Directed by Robert Lieberman, The Tortured, is a ruthless movie about any parent’s worst nightmare.
Upper-middle class couple Elisa (Erika Christensen- Flight Plan) and Craig Landry (Jesse Metcalfe- John Tucker Must Die) play the parents of a 6 year old Ben who is kidnapped while playing in his front yard.
After a big investigation young Benjamin Landry is found in serial killer John Kozlowski’s basement. John, played by Bill Moseley, is a cross-dressing child abductor who takes his victims to an underground lair. Unfortunately by the time police are alerted to sounds of crying coming from John’s apartment, it’s too late to save the boy. A trial soon begins once the young boy’s body is identified by his distraught parents.
Infuriated with what has happened and thirsting for revenge, Craig and Elise hatch a plot to kidnap and torture their boys killer.
I was impressed with the performances in the movie. Erika Christensen is convincing as the grieving mother while Jesse Metcalfe gives one of his strongest performance to date. Horror veteran Bill Moseley is also very good in his dress up role and it was a shame we didn’t see more of him.
One negative is the ending twist as it’s slightly banal and incomprehensible. I noticed what you find out early on and while it didn’t bother me as I wasn’t quite sure, once it was confirmed it bugged the hell out of me as it rendered the last 30 odd minutes pointless.
What made this movie work for me though, was the brutality of the movie, the way it was shot, and the characters. In my opinion, if you’re into these types of sadistic torture movies, like me, but served with a little justice then give The Tortured a watch. It may not be the best of its kind, but it’s certainly not the worst.
WICKED RATING: 6/10
Title: The Tortured
Director(s): Robert Lieberman
Writer(s): Marek Posival
Stars: Erika Christensen, Jesse Metcalfe, Bill Lippincott, Bill Moseley
Year: 2010
Studio/ Production Co: Twisted Pictures, LightTower Entertainment, MP Productions
Budget: $8,500,000 (estimated)
Language: English
Length: 79mins
Sub-Genre: Thriller
