design but because they are in the way.

If I have one niggle with the film its that the score sometimes is too intrusive and overbearing. Having said that, I really enjoyed the atmospheric music and the overall sound design for the film. There is one particular sound effect, akin to a coffee mug breaking, which is going to unsettle and haunt you.

THE VERDICT

Without wanting to dive into hyperbole, there came a point in this film where I had to press pause, leave the room, grab a drink and allow my mind and body a moment of respite. Be warned, this is a truly rough watch with lots of viscera and gore, heightened by excellent acting and sound design. If you can handle the corn syrup then I cannot recommend this film highly enough.

9 out of 10 - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

 MikeoutWest