Customer Reviews

Penance

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I ordered this for my customers who dig this kind of Hostel - The Director's Cut [Blu-ray]-like film depravity, and in this case coupled with the now-common first person video camera feel (ala [Rec], Quarantine and twenty others).

The story is all shown through "obtained" video camera footage found in an abandoned southern California institution. Footage purportedly from/by a victim's camera - one of many tortured ladies at the hands of a mutilation-prone physician (injuring both himself and many others). The premise of this is reportedly based upon the story/circumstances of the real Graeme Reeves, even inclusive of a text-ending stating how he has still escaped prosecution and has not been caught (in reality he is in prison awaiting trial overseas). Putting aside the film has really nothing to do with the guy, you get a well-acted low-budget take on this popular genre. Rooker is outstanding, though he only gets a few scenes. The torture scenes are tough, and if this were rated I am sure it would be in the NC-17 range. A musical score was added to further the impossibility of how certain scenes could be filmed or how this cut was edited, but if you skip the analysis of logistics and watch the performances you will get more out of it.

Supplements are lengthy and include:
* Three alternate endings. They average 1:20-1:30 each and vary in the level of information they text about the doctor, the level of genital mutilations upon women in the world, or a "twist" ending that furthered the "how could this be being filmed" notion.
* Five deleted scenes totaling 18:30 minutes. Glad they cut them, but a lot of Munro's stuff got cut (I remember most as the agent from White Chicks (Unrated and Uncut Edition)).
* How to Strip, 2:50 minutes of the two main gals learning to work their scenes.
* Cast interviews in character, 12:50 minutes. Obviously they were going for the authentic feel here in trying to convince us (and themselves) about how important character was.
* Behind the Scenes, 23:39 minutes. A somewhat thorough look into the making of and logistics.
* Anatomy of a Scene, 13:53. A dry retelling and rehearsal behind doing one of the single-take shots in the film - I would have actually preferred they do any of the other one-takes they did than the one they show here.
* Director Interview, 18:55 minutes. Have to give them props for actually using good backgrounds for the interviews (hate the boring backdrops or dull stages). He talked while outdoors (even sitting in a tree) - unique.
* Location Scout, 4:38 minutes. Camera follows the crew as they scope out the main building, dry.

Overall, there was obviously a great deal put into this with the budget they were allowed - so the end result succeeds in being disgusting and containing good performances - but the whole believability issue is gone. And as stated, go into this not expecting it to have any tangible connection to the real guy. 3 stars for the film, 1 star for the extra features.

Penance basically involves the story of a woman who becomes a stripper to raise money for her sick child. On the way, she is hired by an unusual customer and soon she finds herself trapped in a prison run by a man who seems to want to help her repent her sins through pain. The film is shot in first person, which I thought worked well for the movie. The story in my view was surprisingly interesting and well-done. It was rather unusual, as the main antagonist provided a glimpse into a different kind of killer, one who thinks what he is doing is for the benefit of his victims. A few disturbing scenes, yet it was not incredibly gory, at least from my point of view. Acting was well done for the most part, especially the antagonist, who did a wonderful job playing a psychopath. If you are the kind of person who enjoys movies that are disturbing and present a rather dark atmosphere, then I would recommend this movie. Overall it was a decent horror movie that presents a lasting impact, not only for its rather disquieting scenes but for its psychological implications as well.

I'm just tired of the handheld found footage genre. It needs a rest. This starts off decent but delves into another genre that is getting tired: the torture genre. If you still aren't tired if these two genres, then you could do a lot worse. This film delivers what is expected with nudity and violence. I'm just ready for something different in the low budget horror world.

Penance is the story of Amelia (Marieh Delfino), a single mother struggling for money, who decides to give stripping a shot. I know what you're thinking, "That never happens." Anyway, she reluctantly accepts a substitute stripping job and finds herself imprisoned by a madman named Geeves (Graham McTavish) who is intent on saving the souls of his young stripper captives through torture and mild asceticism. Shortly after imprisonment, Amelia learns through a beating that captives speak only when spoken to, and one does not simply ask Geeves (sorry). A struggle for survival and escape ensues, as Amelia makes continuously ignorant decisions in her pursuits of getting the whole ordeal on film.

None of these concepts are terribly original, but I suppose the stripper+Hostel formula was inevitable. Honestly, I never thought I would be bored by that near fool-proof formula, but a combination of shaky-cam - as if the torturers would give her a camera to document the atrocities - and subpar script make this a mildly enticing movie, which depends entirely on how much nudity a viewer is expecting from a movie about tortured strippers.

Surprisingly, the performances aren't overwhelmingly bad, despite the fact that none stand out. Actually, the strip-tease performances were atrocious, and I seriously doubt any of the so-called "exotic dancers" made a living without some illegal activity in the champagne room. Tony Todd makes an appearance as a chauffer, and Michael Rooker overacts throughout his brief appearances, but otherwise the film is carried by a fairly competent cast of the lesser known. Perhaps the best aspect of this film is the gory makeup work and special effects (head shot!).

Replete with recycled concepts and the unfortunately ubiquitous shaky-cam, Penance is mediocre at best. Unless the idea of tired torture porn shown through the religious lens of a handheld camera is your thing, I'd suggest skipping it.

Jason Elin

Sob story found footage film. Now we see that the lead character is in real need of financial help since we learn early on she has no insurance for her sick daughter and as we all know this is a real life situation for many parents and as with this young lady there is no daddy in the picture to help out or rich grandparents . She comes up with the lame idea of some show were she might win $20.000 , hold your breath on that one. Amelia's (Marieh Delfino) BFF talks her into being a stripper for easy money and now we are off to the house of pain. After a slow start we get to the torture porn or what ever this is were Amelia is held hostage and is being forced to face her hoeing ways. There is a bunch of B.S. about saving there souls by the mad doctor (Graham McTavish). Michael Rooker has a small part as the hit man for the Mad doc.
Good ending and I like the after the credits added part, look for it.

PENANCE is another one of those first-person, hand-held camera horror flicks with may seem amateurish and improvised, but it also pushes the boundaries with its gritty realism. Believe me, this one is absolutely brutal. Supposedly it's based on the true story of some religious fanatics trying to coerce the holy spirit into some women in need of guidance. Through extreme torture, they try to cleanse the ladies of their sins to ensure their safe passage to Heaven. Nothing like a surgical razor blade to help gain purity of the soul.

Amelia is a single mom struggling with hospital bills while trying to raise her adorable little daughter. Out of desperation she takes a job as a stripper. With this job comes some fast cash, but it also presents some extreme occupational hazards. Eventually her and her girlfriends perform for the wrong clientele...

Can I help you? No.
Can you help me? No.
Are you (screwed)? Absolutely, positively...Yes.

Penance starts with an abundance of nudity as the ladies strut their stuff. This mood quickly changes when the gals are held captive in an old hospital for the criminally insane. There is some excrutiating painful torture that will make you cringe. I also enjoyed the brief appearances of Michael Rooker (Henry: Potrait of a Serial Killer) and Tony Todd (Candyman).

This low budget affair has solid acting and great bloody effects. The running time is around 80 minutes. I highly recommended it to the most jaded of gorehounds.

Tony Todd (CANDYMAN), Michael Rooker (SLITHER) and Lochlyn Munro (FREDDY VS. JASON) star in this provocative horror film. I have not finished this yet either. I will update this when I can. 5 out of 5 star rating, so far.

My husband and I watched this movie the other night and it was excessively creepy. The plot and the acting was great. The psycho freaked me out - majorly! I was glued to the TV the whole time. It's definitely one of the best horror movies I've seen.

this movie gets 1 star because there's one scene about an hour in i didn't expect, but still wasn't worth watching this stupid movie.

premise:
a married woman with a small child is struggling with bills so she decides to try and make a home movie to send into some reality show in hopes of getting $20k. instead, her friend gets her to become a private stripper, and then her client traps her and some other stupid strippers and tortures them for being whores and their "sins against god".

wah wah "you're whores and i'm going to teach you a lesson!!!!" seriously, HOW many times has this movie been done before? BOR-ING.

the movie is documentary-style, except the blair with project executed this better. and somehow towards the end of the film, the "documentary" camera stops being shaky and is shot still and professionally, and for some reason the abductors are "recording" all of it? this doesn't even make sense!!!!!! i'm seriously not even done with this movie yet, i have 20 more mins to go and watching the rest of it is more painful than the torture scenes.

SKIP.

I have had trouble with this movie, it goes blank after about a quarter of the way through it. I have tried it many times, and it does it every time. I think I got a bad movie.