The Tortured (2010) Reviews

• Nothing special about this torture

  gregsrants2010-12-02

  How far would you go? That's a question asked by the filmmakers of The Tortured, a film from the producers of the Saw franchise that has the parents of a murdered child extracting their revenge on the killer who plea bargains his way to lighter sentence. Erika Christensen and Jesse Matcalfe play Elise and Craig Landry, two loving parents whose child is abducted and murdered by John Kozlowski (Bill Mosley). Haunted by the events that unfold in court and repulsed by the lenient sentence suggested by the court, the Landry's hatch an plan to nab Kozlowski from a Correctional Facility transfer van in an attempt to dole out their own brand of fitting justice. Unfortunately for John Kozlowski, their plan works and even more unfortunate for John is that Craig Landry just happens to be a physician which will give him the knowledge and the means in which to keep John alive and in pain for hours and days on end. Being that The Tortured is from the producers of Saw, you can expect some gory and prolonged torture. They start us off simple enough. A small burn on John's chest. Soon, needles are being used to cause all kinds of pain. Some of the tactics result in John's untimely death, but with Craig being a doctor, resuscitation only adds to John's torment. At only 78 minutes, there isn't much development in The Tortured. We breeze through the child abduction and the trial right into the torturous basement in an abandoned home that will be the setting for the majority of the film. We do get to watch as the police follow clues to try and find out what happened to their prisoner, but it is hardly engaging and is likely there just to keep extend the running time further than a simple hour. Everything seemed to be going according to the Landry's master plan and to the audience's expectation until the final chapter of the film that veers drastically into a WTF moment leaving you scratching your head and going back a few chapters to piece it together. Normally this would be a good thing, but in the hands of director Rob Lieberman, The Tortured just peters out towards the end and then slaps us in the face before abruptly revealing the end credits. We can't write on behalf of the acting in the film. People are more reacting than they are acting. And we can't give kudos to the plot which has been done before (ironically we screened the superior Canadian film 7 Days that same evening). There was some gore by way of the torture scenes, but we never turned our heads away in disgust or saw something outside of what the Saw and Hostel franchises have brought us over the last 10 years. You can do a lot worse than The Tortured. And at barely over one hour's length, you wouldn't be putting yourself out to use this as a time filler between other more worthy films of your time. But for us, it was just average. www.killerreviews.com

• Mediocre torture film ruined by ending.

  Matt_Layden2011-04-11

  A couple's son is kidnapped and murdered. The killer only receives 25 years to life, so they decide to take the law into their own hands. They kidnap the killer and torture him to death. If that plot sounds familiar it's because The Tortured is a mix of several different films. Think Seven Days, Law Abiding Citizen and the Maters of Horror piece Family. I'd mention Saw, but since this film boasts "From the creators of Saw", I figured I'd side step that obvious comparison. The parents in the film are played by Jesse Metcalfe and Erika Christensen, both in roles that demand emotion and recklessness. They both deliver their scenes as best they could, but not once did I ever really feel anything towards them. We never are given a chance to connect to the family, the first thing we see is the aftermath of the kidnapping. Had we spent a little bit more time with them, not in flashback, then the connection to the audience would have been greater. Bill Moseley, who usually pops up in Rob Zombie films, plays the man who kills their son. He's a freak who wears make-up and yells at the boy as if he's several different people. Again, bits and pieces used from other films, he comes off as a very poor Buffalo Bill type character. He's being transported to, I'm assuming prison, when the parents come up with a plan that in retrospect, was pretty inane. They manage to steal the van he's being transported in, and accidentally crash it. They take the clearly beaten and almost unrecognizable killer to a secure location, where they can torture and eventually kill the man who took their son's life. The mother is a real estate agent, so she knows the perfect location to use. The father is a doctor, so he has the medical expertise to keep him alive and feel all the pain they will inflict. The torture scenes are nice, and since the film is called The Tortured, they would have to be. The best part about the torture scenes, are how minimal they are. No over the top gadgets that are used in Saw films, instead we have simple burnings, suffocation, needles to the jugular, breaking of toes, etc. Enough to make people cringe and not overly aggressive with it either. The ending I mentioned is what will make or break the film for a lot of people. Some people dig it, others find it insulting towards the audience. Meaning they felt cheated. In theory, I like it, in execution, I didn't. As a horror fan, I know who Bill Moseley is, as will most of the people expecting to watch this. So when the ending pops up, it's not that much of a surprise. What the film needed for a final conclusion, were the reaction of the parents to the news, leaving the audience knowing information and the characters not is a cop out. Especially when you know that they will eventually find out. The tortured is decent enough for those looking for some torture fun. It's definitely a genre specific film. I hated how the characters would flip flop all the time and it tries to be a film that raises important questions. For example, how far would you go to punish those who hurt you, but it never reaches those depths to ask. The second half is more fixated on the torture aspect and not the morality aspect. The film poorly juggles drama and horror. It's as if the film set up a question to be asked, but forgot to ask it.

• Excellent Little horror movie!

  Indifferent_Observer2010-10-18

  I also had low expectations after coming to IBMD and seeing some bad reviews about this title. After watching it, I have to say I loved it. At the beginning it seemed like an all too familiar plot, I won't spoil it, but basically its about a family who's child is kidnapped and murdered by a local psychopathic child serial killer. The family decides they want revenge and think that prison is too good for this scumbag.(a suitable part played by Bill Mosley) I know we have seen this type of movie before and I warn you there is a lot of "uncomfortable" torture scenes going on for quite awhile that may make a few uncomfortable and turn others off. As we move towards the ending and the plot started to unfold I realized why we had to go through all that torture which wasn't mindless at all. We start to feel for this child killer/molester and the pain hes going through and we even have to be reminded that this is the scum of the earth getting what he deserves. The ending definitely is the best part and doesn't let us down in the least. No spoilers here sorry... More for seasoned Horror fans.Great acting all the way through and each actor gave it their all, great directing, and most importantly great GORE!. Not really a hidden gem per say, but a decent genre flick that makes you think nonetheless. I gave it a 8 even though its probably only worthy of a solid 7. I think it deserves alittle extra help from us genre fans.

• I don't remember anything...

  drnrg352012-12-11

  My summary title has nothing to do about how I feel about the movie. I actually enjoyed it. The premise is as follows.(cut and paste)In Rutland Country, the six year-old Benjamin Michael Landry is kidnapped by a psychopath in the lawn of his house. His father Craig Landry unsuccessfully runs after the truck but the abductor escapes. Sooner the police discovers that John Kozlowski had abducted and killed Benjamin. When the criminal is sentenced to 25 years in prison only, Benjamin's mother Elise Landry presses her husband to kidnap John and torture him. Craig is a doctor and knows exactly how to inflict pain to the psychopath. They succeed to kidnap John from the prison transport, but Craig has an accident and John is hurt. The couple tortures the man until they find the truth about their victim. I actually enjoyed this film; as I viewed it entirely from the parents point of view. I have no sentiments for murdered and Bill Mosley plays one of his most diabolical and sinister yet. I would have loved to have see more of his performance, but I guess it would break away from the actual plot. I was thinking if he played one of the parents doing the torturing, but that would probably make the parent look to maniac-ish. I didn't find many flaws. Both Jessie Metcalfe and Erika Christensen play solid roles as a young couple who have been tortured by the premature murder of their only child. One flaw I did find was how brainless the jury could have been to only give Bill Mosley's character 20 to life. Excuse me? Didn't the prosecutors present pictures in this case or did the defendant's lawyer go the "They entered his house without a warrant" plea. Either way, it shows how "Broken" the judicial system really is. I have both love and hate for the story's ending as well. I love the twist, but I feel the last scene itself was weak as ever. I wanted to know what happened when the couple went home and turned on the news. What went on through their heads knowing that 20 to life isn't that long and someday.... To me the ending was inconclusive and could have been much better. I give it a seven, because I love all kinds of horror and suspense...and would someone please torture those who still use the term "Torture Porn". That's a nasty word dreamed up by haters of the horror genre and should never be used by an actual fan.

• Wannabe torture porn leaves no cliché untapped

  Boris_Day2010-08-31

  I saw this at Frightfest over the weekend and Tortured is a laughably bad attempt at a "torture porn" film. It starts with a frantically edited sequence of pointless flash-backs and flash- forwards in a vain attempt to lend some interest to the trite set up. The filmmakers then go hilariously over the top in making the villain's lair creepy, with old dolls, stuffed animals and clown masks all over the place. The two leads look and act like something out of a US daytime soap and almost every line they say can be anticipated seconds before they open their mouths. The plot and it's "twists" are equally predictable. Ultimately the film never really delivers on its promise of gruesome retribution. The vengeful protagonists talk and talk about all the horrible things they are going to do to their victim, but what they come up with is really rather lame. Tortured is good for some unintentional laughs, but otherwise don't waste your time on this one.