This is the first film that's ever truly disturbed me (as an adult). I've seen Irreversible, A Serbian Film, Cannibal Holocaust and a whole bunch of other extreme films and none of them unnerved me like this one. Maybe it just depends on the individual, so I am intrigued... could anyone who didn't have such a reaction to this film tell me which films they did?
Last 3:
The Girl Next Door-2007 (3/10)
Monster (7/10)
Red State (5/10)
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Great. Another (presumably) post-juvenile juvenile who thinks that bragging on how unshockable they are impresses anyone. There's always one in any discussion of these particular films. Yawwwwwwn.
shareI've seen Irreversible, A Serbian Film, Cannibal Holocaust and a whole bunch of other extreme films and none of them unnerved me like this one.Gee whiz OP, LIKE YOU, I have seen ALL those movies you mentioned, and although Irreversible has left a tiny imprint in my psychy (that will probably fade completely away in a few more years), Girl Next Door still haunts me all these years later! Nearly 40 years on this planet, and this is the one movie I wish I NEVER saw. I bought it on Blu Ray cheap and almost immediately Traded it via my DVD trade site within a day or two. I can take extreme horror, gore & guts, but realistic movies of abuse, rape & torture like this one....disturbing!
The most disturbing movie I've ever seen was Battlefield Earth. Gave me nightmares for days!
You swore we'd go together, one way or another!
I'm disturbed by movies that do a good job of presenting it as realistic as possible. That's why this movie didn't disturb me, because it was terribly made in all aspects, especially acting. Quite a few movies disturbed me as a teenager, but only a few as an adult. Irreversible and The Counselor being the main ones.
sharei can relate in the case of "irreversible", but counselor was unrelistic and even worse gimmicky to the max.
"laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone." - Dae-su Oh
In parts, yeah, but I still thought the representation of the cartel was very realistic. McCarthy certainly got his facts right about exactly what it is they do on a daily basis, and how their evil is an inevitable sad fact of the world we live in.
sharehmm, the portrayal of the cartel was one of the things that i found overblown. torture and cripple and eventually kill people to gain respect? absolutely. going after someone that supposedly facked them over, even if me possibly didn't, because when it comes to reputation it only matters no to be considered "weak". totally. so far so good. the monologue, the behadind fetish, that snuff movies, the "beheading machine" (!!!!!!!!), all of that was totally and utterly ridiculous.
also, i understand that in those parts of the world and to a certain level also in 1st world countries, the cartel has eyes and ears everywhere, but they ain't the allknowing NSA, as this film wan't us to believe.
"laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone." - Dae-su Oh
What's the behadind fetish?
While the monologue the cartel boss gave was indeed unrealistic if this was real life, I think it fit in well in this movie, because you kinda know it's a movie. It went well with the poetic rhythm of the movie to make a point.
The snuff movies is precisely what they do! That's what's disturbing. Their 'society' is so large and powerful and they rake in the cash, so they can get away with doing whatever they want. There's a big market for these kinds of films in their world.
As for the bolito device, you said it yourself..
torture and cripple and eventually kill people to gain respect? absolutely.The device exists to scare people. And it also gets the job done very easily and puts the poor victim through hell. It may be difficult and expensive to make, but from their perspective it serves a very good purpose.
sorry for the spelling mistake. i meant "beheading" fetish. i know that the writer wanted to go for maximum impact, but that's just a bit silly. cutting off a limb or cutting out the tongue, yeah that happenbs, but beheading? this ain't the dark ages.
well, the movie is set in reality, that's why the metaophors are supposed to work, which they don't. one miht be able to take this as a narnia-like fantasy film, where even talking lions are "plausibe" within it's own real, but then the metaphors relating our real world hardly work either. one can't have both. either make it plausible and metaphorical or make a fantasy action movie without relataions to reality.
sorry, but i have researched the matter of snuff movies for multiple articles and no cartel does this. there are hardly a handfull of films that fit the description snuff film. to be exact, there are only 2 known cases.
"Their 'society' is so large and powerful and they rake in the cash, so they can get away with doing whatever they want."
that far i disagree to a certain point.
"There's a big market for these kinds of films in their world. "
might be, but yet there are only 2 recorded cases. worldwide.
apart from some other reasons, a cartel would not do this in real life, for the simple reason that a snuff film would mean that they purposely leave evidence. not only that, but purposely SPREAD evidence. they might be all powerfuil in their bario or whole region, but not in their whole country of even continent.
"As for the bolito device, you said it yourself.."
the problem i have with this is, that is also is something from a fantasy movie. there was no need to use such a stupid device in the film. someone could just have strangled pitt's character, cut his tongue out etc etc etc, but they have chosen to go for something which is not possibly in reality. just look at that silly thing. two small balls, holding 2 battery units and electronic motors powerful enough to strangle someone, not to speak of beheading people? not only that, but up to a level that a grown man can not fight it off????????? just as easy they could have claimed to use a posing that makes the victim head fall off after 30 second. that would have been just as stupid.
"It may be difficult and expensive to make,"
sorry man, but no. look at the diameter of the balls. imagine: battery and motors? take the most expensive components you will find and that bolito would hardly be able to strangle a puppy.
i get what they were heading for (no pun intended), but in my eyes they failed miserably.
"laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone." - Dae-su Oh
PS: when i say "cases", i mean court cases, not that there are only 2 videos out there. one cases produced a yet undisclosed number of videos, the other one i think 5 videos with 2 or 3 leaked to the internet so far.
"laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone." - Dae-su Oh
I'm not an engineer or anything, but I found the bolito device to be very plausible. If the motor was strong enough, tell me how exactly someone (even a grown man) could get it off (remembering it's uncuttable wire) once it's latched around your neck? Do you know for sure that a motor that small couldn't be that strong? They could have just captured him and cut his head off with a machete, but like I said, it's primary use is to scare people. It's psychological torture as well as physical. And it is so much easier to find him in a public place and just throw this on his neck, than capture him. The fact that it happens in broad daylight and people are watching but have no idea what it's going to do in less than a minute, is really disturbing. I'd like to hear from an engineer as to whether or not this device is plausible.
shareyes, i am 100% sure.
a) look at the balls. both have to contain a strong enough electronic motor. at that point the whole it already falls apart.
b) if that weren't enough, both balls have to contain a battery to power those motors. the smallest max power battery would fill the whole bolito ball, while being able to power an intel i7 processor for an 45 minutes at full capacity, leaving no room for a motor at all.
c) even if we say 50% motor and 50% battery, that would leave us with a battery power to barely power an i7 for 23 minutes at full capacity. considering the power an electronic motor swallows, that leaves us with what? 2 minutes? furthermore it woud leave us with an almost microscopically small motor.
"They could have just captured him and cut his head off with a machete, but like I said, it's primary use is to scare people. It's psychological torture as well as physical."
i understand that, but that's what i criticize most with that film. there are real life examples up for grabs and if they wanted to make something up, at least make they should have made it plausible.
"And it is so much easier to find him in a public place and just throw this on his neck, than capture him."
well, according to the film, they are able to do what they want anyways, so they could just do what they wanted anyways. do you know "the glasgow smile"? i doubt that giving someone that in public would be less horrifying than that bolito. they could also just as well throw a handgranade out of the window. still more plausible.
"I'd like to hear from an engineer as to whether or not this device is plausible."
you don't really need an engineer. just calculate size possible and the available motor force at that size, look up the needed steady power supply and counter that against the battery power you are left with at said size.
another thought. it has been a while, so i could be wrong, but didn't the steel wire disappear into the balls? if yes, that would make it even more ridiculous.
"laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone." - Dae-su Oh
Reiner said it's in a loop. The wire continues to roll tight until it's all rolled up in the loop inside. I didn't really pay close attention to the actual look of the bolito but I will next time I see it. Even if it's not realistic, I think McCarthy served his purpose in disturbing people, especially me. He put the idea in my head that this kind of thing could possibly happen. Maybe they should have just made it a bit bigger, to give people 'confidence' that this device really could exist.
sharewell, that leaves us with even less space for motor and battery.
"Even if it's not realistic, I think McCarthy served his purpose in disturbing people, especially me."
well, that's a personal thing, which i can relate to, even if it did not disturb me. i was only arguing because of your statement:
"movies that do a good job of presenting it as realistic as possible. "
i myself sat there, thinking "you have got to be kidding me".
"He put the idea in my head that this kind of thing could possibly happen."
genereally yes, but for said reasons the whole portrayal was ridiculous.
"Maybe they should have just made it a bit bigger, to give people 'confidence' that this device really could exist."
the problem with that being that each bolito would have to have to size of a lawmower, which would not be practical.
they shoudl have just stabbed him in the eye. that's believable and crass.
"laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone." - Dae-su Oh
I'm with you, this film disturbed me in a way that I just wanted to stop watching but I had to see if David ever stepped up to help. Only other movie that disturbed me and compares to this was Martyrs (if u watch in english subtitles and let the actors act in their normal without it being dubbed it comes off even stronger)
shareTry Megan is missing (2011), of which the ending is much more disturbing than this whole movie.
shareI would laugh at anyone who says exploitative drivel like A Serbian Film is more disturbing than this.
shareThat's because the film makes you genuinely hate Ruth from the beginning, through proper characterisation and script, and you're strapped in your seat with horror as she incrementally builds up her hate and evil towards Meg through sickening abuses.
share