Seriously, it was so well acted. The plot was really dark and it gave me nightmares and think if the world is really that *beep* I really hated the fact that it was rated so low.
shareI agree. I thought it was amazing. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. Great acting and plot awesome music. I would say one of the best movies I've seen for ages. Very underrated. Ridiculously low scores.
shareAgreed, this movie was unfairly reviewed. Was it because the subject matter was taboo (and to this day, still is) during that time (1999)?
Either way, this really changed my view on Schumacher as well as confirmed my suspicions on how cruel this world may actually be.
I agree.
If we can save humanity, we become the caretakers of the world
If this was unfairly judged, it did welcome in a type of movie where violence against women was exposed. I'm not talking about Slasher movies-low budget/not so innocent victims. But the horrors of S&M and a depravity that truly exists. Also, that horror has a face like us.
If we can save humanity, we become the caretakers of the world
There was no way to under-rate this movie.
shareTotally agree. It has improved with age; meaning it was before it's time. I rate it a 9. Roger Ebert was the only major critic to get it right. Guy had balls.
shareJoel Schumaker is one of the worst directors in Hollywood. The film could have been a classic with David Fincher directing it.
shareEven Joel did a very good job with this, it's truth, Fincher excels in films with dark subject matter such as this.
"I'm the ultimate badass,you do NOT wanna f-ck wit me!"Hudson,Aliens😬
Can't lie, even though I thought Joe did a very good job with this film, Fincher excels doing films with dark subject matter such as this.
"I'm the ultimate badass,you do NOT wanna f-ck wit me!"Hudson,Aliens😬
For as much as I love this movie I totally agree Fincher would have greatly improved it. It would have been right there with Seven.
shareAgreed. It's a thoroughly effective grim thriller. I saw it in the theatre in 1999 and it was a weird time for this kind of movie - Hollywood found it too smutty because it dealt with porn and they're weirdly prudish, the critics thought Schumacher was just trying to be provocative as a cheap marketing ploy, and film nerds were annoyed that Fincher didn't direct and that Schumacher (already unpopular after Batman and Robin) changed the ending (originally Cage was to kill himself by driving his car into a wall because he's so traumatised by what he's seen).
All are peripheral reasons that ignore the fact that the film really delivers as a genre piece, with added exploration of evil and its banal, guy-next-door face. Plus great introduction to the genius of Joaquin Phoenix.
Interesting, I never heard about the original ending. I think they made the right choice. The film is already so dark and leaves you gutted, that ending may have been too much.
share[deleted]
That original ending used to be in the IMDB trivia but seems to have been removed, it may have been a lie all along. I did hear that the script was heavily toned down from Walker’s original though, causing him to reject it.
shareIt was pretty tawdry, if you ask me. It might have worked better if there was someone's life at stake, and Nic Cage had to find her in time, like in "Silence of the Lambs". But here, the snuff film had already claimed it's victim.
shareMeh, plenty of classic thrillers that don’t require such a device - see Hitchcock. Besides, the film put the lives of Max, Wells and his family at stake in the third act as the investigation led to ever darker places.