I watched this film last night after reading the press coverage of the film being banned in the UK.
Rodleen Gestic's performance was amazing. She was physically branded, and abused for real in front of the camera, so it is impossible to fault her commitment. Similarly at times Renfro was genuinely convincing as a lunatic.
However, the film has many flaws. The editing is so quick that for whole sections of the film, individual scenes last 3-5 seconds. I have read reviews on here that praise this as creating an atmosphere where the viewer shares a sense of disorientation. I just found it distracting from an already weak story.
The film is made on a low budget, and the added features on the DVD say there was not even a film crew present - just a handful of actors and the director / filmmaker. This lack of budget feeds through into limited sets, and few (none?)special effects. There's a lot of torture, but no blood (fake or real). The actresses are really branded, but this added nothing to the film compared to the use of prosthetics - it doesn't add to the story so why do it.
In interviews Rehmeier states that they improvised large parts of the film. The reality seems to be that they didn't have money for a decent script so fall back on filling the film with bunny being abused over and over again for little real purpose in terms of plot development. Rapid cutting between the 2 main characters screaming at each other over and over again for 5 minutes is not an alternative to a script, and doesn't even build tension.
The bunny game itself involves Renfor dragging Bunny around the desert in a straight jacket and a rabbit hat. This was more like a fetish film than a serious horror film. This is supposedly the highlight of the abuse, but compared to what came before it would have been a relief.
The film ends with an anticlimax. Bunny has been abducted and tortured by what appears to be a psychopath, but he doesn't kill her, rape her, or free her. After a few days he transfers her to a friend, who takes her away. There is no explanation of why. I have read reviews here which state that this leaves it open for the viewer to interpret it in their own way (For example has he been breaking her as a human being in order to make it easier to sell her into white slavery, has he tired of her and passed her onto his friend to play with). Whatever. Its hard to praise the skill of the storyteller if he expects you to decide what his story actually is.
I didn't find this film frightening / scary, and the plot was so weak that there really isn't much of a story. If you like seeing a young girl get hurt, in the knowledge that a lot of it is real, then this film is probably for you. If you want to watch a film that scares you and makes you think then you would be better off watching "irreversible" or "Oldboy" Gestics skill and commitment deserved a better vehicle than this.
Rodleen Gestic's performance was amazing. She was physically branded, and abused for real in front of the camera, so it is impossible to fault her commitment. Similarly at times Renfro was genuinely convincing as a lunatic.
However, the film has many flaws. The editing is so quick that for whole sections of the film, individual scenes last 3-5 seconds. I have read reviews on here that praise this as creating an atmosphere where the viewer shares a sense of disorientation. I just found it distracting from an already weak story.
The film is made on a low budget, and the added features on the DVD say there was not even a film crew present - just a handful of actors and the director / filmmaker. This lack of budget feeds through into limited sets, and few (none?)special effects. There's a lot of torture, but no blood (fake or real). The actresses are really branded, but this added nothing to the film compared to the use of prosthetics - it doesn't add to the story so why do it.
In interviews Rehmeier states that they improvised large parts of the film. The reality seems to be that they didn't have money for a decent script so fall back on filling the film with bunny being abused over and over again for little real purpose in terms of plot development. Rapid cutting between the 2 main characters screaming at each other over and over again for 5 minutes is not an alternative to a script, and doesn't even build tension.
The bunny game itself involves Renfor dragging Bunny around the desert in a straight jacket and a rabbit hat. This was more like a fetish film than a serious horror film. This is supposedly the highlight of the abuse, but compared to what came before it would have been a relief.
The film ends with an anticlimax. Bunny has been abducted and tortured by what appears to be a psychopath, but he doesn't kill her, rape her, or free her. After a few days he transfers her to a friend, who takes her away. There is no explanation of why. I have read reviews here which state that this leaves it open for the viewer to interpret it in their own way (For example has he been breaking her as a human being in order to make it easier to sell her into white slavery, has he tired of her and passed her onto his friend to play with). Whatever. Its hard to praise the skill of the storyteller if he expects you to decide what his story actually is.
I didn't find this film frightening / scary, and the plot was so weak that there really isn't much of a story. If you like seeing a young girl get hurt, in the knowledge that a lot of it is real, then this film is probably for you. If you want to watch a film that scares you and makes you think then you would be better off watching "irreversible" or "Oldboy" Gestics skill and commitment deserved a better vehicle than this.