Participating in a self-help workshop, a group of strangers arrives at a guru's compound in the woods to begin training in a series of dangerous and somewhat unethical activities designed to push them to be better people at the expense others in the program.
There was a lot to like about this one. Among the better features here stems from the overall setup of the situation and what goes on at the institute. The idea of this lonely group of misfits and losers being brought to this bizarre and secluded locale in the woods by a sketchy doctor and put through an increasingly alarming series of tests designed to evoke their personal demons and push them past it to grow as a person comes across rather nicely. Giving us a chance to get to know who they are and what they're struggling with, there's a lot to like here as everything comes together into a solid, chilling setup. This leads into the film's enjoyable series of tortures and psychological mind-games he puts everyone through to achieve his desired results. As they're put through personal struggles designed around their own issues or group-based tactics to push them through challenging ordeals, these scenes provide the kind of traumatic-centric activities that figure into his devious nature. They grow darker and more psychologically charged as it goes along which leads into the wild finale involving some decent twists and reveals that showcase some intriguing elements, providing a lot to enjoy overall. The film does have some drawbacks holding it back. The main factor against this one is the overall obvious nature of the doctor's duplicitous tactics without any alarms going off. He's not portrayed as the charming snake or the smooth-talking radical presenting something different for gullible victims the way these types of characters are usually played off as here he's just an abusive tormentor putting them through intense tortures without question. The tactics and philosophy are so questionable it's a wonder how he got this far much like the first one, and along with the low-budget look here are what bring this down.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence.
There was a lot to like about this one. Among the better features here stems from the overall setup of the situation and what goes on at the institute. The idea of this lonely group of misfits and losers being brought to this bizarre and secluded locale in the woods by a sketchy doctor and put through an increasingly alarming series of tests designed to evoke their personal demons and push them past it to grow as a person comes across rather nicely. Giving us a chance to get to know who they are and what they're struggling with, there's a lot to like here as everything comes together into a solid, chilling setup. This leads into the film's enjoyable series of tortures and psychological mind-games he puts everyone through to achieve his desired results. As they're put through personal struggles designed around their own issues or group-based tactics to push them through challenging ordeals, these scenes provide the kind of traumatic-centric activities that figure into his devious nature. They grow darker and more psychologically charged as it goes along which leads into the wild finale involving some decent twists and reveals that showcase some intriguing elements, providing a lot to enjoy overall. The film does have some drawbacks holding it back. The main factor against this one is the overall obvious nature of the doctor's duplicitous tactics without any alarms going off. He's not portrayed as the charming snake or the smooth-talking radical presenting something different for gullible victims the way these types of characters are usually played off as here he's just an abusive tormentor putting them through intense tortures without question. The tactics and philosophy are so questionable it's a wonder how he got this far much like the first one, and along with the low-budget look here are what bring this down.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence.