- Directed by Alister Grierson
- Written by Rober Benjamin
- Stars Ben O’Toole, Meg Fraser, Caroline Craig
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 33 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrOrues4G0s
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
It’s a romp of an adventure with Ben O’Toole doing an amazing job of playing his character twice over. We get to see the predicament he’s in today, interspaced with flashes back showing what led him to be there. Full of dark humor and gore, this is a really good one.
Synopsis
In Helsinki, Finland, Alia runs through the woods with people in pursuit. “When is she going to learn she can’t escape family?” She jumps in the lake to drown rather than be retaken by these people, but they pull her out too soon. In Boise, Idaho, Rex goes to the bank at the wrong time. The place is being robbed by men in masks. Credits roll.
We resume in a courtroom, as Rex is on trial for what he did during the robbery. He shot all of the robbers like an action hero in a movie. One innocent hostage was killed, and he gets the blame– and eight years in prison.
Eight years later, he sees his own face on the cover of “True Crime” magazines. He buys the magazine, and the clerk recognizes him; he’s something of a celebrity now. Photographers start following him around. Some people think he’s a hero, some people think he’s a psycho twat. He decides to go to Finland to avoid the paparazzi. “A whole new adventure in a foreign land, with no baggage. No one will know who I am.” Cut to a man running through the woods in Finland. Something big gets him.
At the airport, a creepy man tells Rex not to go to Helsinki and that a couple behind them were talking about “Getting” Rex, but what does that mean? There’s a taxi waiting for Rex when he lands in Finland. The taxi is set up to gas him in the back seat, and he soon passes out.
Alia reads a bedtime story to little Olli. There’s yelling and banging in the house, but they pretend not to notice. Rex wakes up hanging from the ceiling in what appears to be the basement. He’s missing one leg now. Upstairs, we see a man putting away the remains of a large dinner. Rex argues with himself over what to do next. It’s a really cool way to do an inner monologue or exposition for the audience. He works out that a family has kidnapped him for… something.
Around 2 a.m., Olli sneaks down into the basement to look at Rex. Rex tries to talk the boy into giving him a knife, and manages to knock him out. Just then, Alia comes in, and Rex tries to talk her into letting him go too. Rex has Olli caught between his legs as a hostage. She gets Olli away and takes him upstairs.
Alia says Olli fell out of bed and broke his nose when she awakens the rest of the household. Mother slaps Alia and blames her for doing this. They soon figure out that his injuries are not from falling out of bed. While the others are at the hospital, Alia comes downstairs and treats Rex’s wounds.
Alia explains that her family is insane, but she doesn’t want them killed. Actually, she says he won’t be able to kill them. If he got away, they would find him. This is all because of Pati, the oldest and hungriest brother. They plan to eat Rex, bit by bit. She tells how Pati was born a monster with a taste for human meat. Alia has tried repeatedly to escape the family, but cannot get away. They once put her in a cage for six months.
The family returns home from the hospital where they left the boy and they immediately notice Rex’s bandaged leg. They sedate Rex. We get a flashback to the bank robbery, where Rex shoots the bad guys, including the one with his hands up, who accidentally shot the innocent woman hiding in the closet as he died.
Rex wakes up as the uncle starts to cut his other leg off. Just as the uncle approaches with more sedation, Rex cuts through his bonds and sticks his knife in the man’s ear. How is he going to proceed with only one leg? He goes through the suitcases of all the former victims and finds a few interesting things. He considers what to do about Alia– help her or leave her here? It looks like he’s chosen to leave.
The family discusses what to do now. Rex probably won’t make it to civilization, but they prepare for the worst. Alia is put back into her cage. Turns out, Rex was hiding under the kitchen table. With a nail gun. And he makes quick work of the family. Except for Pati, who wakes and starts clomping down the stairs; He’s huge, like a troll. After a quick, twisted battle, Rex comes out victorious.
Rex and Alia drive away to pick up Olli and go back to the USA.
Commentary
Rex lives in his own mind so much that he has long conversations and arguments with himself, but at least we get to see the “other him” while he does it. The imaginary Rex says everything the real one wishes he would have said, which is a lot of fun. The two Rexes talk out their difficulties, which gives a very different spin to a somewhat tired horror plot.
At its heart, it’s a kidnapping, cannibalistic, torture-porn film. But it’s funny, so there’s that. Actually, it’s really good.