Eight people, one male and seven females wake up in a small cellar room. They are all strangers who have been drugged and kidnapped and forced into their captor’s game. An intercom soon blares and the captives are told that they must choose two people, one will be freed and the other will be made to suffer. This will go on so that every single day, the captives must choose a person to be freed, but this one person will be tortured first. The final person remaining will be the one executed and they will have to endure the mental torment of watching everyone else gain their freedom first.
The first whipping commences and the older lady takes her lashes in a very somber fashion. The captors force the girl (played by Mandy Tortega) to whip her. Unfortunately for much of the whipping she is virtually silent and only shows a reaction when the executioner switches to the cane later on. Although her facial expressions mirror the pain she is feeling, she holds back almost the entire time. This scene was an utter waste, because the model was terrible; highly unattractive and boring to watch!
The quiet one is sent back to the room, she is free to leave as soon as she has recovered from her ordeal. The others are terrified and their fear is palpable. Because the quiet one is allowed to take one person with her when she leaves (this person won’t be tortured), one of the blondes quickly sucks up to her and is called out for it. When the next selection comes, this blond is next to be chosen, the tearfully begs and protests and has to be pushed out of the room.
The second whipping begins with the traitorous, self-serving blonde lying on her back, with her hands and legs up in the air attached to a spreader bar. Unfortunately, while this scene was no less intense than the others, an immediate sense of confusion was present as this position makes us think we are going to see a pussy whipping. Simply the wrong position to use for an ass whipping! At least some of the strokes hit her pussy. Fortunately, she was the loudest of all the victims, as she sobbed and howled throughout much of her punishment.
After this scene three more whippings are conducted. Because each victim was put in a highly similar position for each of these three, they are almost the same scene, which makes them rather quickly become boring. As a result only brief summary is necessary. The third whipping starts off with the second blonde (portrayed by Gigi) getting her taste for the whip. Her reactions were quite intense and she, at several points, looked ready to fall over. The fourth whipping, this chick had her ass raised up high and head on the wooden platform. She was the second-quietest victim, but her eyes were wet with tears early on. The final whipping commences and this blonde takes it hard. Her whipping was arguably the most entertaining as this girl was feisty and argumentative, occasionally alternating taunting and insulting her captors and then begging them for mercy throughout her ordeal.
Let me tell you something, the chick who was whipped fourth was what it all about, although her fake pink-colored hair was quite atrocious to look at. Look at her body! She had a nice rack and luscious curves as well as a nice fat ass! Compare this to Pedro’s current models who are all pornstars and therefore one step above anorexic. (or in the case of Ariel, already there).
And the ending, well I won’t spoil it, but the acting is SO realistic. Especially as the final two girls reminisce about what could have been and then make their final preparations. That scene is the one that really breaks your heart, its literally, Passion of The Christ-level! After the movie ends and before the BTS, we get to see a brief scene about the captors making their plans. Frankly, considering the intensity of the final scene, it filled me with disgust. Great acting!
Psychological intensity and manipulation were the major theme in this film. Not only were the models physically brutalized, but their captors also played mind games with them at various points. From selecting who would be freed each day, they knew that person would also be tortured first, creating guilt and minor reluctance in both parties. Also, a few of the captives were kept naked and/or partially disrobed during the shooting, not only exposing them to humiliation in front of the others, but also to the freezing cold. After every single whipping, the movie reverts back to the cellar and we get the privilege of observing the remaining captive’s despair as they knew that with each victim gone, they were that much closer to death. This is possibly the movies greatest strength, as it compelled the viewer to watch the entire movie scene-by-scene and not just skip ahead to the next whipping. The viewers know that they get two rewards each time, the victim’s tears during the whipping scenes and the terror afterwards.
I will be clear; none of the five punishment scenes in this film were of particular excellence. Instead, it was the punishments, combined with the movie’s excellent ”fear factor,“ acting and ambience/scenery that together made this a powerful, entertaining and compelling film to watch. Indeed, this film was so well made that I felt obligated to watch it from beginning to end, as if I was in an actual movie theater.
The good news about this film was that the punishments were long and harsh with each model taking about 50 - 60 strokes between the cane and the whip. Each girl (except for the one in the first scene), was left a blubbering mess by the time her punishment was over. Make no mistake however; none of the punishments present in this film were quite as severe as those of other Mood series such as Milgram or Martial Law. Their welts and bruises simply don’t compare to the latter two series.
The film was not perfect however; as some minor issues were present. First, we have no real idea about why the captors are going this, and throughout the film we never get a clue as to their motive. “Why, why bother going to all this length, kidnapping and drugging all of these people, and then never even give us a clue as to why you did it???” It’s obvious, they enjoyed it! Not only by causing physical pain but keeping those people freezing and in the shadow of the valley of death for almost a week. But still, there should have been a prequel scene explaining their motivations. Second, again, the first whipping was ruined by that model’s silent reactions and third the watermark was too noticeable and prevents the viewer from fully immersing themselves into the film. And finally, the previously mentioned final three whippings being too similar.
Final Grade: B+
Buy it here: http://mood-pictures.com/movie.php?id=309&hd=on
