This is a movie that's not really a movie. You're expected to recognize that it's actually some kind of meta-text. In that sense it's similar to "Shapes of Things." The director has an axe to grind, only he actually has an axe to grind about people who have axes to grind, only in the end he's only joking about having an axe to grind about people who have axes to grind.
This is a movie in which violence, torture, horror and murder are punchlines. If you think violence, torture, horror and murder are punchlines, you'll probably like this movie. In spite of the nesting Russian doll nature of this movie, at bottom it's torture porn. It's not brainless torture porn like "Saw" but it's torture porn nonetheless.
The sad thing, to me, is that there is some very good acting in the movie, but the movie itself is a waste. As I said, it's a meta-text, a murder joke. Example: The movie encourages, in fact practically forces, the viewer to wish urgently for revenge on the thugs. At one point one of the victims snatches up a shotgun and blows a hole in one of the thugs. So the other thug grabs a remote, hits the reverse button, and we see the movie back up to a point where he can repeat the scene and prevent the victim from killing his companion.
If you think that kind of thing makes for an interesting, thought-provoking movie, you'll probably enjoy it.
As for the unusual, long, still-shot frames, yada yada, unusual, etc. (Except for every movie Kubrick ever made. And every movie made by a director emulating Kubrick.) The movie ends with a freeze-frame of the villain staring into the camera as he's about to embark on another torture/killing spree. Like the ending of some really cheesy Friday the 13th movie.
Fail.
This is a movie in which violence, torture, horror and murder are punchlines. If you think violence, torture, horror and murder are punchlines, you'll probably like this movie. In spite of the nesting Russian doll nature of this movie, at bottom it's torture porn. It's not brainless torture porn like "Saw" but it's torture porn nonetheless.
The sad thing, to me, is that there is some very good acting in the movie, but the movie itself is a waste. As I said, it's a meta-text, a murder joke. Example: The movie encourages, in fact practically forces, the viewer to wish urgently for revenge on the thugs. At one point one of the victims snatches up a shotgun and blows a hole in one of the thugs. So the other thug grabs a remote, hits the reverse button, and we see the movie back up to a point where he can repeat the scene and prevent the victim from killing his companion.
If you think that kind of thing makes for an interesting, thought-provoking movie, you'll probably enjoy it.
As for the unusual, long, still-shot frames, yada yada, unusual, etc. (Except for every movie Kubrick ever made. And every movie made by a director emulating Kubrick.) The movie ends with a freeze-frame of the villain staring into the camera as he's about to embark on another torture/killing spree. Like the ending of some really cheesy Friday the 13th movie.
Fail.