|
|
|
The Seasoning House
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Well Go USA Review written by and copyright: Anthony Arrigo (9th January 2014). |
|
The Film
 It’s refreshing when you’re preparing for the worst from a film and the end result winds up at least surpassing your lowest expectations. “The Seasoning House” (2012) looked like another wannabe shocker, full of nasty moments and torturous gore just for the sake of doing it, hoping to impress enough 14-year-old impressionable viewers to gain a minor cult following. Sold as a brutal tale of revenge, the film itself actually does a good job of shining a light on one contemporary subject that is still commonplace around the world – slavery. Specifically, the kidnapping of young women to be used as sex slaves for businessmen, world leaders, and, here in the film, radical military soldiers. It’s an epidemic, really. Even in America, women are brought here with the promise of glory and riches, only to find themselves working day and night in some shady back alley massage parlor or whore house, forced to sell their bodies or risk deportation and other options much worse. Those women almost seem to have it easy compared to the ones depicted in this film. For a film that posits itself as a revenge trope, the social issues covered are certainly of a greater interest than most films in the direct-to-video horror market. This isn’t to say the resulting film is a good one, but that the filmmakers did succeed in crafting a viewing experience that feels weightier than you’d expect. Angel (Rosie Day) is a young girl, deaf & mute, who works in a dilapidated house used as a kind of prison for captured women. Military factions have captured these women through combat, often killing their families, and resigned them here under the care of Viktor (Kevin Howarth). Young girls are chained to beds, forced to use drugs, and then routinely raped and beaten by any men who wish to utilize their services. Angel becomes Viktor’s assistant because she has a birthmark on her face that he deems “ugly”, assuming no one will want to pay for her. As his assistant, it’s her job to prep all of the new girls and get them acclimated as best she can to what will undoubtedly be a life of pure misery. Unknown to Viktor, however, Angel also has found she can deftly slip between rooms by using the crawlspaces and avenues hidden throughout the walls of the house, giving her access to any place she wants. When the men responsible for destroying her village and killing her family make an unexpected return to the home, Angel sees an opportunity to exact revenge and even the score. While the subject matter is heavy, this film could have easily gone to a much more disturbing place in showcasing it. Instead, first-time director Paul Hyett declines to focus solely on torture by juxtaposing the atrocities each woman faces with Angel’s caring, nurturing attempts at giving them some sense of solace. She wants to remind them they’re still people, and despite being used like objects she sees it as her job to provide them with a modicum of comfort so they don’t get too despondent. Of course, that’s nearly impossible when you’re force fed heroin on a daily basis and some massive Russian soldier is pumping you like a set of bad brakes. Viktor knows Angel prefers to do things her own way – well, as much her own way as he allows – so she’s essentially given free rein in this house of horrors. The action changes up once the soldiers appear on the scene. The men follow Goran (Sean Pertwee), their cold, heartless leader who has complete respect for his men and his men only. No one else’s life means a thing, a fact he demonstrates more than once. After they arrive, Angel decides to spring into action, giving little regard to what would happen should she be caught. It’s impressive to see this diminutive, disabled girl sneak up behind a huge, hulking brute of a man – mid-rape, mind you – and start to brutalize him with a knife. Remember how hardcore Patricia Arquette and James Gandolfini’s fight was in “True Romance” (1993)? Well, this is just as rough, with both sides taking heavy damage but we ultimately know who will emerge victorious when all is said and done. My only real beef with Angel’s actions was her inability to pay more attention to her surroundings. After having murdered one of Goran’s best men, she continues to sneak around in between the walls of the house, but when she exits the air vents to move across hallways or attempt an escape, she does it very sloppily. I would have expected someone as concerned with escape as she was to make sure the coast is clear before removing a grate, step as softly as possible, not deliberately expose herself in the hopes of making a quick exit. I guess since she’s deaf and mute she may be unaware of just how conspicuous she’s being. That, or she’s just being brazen because her life is in such a sad state she no longer cares. But I doubt it’s the latter, since her vengeance would be difficult to pull off if she were dead. Speaking of that vengeance, there’s an area where the film feels like a complete letdown. Unsurprisingly, the film eventually boils down to a foot chase and protracted battle between Goran and Angel. After all the two of them have gone through, when the time comes for the final piece of her revenge puzzle to be put into place, the movie just leaves it hanging. Literally. And there’s not so much as a hint of satisfaction to the denouement. Where we should be given a brutal moment of elation, we’re instead treated to all the necessary elements that should ostensibly lead to a violent culmination but then they don’t. It’s a frustrating finale to say the least. “The Seasoning House” attempts to position itself as a socially conscious exercise in revenge, but the final product is underwhelming by virtue of the fact that there isn’t enough substance to keep the film interesting. Angel isn’t a compelling character despite her story, and it may have been to the film’s detriment to make her such a vulnerable, fragile person who doesn’t really display the right level of emotion required to add gravitas. If anything, the standout is Sean Pertwee (always a solid actor) playing a single-minded militant leader concerned only with bringing home his men. Sex slavery is nothing new in cinema (hell, it’s the same concept “Taken” (2008) employed), but the film is due a little credit for not making this a complete torture porn. Unfortunately, it wasn’t really sure what it wanted to be and wound up limping along until an unsatisfying finale.
Video
“The Seasoning House” hits Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA, with a 2.35:1 1080p 24/fps AVC MPEG-4 encode that is generally proficient. The color palette here skews toward warm, earthy tones – lots of browns and muted colors. The squalid conditions of the house are replicated here with a nice degree of detail, especially in faces that showcase all kinds of sweat, minute hairs, and grime. Bursts of red and purple come through in the form of blood and bruises, the latter of which often looks alarmingly realistic. Much of the film is dimly lit, but this disc handles those conditions just fine.
Audio
The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound track (48kHz/24-bit) is home to an ambient score that sets a chilling mood. There’s a nice weight to the track, giving viewers a more enveloping audible experience than they may have expected. Rear support is minimal, though. Even when the music swells and action is at its peak, most of it is confined to the front end of things. An English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo track is also included. Subtitles are available in English.
Extras
There isn’t much here outside of a making-of featurette, a theatrical trailer and bonus trailers. “Making Of” (1080i) is a featurette that runs for 15 minutes and 53 seconds. Fairly standard stuff, with interviews from the cast & crew being conducted alongside footage of them shooting some of the key scenes. The films’ theatrical trailer (1080i) runs for 2 minutes and 2 seconds. The disc also includes bonus trailers (1080p) for the following: - “Mystery Road” runs for 2 minutes and 41 seconds. - “A Single Shot” runs for 1 minute and 35 seconds. - “Zombie Hunter” runs for 2 minutes and 19 seconds.
Packaging
The single disc comes housed in a standard Blu-ray keep case, with a slipcover that replicates the cover art included on initial pressings.
Overall
“The Seasoning House” tries to do something different in the horror genre – this time focused on real world horrors – but the end result meanders about a bit too long before arriving at a conclusion most will feel is a cop-out.
|
|||||
|