Oof, that was brutal. It's movies like this that make me question why I keep watching movies like this.
The story is quite simple, boiling down to a murderous couple tormenting their latest victim. As a Canadian, it brought to mind the relationship between Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo, but upon researching the film, it seems it more closely shadows the case of Australian couple David and Catherine Birnie. Which is to say that I suppose every country has a similar tale that lives in local infamy, while the world at large tries to tune out how frequently these things actually happen.
Attempting to turn this kind of tragedy into a piece of entertainment puts you on shaky ground. Even the survivor of the real life case has called out the film for needlessly drawing attention to these horrible people. The movie does go out of it's way to avoid the gore porn tag, with a lot of the violence being implied and appearing off-screen, and the tone never approaching a glorification of the situation. The filmmakers do understand the gravity of the circumstances and make you uncomfortable by design. There is a mastery in how they deliver this, and many of the scenes are chillingly effective.
The movie also justifies it's existence through it's exploration of the relationship dynamic of the killers. It poignantly portrays domestic abuse and the kind of conditioning that emotionally shackles people to situations that externally seem obviously bad. It handles this subject matter well, with a believable dynamic between leads Emma Booth and Stephen Curry.
Nevertheless, the very nature of the premise is grotesque, regardless of how much tact you approach it with. It's brutal exposition of misery is sure to leave you feeling icky, and will be of little value to all but the most calloused moviegoers.
