Torched

Torched, a 45 minute shocker from indie director Ryan Nicholson, is a brutal rape revenge tale that goes straight for the jugular, assaulting the senses with a non-stop barrage of horrific imagery which is definitely not for those of a nervous disposition. From the opening savage sexual assault to the movie's blood-drenched climax, Torched will sear itself into your memory.

Far from being the poorly acted and amateurish production I was expecting, this confidently directed and well acted piece of extreme movie-making was a pleasant surprise (well, maybe not pleasant, but it was far better than I thought it would be!). The cast are great and the whole production is well put together, with a cool metal soundtrack and some pretty impressive (and nauseating) special effects.

Michelle Boback plays Deanna, a pretty nurse who is raped by a masked attacker outside her home. The next night she is attacked in her home, but manages to subdue and constrain the intruder. Believing the man she now has tied up in her flat to be her rapist, she begins to torture him in a manner of particularly nasty ways.

This film certainly knows how to pack a punch, with graphic scenes of mutilation and a particularly mean-spirited moment where Deanna employs a junkie to help her with her revenge! After a lot more violence (including a juicy power-saw beheading), the film ends well, with a pretty good twist.

Torched sets out to shock, and shock it does. Whilst this is not going to be to everyone's taste, fans of exploitation and gore should find it hits the spot.