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Walker's scariest horror movie (Because no-one seems to blame the girl?)

posted 9 years ago by dolemite72
3 replies | jump to latest

I consider this movie to be Pete Walkers scariest movie (despite it not being 'horror' per se)

Regardless of the genre, if Pete Walker set out to make a 'infuriating' movie about the lax double standards of the law....he succeeded......And there's a horrible sense of dread throughout (not found in most of his usual 'horror' movies)

I'm fully aware that underage sex is illegal (and rightfully so) but this movie portrays a society that completely condemns the male protagonist, and paints the young girl as some 'abused victim'

I know it's only a movie, but when you weigh up the surrounding factors, the young girl was hardly an innocent victim in it all......and yet even the movie itself, seems to pour scorn on it's male lead. Whilst the young girl walks away not only unscathed, but rewarded (and set to prosper) despite sending a (seemingly) innocent man to prison.
Bravo (I guess) to Pete Walker, for showing the one-sided hypocrisy that's probably found in (some) real-life prosecutions of this ilk?

What does bother me, is the lack of remorse for the guy by 99% of audience, despite the fact that they've witnessed exactly how things play out? It's the same type of stigma, that makes his friends distance themselves.

"If you're lying.....I'll be back"

[–] Montserrat23 9 years ago

I totally agree with you. This kind of thing happens too often, girls are seen as innocent victims while boys are vindicated. Of course he shouldn't have kept this relationship with her but she was insisting and he was weak and maybe in love. After the affair she was laughing, flirting naked with another boy, having fun, drinking champagne after the trial etc. like nothing did happen, while the boy's life was going all the way down. That's so unfair for many boys who are still naive even at 28, while some girls behave like, sorry, sl-ts and b-tches... And I am a woman...

[–] torifying-101-29863 9 years ago

This movie made me feel so badly for the guy this was rediculous she threw herself at him even after he found out and tried to do the right thing then to claim rape on her part? After she actually asked him if there was anything else he wanted her to do she wasn't already (near the beginning) this made me so I'll this poor guy I understand the law but in all fairness she is AT LEAST half to blame hands down. I agree this really IS Pete Walker's scariest film you are so correct

[–] Moviemadness2012 8 years ago

I think the movie succeeds in showing the divisive issue in nuanced manners in some of the movie's key moments:

1. Genuine love seems to occur between the man and the girl. There is no deceit from the outset regarding true love. Age is simply not a question for them. The movie succeeds in sending us the message that in the rawest sense, that is a fairly admirable ideal, even though the law is against it.

2. When the girl testifies against the man, we are shown that she may have been manipulated to do so (in the first scene with the policewoman, both the parents and the policewoman seem to put words into the girl's mouth). The message is that the "establishment" is often culpable in distorting not all, but some, of the truth.

3. Most importantly, the man is found not guilty in the most serious charge, but found guilty in the charge that actually has nothing to do with having sex with a minor. With this "soft" sentencing, the film seems to not go for outright condemnation nor absolution, but something in between. Hence, the nuanced feel of the story.

4. Even with the man sent to jail, the girl is shown to be unhappy. We the viewers are left with mixed emotions as well, which is what the filmmakers intended.

All in all, I think this is one of Pete Walker's best films.