Pajiba

wow. that was an intense read.

And this my friends is why I will NEVER understand the hype about Elisha Cuthbert, and even if I could get it, I'll NEVER forgive her for this piece of crap.

Oh my God. I never had any desire to see this movie, but I just want to say that this is hands-down one of the best reviews I've seen here so far. Brilliant, enraged, *scathing*. Reviews like this are why I fucking love this site.

Thank you for articulating everything that's wrong with the whole stupid torture-porn genre. That shit needs to die, like, yesterday.

Wow. No way would I go see this, rent this, and fyi I HATE the trailer on here, have been hating it since it's been up. I actually was covering it with my hand at one point to read some other review.

ick.

Thank you Dustin, and all of Pajiba, for not tolerating this misogynistic torture porn that serves no other purpose than to demean and defile womankind. It pisses me off to no extent that these kinds of movies are made, and I hope that your review persuades the public to stay away from this genre, and especially, this stupid fucking movie.

thank you

Ugg. This sounds like an updated version of I Spit on Your Grave sans the 45 minutes of gang rape, a film I rented because the mailroom guy at my work recommended it as one of his favorite movies, a man whom I never looked at the same again.

Holy fuck. Forget all that "scathing and bitchy" bullshit. When you hate a movie, you hate a motherfucking movie.

And this sounds like one worthy of your hate.

Good God, what possible reason is there to make this? I mean, even some of the worst movies out there have some semblence of a purpose. Scary Movie, while terrible, at least makes someone laugh (just not me). Even that shitpile Hostel could make the claim that it's about human excess and consumerism and some other bullshit. But seriously - what is the point of something like this?

Nothing. There is no point.

Ugh.

Dustin, my dear, I crown you (with all the authority of a flimsy burger king paper topper) the King. Doesn't matter what you are king of. Just the King.

And the only other thing I have left to say is:

GUERILLA STICKER CAMPAIGN, PEOPLE!!!

Oh yes, and that was a fucking fantastic review.

Yeah, I was actually going to add a thank you, for a) falling on the grenade for us and
b) writing about it

BUT - frankly, there was no way in hell I was ever going to see this anyway. So I guess what I really feel I should say is:

I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to see this pile o' crap. I wish we could at least say you got paid, but I know you didn't.

Wow, I think I just got a contact high from your seething fury. That review was so overflowing with venom that I almost want to watch the movie to see if it's really that bad.

But I won't.

Oh, Dustin. The exquisite fury of this review reminds me of why I come to Pajiba in the first place.

Personally, I wasn't gonna see this movie anyway, but these methods of torture are just too extreme. The consuming of human organs in smoothie form is just too much.
Especially considering the fact that I am drinking a smoothie as we speak. Sigh.

What everybody else said. Thank you, Dustin, for taking a stand. I hope *every* critic does.

And don't forget degenerate asshole After Dark CEO Courtney Solomon who has been responsible for the disgusting ad campaigns which went up all over the place, INCLUDING IN SIGHT OF SCHOOLS, featuring Cuthbert in the "stages" of capitivity starting with her being kidnapped and ending with her laying dead on some table with the focus on her chest.

Solomon's response to the outrage over the ads? To BULLSHIT that he would have them taken down, then drag his feet on it, and then start talking about the release party was "probably not legal" because it featured a variety of tortur-iffic activities for whatever sick fucks would go to it.

There is not enough bad shit in the WORLD that could happen to these people as far as I'm concerned, and Elisha Cuthbert should be fucking ashamed for being involved with this - ANY woman involved with it in any way should be.

I'm old (38), so I never got this whole "torture-porn" genre in the first place. More importantly, I don't know how things like this are "r" rated and get sent out to a mainstream audience.

I spent four years in the army as an infantry soldier and saw first hand what type of violence people can do to one another. If people want to see graphic inhumanity, go to Africa or the Middle-east; you won't get titilated by the suffering, trust me. While I am older than most of the readers on this site, it's nice to know that at Dustin and I think alike on this issue.

So, that's one thumb up, right?

I'm glad you spilled the end and confirmed what I'd figured out after having to suffer through the trailer before 1408. Anyone with half a brain cell could have figured out that "twist", which proves to me that you're vitriol is dead on, and that these people just wanted to violently torture and abuse a woman on screen for an hour and a half, then just tacked on the ending to try to justify their sick depravity.

Sorry for the serious run-on, but just thinking about this crap long enough to read the review made me feel sick - that "I threw up in my mouth a little" expression just became literal for me. I had to try to spew at least some of it out as quickly as possible.

I couldn't wait to read your review, Dustin--especially knowing you would probably pan it--and holy shit, you did not disappoint. Amazing. I am basking in the anger. Except instead of tanning me it makes me even pastier than I already am. Oh well. It's quite worth it.

Grammar Nazi Note: Change "deprivation" to "depravity." Just because the review is so fucking brilliant and I can't stand to see it marred by that small malapropism.

I actually feel a little bit nauseated after reading that review. God.

Is there any way to send this review around the studios? They need to read it.

Thanks, Dustin.

Blugh.

I have a friend whose brother was talking about this film the other day, about how much he wanted to see it. I asked him, "Why?"

He replied, "Dude, it's a hot chick getting tortured."

I'm still waiting for an explanation instead of a disturbing revelation about his psyche.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, for standing up against this disgusting and perverse waste of celluloid. No one needs to see it, and it's about time someone took a moral stand.

Wow. Fantastic review.

It makes me feel physically ill that people go to see these movies, but what makes it worse is that women will lower themselves to be a part of the circle jerk.

Can we get back to honest-to-god horror movies now, Hollywood? Thanks.

I'm also interested to hear that you approved an ad different from the one that went up...apparently that's the same bait-and-switch that After Dark pulled in regards to the billboards. Seems that someone took the ad proofs over personally to be approved by the MPAA folks, which were approved...but the ads approved weren't the ones that wound up on billboards. Douchebag Extraordinaire Solomon claims the "wrong image went to the printers."

Oh, I am SO sure.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i898ca0de1754206a72612f6e991544a2

This one will be a rental.

Look, I can appreciate that this movie sucked, but I could have done without all the pseudo-feminist hand wringing that accompanied this review.

I also saw the preview before 1408 (which we went to see based on Pajiba's positive review) and the only thought I had was "that guy is the one doing all this to her; what a stoopid idea for a movie."

I've got a C-note that says some jackhole corporaet film "critic" calls this a "tour de force".

You made my heart race a bit there Dustin. I haven't read such loathing in quite some time. I bow to you for torturing yourself for the good of us Pajibanians who will never ever see this movie.

Look, I can appreciate that this movie sucked, but I could have done without all the pseudo-feminist hand wringing that accompanied this review.

Then go somewhere else.

I don't understand how anyone could watch this (wanting to, not just reviewing) and not come out feeling like slime.

happyplacehappyplacehappyplace FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WHERES THE HARRYPOTTERREVIEW?happyplacehappyplacehappyplace......

Thanks Dustin - I hope that other film reviewers will echo your sentiments and turn the masses away from shit like this (though somehow I fear it won't happen).

Thank you Dustin...great review! No,I was never ever, ever going to see this movie, or Saw or Hostel or any torture porn but it makes me feel a little better that someone in the 'industry' is speaking out against this despicable trash. It makes me wonder with the Republican Right able to make headlines with their opinions on abortion, gay marriage, and their agenda of 'family values' that Fox or CNN or any of the other mouthpieces hasn't done something to prevent this shit being made.

Oh Dustin. Thank you so, so, so, so much. As you know, several of us have been complaining about this ad from jump, and I'm so relieved to hear this wasn't OK'd by y'all. I had actually almost stopped coming to this site because of it. Several of my favorite sites, actually. It's everywhere, I can't escape it. (Ah, irony.)
Anyway, this review quite literally gave me chills. I'm not sure how long you're contractually obligated to keep up that fucking ad, but if you do take down the sidebar, I swear to dog that I will visit the other advertisers' websites and even buy something from them, just to give Joffe and Solomon a big Fuck You.
Again, Dustin, thank you. And I'm truly sorry you had to see this.

"It had me on the edge of my seat!" --Earl Dittman, Wireless Magazines

Thank you for watching this so that I will never ever EVER have to watch it. You seriously took one for the Pajiba team, and I am eternally grateful.

I wish somebody would explain to me the difference between pseduo feminist hand wringing and real feminist hand wringing, cuz by golly, I sure don't wanna have to turn in my fem-cred card.

I do wonder if the vitriol would have been the same had the said victim been a guy, but you know, I don't think that would have been made into a movie... unless it were a young boy, because real men don't get victimized, do they? No, they blow shit up a la Ahnold, Brucy and Dolph.

Dustin, just, wow. Whenever I see previews for these kinds of films, I think to myself "Who on earth has the time and equipment to maintain a torture chamber?" Then I ask myself who would want to watch it.

The "hot chick getting tortured" comment is, indeed, disturbing. Perhaps a way for former film nerds to get revenge on the young ladies who spurned them in high school?

(not that I ever would anyway, but)
I WILL NOT SEE THIS MOVIE AND I WILL ENCOURAGE EVERYONE I KNOW TO DO THE SAME.

Enough is enough. Fuck this shit.
I'm spending my $10 on Rescue Dawn.

damn dude.

The one thing I do appreciate about this site, aside from the usually brilliant writing, is that you never sugarcoat things. So while the movie probably did suck, I applaud the fact that as a critic you have the gusto to articulate that without trying to find some sort of positive spin for it. I always find that there are laughably bad movies (Alone in the Dark, anyone?), but very few movies that should never have existed in the first place (for me, Willard was one of those). So, good on you for being mad as hell and not taking it anymore.

And don't blame Cuthbert - she has to pay the bills, too. Although really, it sounds like doing porn would have been less of an ego-buster than doing this film.

So Dustin, not a third-date movie?

Oh, and Dustin- Thank you for putting yourself through this so you could honestly convey how much this movie hurts all of us just by existing. By being one (of the very few, I hope) to see it, your words are more valuable in the protest against it.
Of course, any protest against this movie will probably only encourage curiosity ticket sales to idiots who want to see "what all the fuss is about." Assholes.

There are just...there are no words. What is this world coming to?

I kind of have a body high right now. You made my week.

Man, that was some awesome fury there. I loves me a good rant. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Fabulous review. I'll be saving my money, and I'll encourage everyone I know to do the same.

"Then go somewhere else."

I heart you, TK.

TK-- yes. Reading all these comments, I just feel so damn relieved there are this many people who are so pissed about this shit! Thank dog we're not all dead inside just yet. I love you guys, seriously.
I'm going to Giant Local Megaplex to see Transformers tonight, but I'm thinking I may just stand near the line for this shit and scream out the "twist" ending, a la Harry Potter spoilers at Harrod's. Although, seriously, didn't everyone know the twist as soon as you saw the trailer?
Of course, if you're dim enough to want to see this, you're dim enough that it may actually not seem obvious.

WOW. That is an AMAZING review, thank you.

Maybe the sickest thing about this is that, through billboards and sidebar ads, they are making sure that people HAVE TO see some of these images, whether we want to (or want our kids to) or not. It's not enough that they want to spread the hatred among diseased fuckers who want to see this - they want ALL OF US contaminated.

No... wait, y'know what's sicker? The fact that this movie has an R rating. Which means that there will in fact be depraved people who HAVE to see this, who don't bother getting a sitter, and take the kiddies along. It's no secret that the MPAA will tolerate violence over sexual content, but are you fucking kidding me? This got an R?!?

ps: mutterhals pseudo-feminist? Where the hell do you get "pseudo" out of this?

You have no idea how angry at the world I am after reading this review. I knew this movie was "tourtue porn", but I had no idea it would be so brutal. I think I may have to go off on a rant to the guy in the next office who is going to see this later today. Thank you Dustin for reminding me that decent men do not get off on this utter shit.

Thank you thank you thank you for legitimizing my initial disgust for this movie. Just from the trailers I figured out who the killer was, and that the Cuth is totally useless. Brava.

TK- i read an article not too long ago about why they make these sort of movies, apparently they're brilliant business decisions. hire a bunch of nobody actors/actresses, get your brother in law to do the special effects, and forego any semblance of plot or integrity all for the bargain pricetag of under $3 million or so. then even if the movie tanks and only makes $9 million or so, you've still tripled your investment.

sick and probably bad for culture as a whole, but the almighty dollar once again has the final say.

Came here hoping for an HP5 review and checked this review out, despite having decided three weeks ago that Courtney Solomon was one despicable piece of shit -- and holy mother of GOD, thank you for this. I love palpable, smart rage.

::::standing up, applauding::::

Thank you, sir.

Joss Whedon's post on the subject over at Whedonesque, to which you posted a link in the comments section of an earlier review, is the perfect companion piece to this. If I had the faintest idea how to post a link in comments, I'd do it. Anyone else know how?

Oh, and a second noodge to change "deprivation" to "depravity" up there in the second paragraph. I think the clause is missing an "of", also. Sorry. Can't stop the copyeditor in my soul.

What's Captivity?

You know, as a former Catholic school student, I understand more than most the compelling power of transgression and transgressive art. But this movie strikes me more as a sad example of attention-grubbing one-upsmanship rather than of a truly expressive artistic contravention of conventional morality. So Hostel impales a girl on a spike (I gather...I haven't actually seen it)? Great! Let's have our protagonist drink a blended cocktail of human body parts. The people who put this schlock together must not have gotten very much love from Daddy, if this is the way they choose to express themselves.

Also, I recently read an article in the NY Times about that party Mr. Solomon put together for the release of this film, and I recall being very skeeved out by the way he came off. He reminded me of one of those boys in highschool that--you could just tell--had a whole passel of anger issues just bubbling under the surface. They never did or said anything too notably untoward; they weren't brilliant; they weren't goths, punks, or whatever; they were generally pretty bland or nondescript; but every once in a while they would say something in class that was so completely off the wall that everybody kind of shuddered and the teacher just moved along. Or they occasionally doodled guns or people being stabbed. It's like someone's given them an enormous canvas to vent their backward and puerile rage.

Lord, who's green-lighting this stuff?? It's not art or even entertainment.

You know, with all the sick fucks in this world who hurt people for their own entertainment? It truly terrifies me when it becomes a financial no-brainer to churn out torture porn as way to strike it rich.

The only thing that made me laugh about anything related to this movie is the fact that the posters on my train that I see every fucking morning (which, by the way, feature half of Cuthbert's face, complete with her runny mascara, pressed up against a chain-link fence--SEXY!) contain the word "grisly", spelled "grizzly". Does that mean I get to see a huge brown bear with a ball gag somewhere in this film?

Feministing also had a blurb on this movie, and I just cannot believe that people are actually still trying to do the whole "But...but...she's empowered!" bullshit with this movie. Sick fucks.

hell yeah. now thats a scathing review. and i SO called it the first time i saw the preview some months ago that the co-captive was actually the captor. its obvious from second one of the preview. i will be avoiding this movie at all cost, just like ive avoided every torture porn piece of crap since i first unknowingly watched the excrement pile that is saw a few years back. i can proudly say i havent seen hostel, hostel II, saw II or III, or any of the other knockoffs released since 2004. unfortunately, plenty of other people see these movies and think they are AWESOME because of the sweet gore, man. ive tried to get people to explain to me the appeal of these movies, but nobody can get anywhere beyond "the gore is really cool". fuck these movies, and thank you for this review.

i can't believe people would seriously not come to this site because of the ad banners. who actually pays attention to those things?

^5 Dustin, TK, Stella, et al. You make our world a better place--by existing and by speaking the truth. There is no 'pseudo' about it. This was articulate, justified, and righteous feminist wrath. This is the moral slap at those who deny--by producing such filth--that women are fully human beings worthy of respect. Shame on anyone who would participate in "creating" such offensive material. There are other ways to pay the bills that do not create a vacuum in your being/soul/essence/humanity--even if you are a movie starlet or self-proclaimed movie screenwriter, director, producer. . .

Now, if only it was Ann Coulter as the victim....

In bad taste, I know, but to me she is just as exploitative and disgusting as this movie appears to be.

This review, and the many comments, remind me of why I adore this site and the people who frequent it (especially the grammar gurus--I love you, fellow geeks!).

Dustin, I thank you for being such a great guy. What a great role model you'll be for wee Pajiba-hyphenate. Speaking of which, has the little one made his/her appearance yet? Been a little out of the loop lately!

Wow. And here I was, thinking I would feel bad for the guy having to review "Chuck and Larry". I had completely ignored this movie, with good reason it seems. My condolences for having to put up with this drek.

I also don't understand how anyone can argue that killing the guy who tortured you on end is supposedly empowering. What, because she realized what a sick fuck he was and gave him what he so rightfully deserved, suddenly she is woman, hear her roar? That isn't empowerment, that is revenge.

If anything does happen to the people responsible for this, they would have unintentionally provided a justification defense for the perpetrator. Not saying you should do anything, just saying.

Sounds about right.

Thanks once again for a review that hits the nail right over the goddamn head.

As to "feminist hand-wringing", how do you think people would react if the torture porn genre portrayed exclusively children or people of colour or a specific ethnicity being violated? A child?! Why that would be disgusting! But it is always a woman, so it is somehow feminist histrionics to complain that this kind of cinematic mistreatment is abhorrent. We're half the human race, but apparently on some level we have it coming.

The older I get, the angrier this stuff makes me. Enrages me actually.

I wrote to Dustin last week to complain about the placement of the advertisement on the site, so I just want to add my thank you of your indictment to everyone else's.

Wow. I was actually thinking "Captivity" was going to be a bit of a bait and switch after the over the top marketing. Guess not. This flick is the last gasp of torture flicks, I'm guessing it sinks faster than Hostel 2 especially as repugnant as it sounds. I'm not at all surprised about the killer's identity, I had that pegged from the damn TV ads. Just shows how pointless a flick it is, hopefully this is the last nail in the coffin of the genre. Until "Saw 4" at least, that one's inevitable at this point.

I just KNOW that very very soon I will see stupid morons running to the theater to see this.

I dread that pain.

God bless you.

Great review Dustin. I had no intention of seeing this movie. I'm tired of the direction that this is going, with each movie getting more disgusting than the last. Your review has me pissed at this trend.On a side note: "That we're not actually a nation of sick, twisted frat-boy fuckers who'd get off on this sort deprivation. "
I wince every time I read something like that, because being I am in a fraternity, and I can tell you that neither myself nor my friends are twisted sick fucks. It feels to me like hearing about a crime perpetrated by a young black man and saying "all young men are assholes" or "all black people commit crimes". There certainly is a tradition of mysogyny in some fraternities. However, this is not the rule of every one, or of everybody in them. And I read this review and I feel that it is implied that I am responsible for this, or that as a "frat-boy" I would want to watch somebody drink human organ shakes or stab their mother. This is sick to any reasonable person. Please don't indict me for this crap.

Right. The Fuck. On. Dustin.

*clap clap clap clap clap clap*

Lionsgate apparently didn't learn anything from the way "Hostel Part 2" bombed, disappearing in just about a month. So they serve another helping of this bloody swill, with the only difference being that Joffe is a once-talented director now whoring himself and Roth is staying in the gutter where he started.

Should there prove to be justice and "Captivity" tanks, I wonder if Joffe will throw a tantrum about all the mean people who talked crap about his movie. I will be pleased to be among that number.

Thanks for this review -- this torture-porn crap has got to stop. I have enough reasons to fear for my soul without worrying that I haven't done enough to fight this kind of garbage.

Thank you, both for taking one for the team as it were and for talking about the implications of the movie just beyond the fact that it was a bad film.




I'm just glad you use your powers for good.

where's the hp review? i need some happiness in my life after this one. but thanks for taking one for the team....no matter how bad and offensive these films may be.

The films existence has pissed me off since I heard about it. For these reasons, I actually hesitated before clicking the review, simply because I've a tendency toward anger issues.

That being said?
All last vestiges of my faith in humanity are quite dead, but the review? MAGICAL.
Oh the livid scathing hatred.. it was like Christmas! But uplifting!
Bravo, Dustin. And as always, your disgust toward misogyny is adored. Only wish t'were a more common trait.

Dustin, God bless you. You deserve a Pulitzer in criticism for this review. Why shit like this is made is beyond me. Hell, your description of the "smoothie" was enough to gross me out and spoil my appetite. Hell, I feel downright nauseous and I didn't even SEE this damned thing (by the way, you can see that "twist" ending coming in the TV trailer, for chrissakes!). I'm sorry, however, that you had to sit through this abomination. My prayers are with you for a quick recovery.

"Look, I can appreciate that this movie sucked, but I could have done without all the pseudo-feminist hand wringing that accompanied this review.
"

As the father of a little girl who will one day be a woman, and who wants said little girl to be able to inherit a world where she can not only accomplish anything a man can but be equally compensated for it and have the same rights and privileges of the male gender, let me just say:

FUCK YOU, Mutterhals. Fuck you right in the god-damned ear you mysoginistic fucker.

And yes, I know I'm judging you on a single, stupid, stupid comment on a blog, but prove me wrong.

Asshole.

Long time reader - first time writer. I'm not the P.C. type who objects to a clever reference that incorporates a stereotype but, I take umbrage with one element of your review: "That we're not actually a nation of sick, twisted frat-boy fuckers..." If you are referring to demented male sadists who enjoy a premise about mysognisitc violence against women, I concur.

I was a member of a fraternity. Although capable of objectifying women (as opposed to G.D.Is? or sci fi fan boys?, or math geeks?), I and we are not sadists. What does "frat boy" add? A reference to a demographic or a concealed elitist stab?

You know, I just watched "This Movie is Not Yet Rated" the other day, and the fact that this got an R RATING!!!?!?!?!! is appalling. I'm never listening to the MPAA again, and in the future time when I have children, I'll just pre-screen all movies they watch for content.

Honestly, I'd rather my theoretical young children see porn than a woman killing her dog with a shot gun and drinking a smoothie of human organs. At least sex is something that will one day have a place in their lives.

Thanks for the review, thanks for being a feminist (love!) and thanks for not apologizing for either. If there were no Ms.Pajiba Hyphenate, you'd have yourself a 20 year old groupie.

That was a really intense read, sent chills down my spine.

I thought this movie wasn't out yet- because isn't it set to come out on friday the 13th? how come you reviewed it early?

Bravo! I decided to boycott this movie from the first teaser I saw, and I've been frightening my peers with how animated I've been in my denouncement of it and my pleas with them not to see it, ever.

I've in fact severed all contact with a guy I[thought I] knew because he wanted to take me to see it on a date. He was way to interested in it (which, by the way, any interest at all is too much interest). I very nearly slapped him.

Judging from the trailer alone, You could
replace Lindsay Lohan's name for
Cuthbert's and describe the
upcoming "I Know Who Killed Me."

God Help Us All when there are people who
consider this dreck entertainment!!!

Bravo, sir. Bravo.

Thank you so much. I'm actually near tears with fury right now. I had really hoped that this movie wasn't going to be as bad as I feared, but your review confirmed my worst suspicions. Thank you for sitting through this shit so I didn't have to, and for your awesome, awesome, awesome review.

Also, anyone who doesn't think this movie is intrinsically bound up with misogyny needs their fucking head examined.

i just had to click on the ad for 'little odd forest' after reading that one! thank god that was there as my eyes we're on fire from reading that.

Please please please change deprivation to depravity. It'sa killin me!

Dustin, you're my hero. You poor guy, having to watch this tripe. Thank you for warning us against Captivity so we don't have to sit through it. Add another named to the list of people who refuse to watch this garbage. I will threaten all my friends, if they DO watch this, they will be tied down and forced to watch Cheaper by the Dozen 2 on repeat for 3 days.

Can't wait to see this one!!!!!

I have to defend the filmmaker here.

All those scenes of torture and the cold distant tone were added in by the production company, After Dark, to capitalize on the torture porn craze. Who runs after dark? Why Pajiba darling, director of An American Haunting, Courtney Solomon. He personally bought the rights to the film, then made them change everything. There originally was no gore, no torture, and actual plot.

The reason why the blond girl is so vague is because the original point of the film was a psychological portrayal of how a man could bring themselves to cause this level of harm to another human being. As in, a film more in line with Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (very good) than Hostel (very, very bad). More Hitchcock than Eli Roth (yes, I know that A) I'm knocking Eli a lot here and B) Hitchcock didn't make Henry:..., but the point is valid).

The fact that Courtney Solomon has once again fucked up a good film is disgusting, and the fact is that the man is clinically insane.

After giving a huge rant at the recent Fangoria Weekend of Horrors convention in Secaucus, NJ, I was actually on his side. He received a raw deal from the MPAA and NOW because of a billboard for a film that hadn't even been screened by the MPAA for ratings. But after I cornered him and talked to him for a bit outside the convention, I realized the guy truly was bonkers.

Do not blame this crap on the names mentioned in the credits: this abomination was caused by Courtney Solomon.

em - thanks for the grizzly laugh, i needed that after this.

Wow. That fucking movie is even sicker than I thought it was - and I thought it was pretty damn bad. I felt nauseous even reading your review. I'm no Christian right-er or anything, but this is just an offense to human dignity. Damn them for doing this.

thank you thank you thank you dustin! and while i'm at it - thank you TK for the response to the other comment. i love this site.

I am so in love with you right now it hurts me.

That's kind of the same twist as "Saw". Plus Elisha doesn't get naked. Plus at least "I Spit on Your Grave" had HALF of the running time being her revenge, not just the final minute.

To continue in the vain of WTF rageosity that Dustin has employed in his review, I have to ask this:

Elisha Cuthbert? What the fuck? Did you actually read the script before signing up?

Elisha isn't some actress with this shit as her 1st acting gig, so, I will respectfully say, the well-played mantra of "paying the bills" doesn't cut it. Sorry. No go. Not believing it. Not going for it. I'm really, really hoping that, somehow, the script she read was totally different than what the movie turned out to be. Maybe it was supposed to be empowering, and the jerkwads changed scenes mid-production, and she already signed her contract and couldn't get out of it. Yeah, that's it. Because if she went into this with eyes wide open, I......can't fathom it.

What's worse is the sinking feeling that she may very well get MORE offers after this tripe has been released. Oh goodness, I need something soothing - like a blowtorch to take to the head (or testicles) of anyone with decision-making responsibility for this.

I haven't seen the trailers or the movie but from the hype, apparent controversy, and your review, it really looks like something my dog would barf up. I'd rather watch the Benchwarmers, and that's saying a whole fucking lot right there.

Wait, so the dog was ok, right? But seriously, I have a feeling if Dateline: To Catch a Predator is looking for leads, they should just wait outside the theater when this movie is over.

I've said it before... if simply being disgusted by a trend of violence towards women makes me a feminist, well, then by golly I'm a motherfuckin' feminist. I'd hoped this was something people were pretty much in agreement on, but apparently movie trends are proving otherwise.

Which fucking sucks. And Jocelyn actually made the best point, which deserves to be reiterated - if this was children, or people of color, the world would be up in arms. But since it's a girl, oh, ha! It's just another torture movie, no big deal. That, also, fucking sucks. And finally, in addition to my question of "what's the point?", I suppose we should also be asking "what's the appeal?" I mean, I know, different strokes, different folks, all that shit. But seriously, honestly - someone tell me what is appealing/interesting about this movie?

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go kiss my wife and make her dinner. Anyone for bbq?

To TK, Armando (and Dustin): Snicker-snack!

You wonderful men are the JS Mills to our Wollstonecrafts.

Jesus Christ. I want to throw up just reading the review, let alone seeing the movie.

We live in a fucked up society, people.

Way to go, Dustin. That review was actually worthy of the film. Not that I've seen it, or have any plans to. The only way I'd watch that pile of cinematic crap is if someone drugged me and kidnapped me, then forced me to sit through it Clockwork Orange-style as a prelude to romantic, consensual sex.

agreeing with Genny, as i read the review it remined me of regular porn... why would you go to the cinema to see this movie? why does it clasify as a "horror movie", a title that has some social recognition and cinematic value? how can the director support this work? or the main female star! what were they thinking? who pays for this things? do their mothers aprove?
i don't know, this review has left me hopeless. not because i was expecting a good review, but everytime i see a movie with such plot even exist, i think of how sick some people are.

power to the pajiba

cool out, bro.

i'm sorry for the double post, but i've just read TK's post, and wanted to comment again:
TK: "But seriously, honestly - someone tell me what is appealing/interesting about this movie?"
i have absolutely no fucking clue. the lack of plot shows how much it's only about torture porn. it's like those really fucked up anime, where a monster rapes a girl, and you can't even think of how anyone can jerk off to that.
but the difference is that the former doesn't show on the cinema across America. and it's not performed by actors and actresses. not that this makes it acceptable, of course, but i don't know... i fear this movie is going to make a lot of money.

Not to defend the indefensible but...

Were men prominent in Charlie's Angels or Baywatch? Nope. So there is this thing I'll refer to as tittilation in our culture, and it is vastly disproportionately male driven. Anybody here equally "disgusted" by the genre of women in prison films e.g., Caged Heat?

Is this 'film' is worse because she consumes blended human viscera???

Leaving that aside, (onto the angry feminist issue, would a film of torture againt a man be "anti-male" versus simply misanthropic generally?

Are we sensitive to ensure that women are not debased, because there is historical subjugation and a reactive movement, or do we really care about the debasement of our culture overall?

Man repeateldy stikes wife - villified as a criminal and an ogre. Wife shoots same husband in his sleep (suffering from "battered spouse syndrome"), and she's a hero and the protagonist of a made for tv movie. I know it not exactly on point, and these cases are "man bites dog" but...

Again, not exactly on point, but...I have friends who own and use fur lined handcuffs. One partner is "captive."

So what makes this especially vulgar? A pretty blond teen? A dead dog? The apparent glamorization of her victimization? That its man doing this to a woman? That a human is doing it to a human?

oh dustin, one more thing. Roland Joffe is Mel Gibson's pen name

Your friends are having consensual sex in their home, and if you're alluding to furry handcuffs making that sex a little kinky, that's your perogative. Hopefully they're honest about it with each other and enjoy the hell out of it. Honest kinky is one thing.
It's quite another to disguise what's happening to that girl in the movie as 'female empowerment'.
It's not honest, b/c the real goal of the flick is get some dweeb's rocks off by witnessing torture porn.

and also, I think the current state of the world clearly shows just how much we humans value other humans. There is already too much violence against women in this world for it to be glorified on a 40-ft screen.
I yearn for the day when we respect all life, but ya know, I ain't holdin' my breath.

Nobody hates torture porn more than me. That's one of the (many) reasons I won't be seeing this movie. Or Saw. Or Hostel. Or Turistas. Etc.

But why does torture porn become worse merely because the only victim is a woman (as opposed to half of the victims being women in other torture porn)? The political overtones -- suggesting that this movie isn't so much about enjoying violence inflicted on others as it is about "the man" keeping "the woman" down -- cheapen your argument.

Look, I'm sure it's a terrible movie and a sick viewing experience. But the argument du jour on this is crap. The objections should be based on humanism, not feminism. And when this type of argument is written by a man, it reeks of paternalism.

Well, Miguel, I'll take a couple shots at what is so "vulgar" about this.

1) The glamorization of victimization.

2) The use of cruel victimization to give sexual pleasure to viewers.

3) The sheer scale of the pain and sadism involved - sorry, your friends using fur handcuffs during sex has little to do with this kind of brutality. (I mean, really - how would you feel if your friends tortured and killed each other during sex?)

4) That a man is doing it to a woman.

5) That it is perpetuating a horrifying tradition of forcibly and cruelly debasing women.

6) That it is also perpetuating a horrifying trend of such cruelty towards women being seen as sexual and pleasurable for men.

7) That a human is doing it to a human.

I mean, that's all just off the top of my head, but I think even just one of those reasons is really enough for any sane person.

Says Mark Adams of sundaymirror.co.uk...

It's "...a smartly-made little chiller that manages to keep the levels of suspense racked up pretty high while also delivering clever twists."

He then describes it as "chillingly enjoyable".

This misogenistic idiot's review sounds like it has been written by 10th grade film student.

Comish, I'll tell you why the "argument du jour" is relevant - because, with only a few minor exceptions, the bulk of movies like this tend to focus on women specifically suffering. You don't think there are any sociological conclusions to be drawn from that? I would absolutely object from a humanist perspective, and I do. But there is an added element of sexism to this genre that, in my view, is inescapable.

By continuing to make movies like this, I can't help but feel that it's representative of a larger cultural sickness. Your argument is not unlike saying that "men get raped too", and therefore it's not a feminist issue. Yes, men get raped, but they are in the vast minority. If the majority of offenses (in this case, cinematic ones), are against women, then... well, the fucking shoe fits.

Similarly, as mentioned before - if there was a burgeoning genre of films about torture, but the majority of the people being tortured were gay, or black... you wouldn't draw any homophobic or racist conclusions? I find that hard to believe.

One question: At any point is she stalked by a cougar?

Actually, as much as -- in theory -- I'd like nothing more than to see Kim Bauer suffer, you're right across the board.

Seriously, thanks for the the venom; this piece of shit is no doubt deserving of every drop of it.

"So what makes this especially vulgar? A pretty blond teen? A dead dog? The apparent glamorization of her victimization? That its man doing this to a woman? That a human is doing it to a human?"

Yes.

I second the appreciation for your "exquisite fury," Dustin. This is a brilliantly enraged review of what looks to be a hideously offensive and disgusting movie. I don't know who the hell this Joffe guy is, but I hope he crashes and burns in spectacular Hollywood style. As for Elisha Cuthbert, is she so hard up for roles that she resorted to this, or has the bleach seeped into her brain and destroyed her logic and sense of self-respect? Idiot.

Five-star review, Dustin. Exuberant applause.

Dustin, you are a beautiful, beautiful man. And I'm am very proud to say that this tripe doesn't look like it's going to play anywhere in my city. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

But why does torture porn become worse merely because the only victim is a woman (as opposed to half of the victims being women in other torture porn)? The political overtones -- suggesting that this movie isn't so much about enjoying violence inflicted on others as it is about "the man" keeping "the woman" down -- cheapen your argument.

You missed something entirely--it's not just about "enjoying violence inflicted on others" it's using sadism to make the main character a more willing sexual plaything for the sadist. He's torturing the hell out of her until she consents out of desperation and insanity, which can't even remotely be considered consent. It's not just that the vicitm's a woman, it's that the victim is a woman who is victimized solely for the sexual gratification it brings her assailant. That's how this is steeped in misogyny.

Thank you, Dustin.

it's about fucking time! thank you!! thank you!!!

it's about fucking time! thank you!! thank you!!!

the thing that bothers me the most about this piece of crap is the sheer number of people that are complicit in it's creation. movies don't get made without dozens, perhaps hundreds of people involved. every single one of these people are to blame for bringing this to our tables.

Dustin, you totally saved me from this crappy movie, which I was only going to see because my scheduled film's release got pushed back. Now I'm so glad I don't have to watch the organ smoothie scene. I hope this movie completely flops, and for once, mere gratuitous sensationalism will not be enough to keep a film's ticket sales afloat.

What I love about this review is that not only did you efficiently and so eloquently express your hate for the cruelty, the evil and the overall pointless grossness of the movie; you also hated it because of the lame plot twist that meant NOTHING and would have made it a bad movie anyway without all the other shit.

That's what made your review a great critique. If you just had a problem with the content, it would have been a kind of amateurish review. But since you had a problem with the way the content was delivered, the review has some good legs on which to stand.

It's not just a bad movie. It's TECHNICALLY a bad movie.

I don't mean to be condescending. I just get on a smartypants tangent sometimes. Sorry.

After hearing about the odious ads they had in LA for this movie, I was wondering if it just got shelved. I was shocked to see an ad for it here as well. I cannot find the words in three languages to describe how vile this whole genre is on every possible level.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your review and comments.

If you need a palate cleanser, may I suggest Patton Oswalt's new cd, "Werewolves and Lollipops?"

My Sweet Baby Jesus, it is awesome. Patton is getting dangerously close to being Bill-Hicks-Legendary.

Mark my words. In thirty years, it will be: Bruce, Carlin, Pryor, Hicks, Oswalt.

And no, I'm not a publicist. I'm just a schmuck who works in a bookstore.

as a female, i thank you. this kind of misogynistic crap doesn't deserve to be made, produced or seen. i grew sick to my stomach just reading the review.

I love (and by love, read loathe and detest with every fibre of my being) how she has to fuck the guy at the end. Cos that's what I'd want to do after drinking human viscera & shooting my pet - have sex with a complete stranger. That's what all of us uptight women need - a good screwing. I don't care if she kills him in the end - he still got what he wanted out of her, using the vilest means imaginable. And she submits - as any woman would do in that situation, NOT.

And for all you idiots who can't comprehend the so-called "angry feminist issue", well, I just don't know where to begin. Here's a basic lesson: Women constitute the overwhelming number of real-life victims of violence, sexual and otherwise, and overwhelmingly, the perpetrators are men. Therefore, it is reasonable to draw the conclusion that there is obviously an issue with the perception of women by men (not all, but some), which must be due to some kind of socialisation process (unless you want to argue that men are genetically wired to abuse women, which I assume you don't). If we look at the portrayal of women in culture such as movies, we see that again, they are often portrayed as victims of violence, and these movies are disconcertingly popular, and on the increase. This movie in particular is about the victimisation of someone BECAUSE SHE IS A WOMAN, and he wants to have sex with her. Join the dots.

Of course it's offensive on a human level, but to pretend not to see the implications for the very concerning (and real) issue of violence against women (particularly sexual violence) is completely disingenuous.

It's not just that the vicitm's a woman, it's that the victim is a woman who is victimized solely for the sexual gratification it brings her assailant. That's how this is steeped in misogyny.


Thank you, Sally.


One thing to consider here: it's almost impossible to say "what if this were about a man?" Can anyone here actually imagine that Hollywood would make this same film with a male victim? Yes I know there are male victims in horror movies, but something like this, where the very point of the torture and the horror is to batter a victim down until they'll have sex with their torturer, simply would not get made today.

I hope you don't mind Dustin, but I am going to cut and paste this review (with proper acknowledgements) into an email and send it en masse, with the attached message that I am requesting that anyone with a shred of human decency boycott this abhorrent dreck.

Also, a) sorry about the double breaks and b) I am NOT saying that this same movie SHOULD be made with a man as a victim; it shouldn't be made at all.

Thank you for this review Dustin. I am sooooo tired of this Hollywood fascination with degrading and destroying women. Hey we're fighting a war against the evil terrorists who degrade, dehumanize and murder their women for not wearing their burkas or for falling in love with someone who isn't their first cousin...let's make it sexy for Americans to do the same on film! That should change global society's view of our culture!

Geez. I am trying to become a mother at this point in my life. I have nieces I'd jump in front of a semi for (if I weren't pregnant) to save their precious kooky smart meaningful lives. And crap like Captivity is somehow really cool to go watch for young men? I get the whole sick fantasy crap of insecure walking talking dildo-heads...fine...but guess what? It doesn't always have to be the man torturing the woman Hollywood. Capiche? Oh, you think that wouldn't sell? No shit.

deprivation --> depravation

Dustin, words cannot express my admiration for you at this moment!

Here's hoping this film tanks so badly that studios will think twice before cranking out any more stupid-assed torture porn crapola.

Every time I have seen an ad for this movie, I get a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach without really knowing why. Thank you for telling me why. I am telling everyone I know to boycott.

Dustin: If do dont mind a brief respite from the thorough ass licking you have been receiving thus far, I think it is complete bullshit to keep that add up of Captivity, contracts be damned. Mind you, I have absolutely no interest in seeing that lame-ass movie, but dont slap these pornagraphers with one hand and take their blood money with the other. You cant get it both ways. Thats hypocrisy. And it doesn't matter that you take the time to point out in your review that you took the add without seeing the movie. You dont get to put on the Publisher hat one day and then the reviewer hat the next -- its a business hazard, I know. Now, I am not saying that you need to issue the studio a refund if you take their add and then trash their movie. Call the movies shitty all you want, its when you take the moral high ground, when you say, I dont know, that you want to throw the filmmakers into the bonfire and emasculate the director because their film is repugnant just put your money where your mouth is and take the add down. Very truly yours, Your friendly neighborhood ombudsman.

Would I be up in arms about how disgusting a film like this truly is if the victim were male? Absolutely.

Does that mean that this film, which has been made and is about a female victim, is not a feminist issue. No! The argument is useless because it's a hypothetical standing up to FACT! The one has nothing to do with the other.

And when exactly did 'feminist' become a bad word? This revulsion and outrage is not unreasonable, and I applaud anyone, anywhere who is bold enough to express it. Starting with Dustin.

WTF IS WRONG WITH THE IDIOT. No, the imbecile. No, the crooked mother fucker. No. I can't even. Good GOD what is wrong with whoever came up with this movie?!?!

Hollywood Phony: If only Dateline WOULD wait outside for these creeps. They're probably scarier than what they usually collect.
The whole thing just disturbs me to no end. I need a drink and a good dose of something silly to get the visuals out of my head!
P.S.
Dustin, you rock! Thanks!

Just realized this as I was catching up on the comments (almost all of which are brilliant, I love you all)... the thing that would be laughable about this film (if it weren't so hideously wrong on every level) is the very idea that the victimized woman would end up having sex with ANYONE. After an ordeal like that? Who the hell could feel ANYTHING, much less feel like fucking? She wouldn't be looking for sex from her loving husband after that, much less from a stranger.

At first I thought it was just another example of the complete lack of plot - but then I realized it's just a whole new layer of disease: wear the bitch down until she becomes desperate - desperate for some cock! Because that's what she really needs to feel safe and whole! WTF?!?!?

(And because I can't get away from this: but just be sure you don't actually show the sex, because if you show actual fucking, you'll get an NC-17! And you'll lose all those family viewers!)

"And when exactly did 'feminist' become a bad word?"

The day Ronald Reagan won the popular vote for President.

Ironically, I vote 'yes' to the Imus comeback.

And I'll probably only catch a few minutes of this p.o.s. Captivity when it shows up on Cinemax later this year, hopefully the toy-poodle shooting scene. I hate those yappy little mutts.

Dustin, I love you, you're fabulous. Thank you for throwing yourself on that grenade -- on behalf of all right-thinking people everywhere, I apologize that a movie like that was ever made. It's a symptom of a sickness in our culture, a deadness of fellow-feeling, and it's going to have repercussions in the future, I just know it. Thank you for your revulsion and your call to arms.

I think what also upsets me a lot about these kind of movies, (and no, I havent seen one..my idea of a truly upsettingly "scary" film is the Dutch version of "The Vanishing", "Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer" or "Repulsion")...but I still cannot fathom how there was real-life footage, accessible to anyone, any age, anywhere, of the real life, no special effects, no CG, not its not a movie-with-actors, murders of Nicholas Berg and Daniel Pearl all over the Internet? I couldnt watch...but I bet I am in the minority. How desensitized to the most truly terrifying images available have people become.., and especially this 18-34 year old male demographic that this torture porn madness is aimed at. Does it play into the fantasy that the War in Iraq is one big StreetFighter video game? Granted, some of the videogames these guys play are pretty raw. And stuff on YouTube, yikes...so whats a little more acid thrown around, ya gotta wonder..?? The bar has truly been raised..or lowered,perhaps. Sheeesh.
IN any case, as a woman, and a mom of a son ,I am so grateful for your righteous scorn,and despair,in this review, Dustin. My own 25 year old son Colin and I can still watch "Fawlty Towers" together, and have a good laugh : i am so gratified that he doesnt possess the rage and fear toward pretty girls that these older (and obviously quite psychosexually damaged) pathetic little pencil-dick "men" who produce this kind of shit obviously do. The healthy attitudes of self-confident and politically conscious men in speaking out against such obscenities as "Craptivity" go a long way in changing the zeitgeist of the kulchur. As a longtime feminist, I do welcome men as allies..and dont think they are ALL potential rapists,stalkers and serial killers..but based on the examples of blatant woman-fear and misogyny as torture-porn is,hey,hang on a minute...
May Craptivity join Hostel 2 in the bowels of obscurity that it so heartily deserves, and tank with nary a ripple. And Elisha,.get a new agent, girlygirl.
Gee, should I feel kinda bad for Roland Joffe, maybe?..an Oscar for "The Killing Fields", and now this?? How does he explain himself to people..his wife, his daughters..? And what kinda guy is named Courtney? Like a boy named Sue? Questions, questions..
Cheers, and good wishes, and to all a good night.

Yeah, whatever, men are the victims of violence in torture porn. When are they the victims of *sexual* violence in torture porn? Never. In Hostel II they had a woman torturer, and whom did she torture? Another woman. In a sexual way. Do they ever depict men sexually torturing other men? Or women sexually torturing men? Never. Would that be any better? No, but it's the only reasonable example of setting this kind of misogyny on its head. And it Never. Fucking . Happens.

The violence is sexual. The victim is female. The depiction is gratuitously sexual. Ergo, feminist incensement. There is no other fathomable argument to be made.

That may have been the most intense article I have ever read. Holy shit man. I will never see this movie. ever.

"Do they ever depict men sexually torturing other men?" Yes, see: Pulp Fiction.

This is possibly the best and most honest review I've ever read for a film in my life.

I wasn't planning to watch this film anyway - but now I'll be actively dissuading everyone I know from going to see it.

Damn, I was traveling today and missed all the fireworks. Well, see my comments re "Hostel II" but multiply by 10. Dustin, I can't believe you sat through this fucking crap.

The reason Cuthbert's character has sex with the guy after all the torture and abuse is because that's the pathetic fantasy of men who make these films and the needle-dick boys who enjoy them: Treat a woman like a piece of filth, and it will make her more appreciative of the good fortune of having sex with a depraved piece of shit. Her not knowing his identity in the film is just camouflage for the twisted fantasy.

Ah Pajiba, how i love thee!

Thank you, Dustin. I will be posting this(credited) and passing it around.
Everyone on this site, contributers and readers, you're good people and give me hope (let me wipe this tear away) that empathy and compassion can walk hand in hand with intelligence and sarcasm.

So thanks to all of you posters, as well...I read this site as much for the peanut gallery as the actual posts.

Put your money where your mouth is: take down the add, or I don't believe a (motherfucking) word you say.

That said, movie sounds like a sexist piece of crap...

Here's an idea (a really good one, I think): find Roland and Solomon. Strip them naked and take camera phone pictures of them. Spread the pictures around the internet and give them a taste of what it's really like to be sexually debased.

someone mentioned it and was wondering:
can we get some bumper stickers made?
specifically "fuck torture pore" i think that's pretty catchy, kinda like eye candy, no? maybe a clever visual aid?

these movies will continue for....im going to say...20 more years, becuase they get money. why? because they're marketed as horrors. people will go see them, and it doesnt matter after the point if they dont like them because tey've already forked it over. plus someone (too many comments to go sifting through them all) showed a critic review of him being "glued to his seat". now granted not every critic is a complete jackass (read: non-pajibans) its not enough....

you can tell me that 1408 wasnt a great horror movie, but god damnit, why the fuck would you bash something that is so clearly steering away from where the rest of the industry is going? if we want (good) horror movies, then fucking show respect to even the bad ones that arnt ....well, that arn't captivity.

dustin, i continue to love you as close as i can before it's technically stlalking.

Oh come on, tell us what you REALLY thought.

You know, I enjoyed the brutal honesty in this review so much, that I wish Pajiba was this cruel more often.

Too many times have I come here to see praise for a movie I thought to be horrible... be scathing more often, Pajiba! People love it.

dustin, i sincerely hope all the love everyone above has given you for enduring this travesty can give you comfort.

also: i am so gratified that he doesnt possess the rage and fear toward pretty girls that these older (and obviously quite psychosexually damaged) pathetic little pencil-dick "men" who produce this kind of shit obviously do.

awesome.

Oh dear, Dustin. I've often felt so bad for you, because of all the utterly crappy movies you've had to withstand just so we don't have to, but this takes the cake.

I feel like sending you a fruits basket or something.

So did he like it or not?

To the commenters railing on Dustin for not getting rid of the ad, obviously you didn't pay attention to this part too well.

I can do nothing to get rid of, short of removing the adstrip and pissing off the other advertisers (which I've considered) or shutting down the site all together. But then I couldn't express my utter contempt for Captivity.

I would rather he take their money and keep the site running WHILE shitting on their sick movie, than to punish everyone, including himself, by shutting down. Where does that leave the Pajiba staff? Where does that leave this review, considering that no one would be able to see it? What would be more effective: a well-written, thoroughly destructive review available to anyone who uses a web search, or just another web site gone up in a puff of smoke?

Take a seat, calm the hell down, and think before you launch into invectives. Unless you just wanted to be contrary.

So, I'm a huge fan of horror films. I've seen many of the classics, but I'm always up for a new fix. Over the past however many years, this new subgenre, as you've dubbed it "torture porn", seems to have pulled itself into the forefront. But what is the point of torture porn? It's not really to scare like traditional horror films. Most of the material isn't scary, it's gross. It's also not really to make you think, because most of them don't even have plots at all. More just chop 'em up and spit 'em out. And they certainly aren't looking for Oscars. So what the heck is the point?

The best I can come up with is that torture porn is meant to elicit a reaction. And not just a "well, yeah, it was sort of gross, violent, whatever." Whether you end up loving it or hating it, creators of the films want you to feel that emotion through every cell of your body and scream it out loud, obsess over how awesome it was at the water cooler, or completely tear it to shreds on a blog.

So, while I have no intention of seeing this film, and while I really did love the rant above, I can't help but feel like the film succeeded. All the "female empowerment" crap is just smoke and mirrors to disguise the real truth, the director just really wanted to get someone screaming. And I can't help but feel like he succeeded...

:(

This is the response I hope for when I learned that According to Jim was renewed.

One (only by the barest margins) positive thing I can infer* from this review is that these films are beginning to realize the sexual lust lurking within the torture. That people are getting off on this shit. Now if only they could show that as being sick rather than the norm, we could be getting somewhere.

*Infer because, obviously, I didn't see this crap. I don't even watch the Saw films and they, at least, seem to have some semblance of plot.

Seriously, how can Miguel and The Comish fail to see that these film are specifically harmful to women?

Just judging from the trailer I saw before 1408, this film is designed for men to get off on the voyeuristic way the torture of a nubile young woman is presented to them. The other half of this film's goal is to keep women terrified and "in their place".

I mean, it even says in big, bold, 14-foot-high letters on the screen- "Do you still think it's safe to go out alone at night?" or something to that effect. This question is POINTEDLY directed at women b/c, in conjunction with the words, the trailer shows Cuthbert- a woman- out alone and being stalked like an antelope by a lion. Not to mention, what man is afraid to go out alone at night? I've never heard of one. AND it's women specifically that are told their whole lives by fathers and mothers and everyone else not to be out alone at night. Or drive alone after dark. What man has ever been conditioned to fear this sort of thing?

This film is ACTIVELY telling women that if they go out alone at night, if they behave in an independant manner- THIS WILL HAPPEN TO THEM. They will be tortured back into submission. This movie is telling women that, no matter what they do, they are to be held captive by men. If you want to leave the house, you'd better have a man with you to "protect" you, and if you don't another man will come along and snatch you and torture you for stepping out of line.

Am I the only person who caught that EXTREMELY BLATANT part of the message?

What!? Roland Joffé who directed THE MISSION directed this? How can . . . My god, my SOUL HURTS.
Tempted to take Warren Zevon's advice, to take a Thompson Gun and "Blow off Roland's head"
Never watching it, and will never date anyone who likes it.

Aren't messages like this always obvious and blatant to those most likely affected by them?
Meanwhile, people who are least likely to be the targeted audience bitch about how sensitive and emotional we get when we complain?

And, just as an aside, regarding the whole 'feminist' as a bad word debate, can I just tell you that one of the most moving sights I ever witnessed was in DC a few years ago. My sister and I were walking down the Washington Mall and in front of us was your typical looking 'nukular' family, a trim Grandpa and Grandma, their 30 something daughter w/ her husband and their two kids. They were all wearing these blaringly pink t-shirts. As my sister and I passed them, we snuck a look at the t-shirts. To a one, each of them had "THIS IS WHAT A FEMINIST LOOKS LIKE" in big bold letters.
I tell you, I got a little verklempt.

Can't wait to see it! Your "review" sold me.

Who greenlights this shit??????? For the love of God, whoever gave this sick liitle man the money to make this movie needs to be, to quote the galatic president, caught and shot now.

Thank you, I won't waste my time on this one. Bad enough that women around the world are trafficked and tortured as sex slaves, I don't need to see some Holywoodized b.s.

What a bunch of whiny fucking robots! Oh, Pajiba says the movie is naughty, I won't see it, I don't have a mind of my own.

If he'd liked the movie, how many of you stupid fucks would have watched it and then proclaimed your undying love and admiration to the filmmakers for such a a brilliant piece of art?

Grow a fucking brain...

Thanks!

Aw Chris, you make it soo easy to verbally bitch slap you.

So easy that you didn't? Excellent.

Go fuck yourself...

I long for the day when all movies have a gaggle of empowered women sitting at a table made from recycled materials, discussing the inevitable death of the planet from man-made global warming, the inherent evils of capitalism, and shed a few tears over the lack of socialist healthcare. Now that's entertainment!

Hahaha ... Chris, believe it or not, if you hang around Pajiba for a while you will see plenty of posts from readers who disagree with the reviewer. The reason that doesn't happen too often is that most people who bother to read Pajiba reviews know that the reviewers have similar taste and values to their own and thus can accurately sum up the aspects of the movie that are important to those readers. We're here because we like the way they watch movies and think about them, and we appreciate them giving us a heads-up about a movie that might violate some of our shared standards. Honestly, why are you even on a movie review site if you don't believe it is possible to gauge the worth of a movie through a competent review?

For example, in case you haven't gathered that by, say, reading the comments, almost all of these readers feel torture porn like Captivity violates a standard - a film standard, a moral standard, etc. Dustin's summary of the ENTIRE MOVIE allows us to judge the plot without seeing the film itself, and clearly, we primarily feel that it is morally reprehensible and weak story-telling. Or do you think we're only against female debasement for male sexual pleasure because Dustin said so? Because I know if he posted saying it was really cool and hot, I'd just be disappointed in him. Fortunately, he hasn't disappointed me yet.

PS - Don't mean to sound as if I'm speaking for EVERYONE here.

It was a movie review.

Let me walk you through it:

Hmmm. I would like to see a movie this weekend, but there are so many choices. This one looks interesting but movies are expensive, so I'd like to find out if I'm going to be wasting my money. I'd better read some reviews.

I have read Dustin's reviews in the past and he seems to like many of the same films I do.

I wonder what he thinks of this film?

Oh.

But wait there's more. I'm online so now there is a forum for a really very interesting discussion of what films mean and their impact on and reflection of our culture.

Thanks Claire. I guess you can type faster than I can.

Liberal Agenda,

It's socialized medicine not socialist healthcare. I don't think anyone wants a healtcare system based on Stalinist Russia's.

good god, reading the REVIEW made me sick to my stomach.

And as for the person who said this?

And don't blame Cuthbert - she has to pay the bills, too. Although really, it sounds like doing porn would have been less of an ego-buster than doing this film.

Forget that. I've got five words for Elisha.

"You want fries with that?"

Hell yes I'm going to blame her for taking that job. I'd blame any actress who degraded herself by voluntarily agreeing to a movie like this. I'd blame the actress, the other actors, the director, the editor, the producer. Anyone who willingly works on that kind of drek?

DESERVES THE BLAME.

If he'd liked the movie, how many of you stupid fucks would have watched it and then proclaimed your undying love and admiration to the filmmakers for such a a brilliant piece of art?

So if I agree with him, I have no brain?

Dustin, you are my zombie master.

Chris darlin', I was merely stating a fact. See subsequent posts for proof.

Dustin. Thank you. I won't watch torture porn anyway, but thanks to this review, I have convinced a few fans of the genre not to see this movie.

Chris, don't be contrary just to stir shit up. It's kinda pathetic.

First of all I'm going to agree that the film must be terrible.
However, you are just another idiot internet film critic.
For once I would like one of you ignorant fucks to actually write something meaningful.
'this film fucking sucked' 'I hated this film'
You shit heads are never able to give a good reason why you don't like something.
It's all inane drivel.
What is obvious is that you don't know enough about film to review a movie fairly.
Do the world a favor and throw in the towel.
Your one of a thousand internet film reviewing fucksticks anyway.
Leave it to the people that actually know something about film Pajiba.
Because it's painfully clear that you don't know shit.

This movie is pure woman-hatred, from beginning to end. This blatant kind of hatred of an entire category of humans only rears its head when the targeted group is succeeding in its bid for equality.

Therefore, we're winning. This sexualized hatred is the last gasp of an obsolete mindset, desperate to hang on to the power it has already lost.

Thank you for the review. I think I'm going to print this up and give a copy to all my friends' stupid little brothers who want to see this move.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who could see through the previews to the 'plot twist' and I'm glad I'm not the only one unnerved and disgusted by these kinds of films. No way will I go see this horrid pile of hateful, poorly-written crap.

"It had me on the edge of my seat!" --Earl Dittman, Wireless Magazines

Hopefully, that means he was almost ready to leave throughout the entire movie. But, alas; probably not!

Absolutely no redeeming value!

I agree with your points, and I think tasteful people ought to avoid this movie. But I have one important point to make:

Do not make a big deal of boycotting it! Didn't you learn anything from the fundies? Remember "The Last Temptation of Christ?" A boycott is exactly the publicity these directors want.

I commented on this review yesterday, but I must comment again. Dustin, I want you to know that this review has inspired me and has been the smack in the head I've been needing for a long time.

As a sophomore in college, I'm, of course, broke. For a second job, I work for a company that throws parties in clubs. I have been a shot girl for the past couple of months (go ahead, laugh all you want), and I thought I actually enjoyed it. But I've always felt that I've been stuck in a rut, that I needed to be challenged a whole helluva lot more. This review has made me think more about us females and how often we are thought of as lesser than males, and has made me realize that this job is catered to males and pleasing them. You should see some of the outfits I've worn, none of which I would normally EVER wear in public. And for what? To make all these men happy? To play into some little fantasy they have that maybe this cute chick is easy and I can take her home with me later?

I'm not some fucking plaything for the scum that I typically see in the clubs (and believe me, they are scum. What kind of 35 year old man hangs out in a club and hits on 18 year olds?!) I refuse to continue degrading myself in order to get some drunkard's money. I'm putting in my two weeks notice today.

I want to thank you for helping me see the light, because no one else would.

Quick question: what's the deal with the automatic junk filter? I just tried to post something completely relevant, and got a message that my post was "shuffled off." Does that mean it'll ever appear?

Sorry for the derail.

Big fat "Word!" to the bulk of this thread.

I guess the only thing left to say is:

DUSTIN FOR PRESIDENT.

By the way, I am a husband, a brother to a strong healthy sister, a mentor to younger women where I work, and I believe no means no). But -

According to one commentator, "This film is ACTIVELY telling women that if they go out alone at night, if they behave in an independant manner- THIS WILL HAPPEN TO THEM."

When you depict something, or even gratuitously display that same thing, does that OF COURSE means you are espousing the theme????

If the movie had shown her kidnapped while out with her boyfirend, then the message would have been different(?) as it would not have been designed to actively commiunicate that women should not be out alone at night leading independent lives? REALLY? Same gross film in my book.

Freud said "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." I think this is more like a disgusting foul Rorschact (sp?) into which people imprint there own political identity.

Were people right to be offended by Jar Jar Binks or Danny Davito's potrayal of the Penguin (Blacks and Jews respectively). Sure, if you wanna be offended, all you ahve to do is open your door. Is George Lucas excoriated for a racist? Nope. Seems like the knee jerk here is stronger because the torture and sexualization. And maybe deservedely so.

But I'd say Blacks and Jews have had a pretty tough road also.

If we follow the most extreme Catherine McKinnon wing here -

All pornography must be banned. To hell with the patricarchal 1st amendment. That supposed freedom is just a tool to oppress women. And until the Senate and House of Represetatives are 51 % female, we know the rule of law is a joke.

We must ban "To His Coy Mistress" Sick fucking poet. We must destroy all prints of The Rape of the Sabine women. If we supress the display of the impulse in "arts," maybe it will go away in reality.

(But to some, Madonna is "empowering" in flaunting her sexuality because its her choice?)

Hey, and maybe if we stop crime shows on TV, there will be no crime, like in the 1930s before TV.

Does art imitate life, or vice versa????

If women should be accorded some special protection in the arts because in reality they are sexual prey for a few demented souls (I believe the statistics from advocate groups that 1 in 2 women are subject to some form of sexual assault are massively exxagerated by a definition that includes "staring" or unwanted catcalls), then they are no equals under the law.

You cannot be equal and infantalized at the same time.

Here's a basic lesson: Women constitute the overwhelming number of real-life victims of violence, sexual and otherwise, and overwhelmingly, the perpetrators are men. Therefore, it is reasonable to draw the conclusion that there is obviously an issue with the perception of women by men (not all, but some), which must be due to some kind of socialisation process....

Women do NOT "constitute the overwhelming number of real-life victims of violence." According to the Dept. of Justice, men experience higher victimization rates for all types of violent crime except rape/sexual assault. Which, notably, was not one of the crimes perpetrated on the victim in this movie.

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/cvict_v.htm#gender

L2:
Here's a basic lesson: Women constitute the overwhelming number of real-life victims of violence, sexual and otherwise, and overwhelmingly, the perpetrators are men. Therefore, it is reasonable to draw the conclusion that there is obviously an issue with the perception of women by men (not all, but some), which must be due to some kind of socialisation process

Women do NOT "constitute the overwhelming number of real-life victims of violence." According to the Dept. of Justice, men experience higher victimization rates for all types of violent crimes except rape/sexual assault. Which, notably, was not one of the crimes perpetrated on the victim in this movie. (I had to delete the link to the DOJ website because my message gets caught up in the spam filter. You'll have to do a google search.)

A bunch of fucking cry babies you people are. Why give a shitty movie credence by going on and on about misogyny and female hatred and all this other PC crap. You people wouldn't know misogyny if it came on your face. And the reviewer came across as some sort of raving causehead desperately trying to ingratiate himself with the hairy-pitted feminists that apparently frequent this site. It's an unimportant, commercial film that's only goal is to make money. Save your hatred for something more important, or don't. Continue your masterbatory bitchfest and feign superiority, I don't care. I gave up on Pajiba after I saw 1408; that was the most tepid, frightless piece of shit I've ever sat through, and the reviewer practically came all over himself while talking it up.

Agree with Stella.

With Claire - I was asking what made THIS film worse than other torture flicks, e.g., Hostel or Saw apparently, or other sexualized women in danger/captivity flicks, e.g., Caged Heat. Of your list, #s 1, 2, 3 and 7 apply to all torture films. #s 4, 5, and 6, speak specifically to gender and power.

I knew the handcuff thing was not exactly on topic. Just an analogy to show that many people enjoy power/lack of control issues in their healthy sexuality. Its bloody common. Most psychologist and psychaitrists will tell you that there is almost always a factor of power and near violence in the act of coitus. And a sociobiologist will tell you its common in mammals.

Is sadism really worse when a man does it? (Because any depiction of it acts to reinforce the historical subjegation of women?) Not sure we should reject any art if it allegedly reinforces a historical "violation").

Ever see adverts for Dominatrix/Mistress? Plenty of men pay to be dominated, and even have pain inflicted. Not my cup of tea, and I would not pay to see it done, but...

Homo sum: humani nil a me alienum puto.

Agree with Stella.

With Claire - I was asking what made THIS film worse than other torture flicks, e.g., Hostel or Saw apparently, or other sexualized women in danger/captivity flicks, e.g., Caged Heat. Of your list, #s 1, 2, 3 and 7 apply to all torture films. #s 4, 5, and 6, speak specifically to gender and power.

I knew the handcuff thing was not exactly on topic. Just an analogy to show that many people enjoy power/lack of control issues in their healthy sexuality. Its bloody common. Most psychologist and psychaitrists will tell you that there is almost always a factor of power and near violence in the act of coitus. And a sociobiologist will tell you its common in mammals.

Is sadism really worse when a man does it? (Because any depiction of it acts to reinforce the historical subjegation of women?) Not sure we should reject any art if it allegedly reinforces a historical "violation").

Ever see adverts for Dominatrix/Mistress? Plenty of men pay to be dominated, and even have pain inflicted. Not my cup of tea, and I would not pay to see it done, but...

Homo sum: humani nil a me alienum puto.

Seems like a lot of critics want to injure the director/screenwriter, or attack their sexuality. Kinda ironic?

No kidding.
The torture genre has never ever once bequeathed me a minute of entertainment, though I have given it a try. All the Saw movies are an interminable bore and Hostel made me tired.
And despite having girl-parts and liking to do it with boys, I don't mind misogyny in movies for the most part. I mean, I subsist on a diet of giallo films, gin, and Camel Lights. But I do mind tackiness. And Captivity sounds very very tacky.

I don't think there is anything I could come up with to say that hasn't already been said. Almost certainly said better than I could have managed. I was disgusted with this movie from the trailer alone, and your review has only confirmed what I feared.
However, I would point out that I find it grating/troubling that many of you decrying this film are the same people that only a few reviews ago were happily talking about beating the shit out of little kids. For the terrible crime of being "creepy". I have to wonder where the line of acceptable violence is drawn, what exactly is the thinking behind one act of violence being wrong and horrid, and the other being just fine and even funny?
I'm not trying to be a shit stirrer or detract from the point made in this review and the comments. I agree that this is misogyny, this is torture porn and it's disgusting. However, I was pretty equally disgusted by the comments over at the Joshua review about beating children or even killing them.

TK:
If the majority of offenses (in this case, cinematic ones), are against women, then... well, the fucking shoe fits.

But that's my point. First of all, the majority of "cinematic offenses" aren't against women. How many women were tortured/killed in the Lethal Weapon series, Reservoir Dogs, Saving Private Ryan, and Braveheart? I can think of 2 (Mel Gibson's girlfriend in Lethal Weapon and his wife in Braveheart). Now how many men were tortured/killed in those movies? Dozens? Hundreds? So why haven't we seen any articles decrying the bias against men in movies?

It's because society views men like Storm Troopers or Ogres (in Lord of the Rings). We're bullet fodder. It's our job to die to protect the women. We're programmed to notice less when men suffer violence than when women do. That's the reason that throughout history, most soldiers have been men.

And that's the second reason the argument is silly. These movies often feature women because it's more emotionally effective. It takes advantage of our sociological programming. Just as the bad guys will so often kidnap a child - because we naturally have a desire to protect children - these movies feature women as victims because they're more helpless, more innocent, and we're more likely to care if they are hurt or die. For as long as there's been fiction, men have played the role of savior and women have played the role of victim for this exact reason: because we feel more of a need to protect women.

And that's the third reason the argument is silly. These movies are supposedly misogynistic because they feature women as victims. But that impulse of disgust you feel isn't because you view women as equals, but because you see women as helpless and in need of protection. It's the same argument that some people make against pornography: It's harmful and degrading to women, and so we men won't allow women to participate in it even if they want to do so. And that's bullshit.

Again, I think these movies are disgusting, and I wouldn't buy a ticket to one unless it came with a chance to punch the director in the face. But Elisha Cuthbert doesn't seem to think she needs protection. I don't agree with her decision, but it's her decision to make, and I respect that.

Hmmm...open discourse of a very real and disturbing sociological trend = "masterbatory bitchfest and feign[ed] superiority"? Perhaps from the viewpoint of the minority side of a debate. Honestly, though, you seems to be extremely (and oddly) upset over what is really nothing more that a forum of like minded people expressing their disgust with an increasingly twisted filme genre. Perhaps you need more calcium in your diet?

Considering the height of the pedistal he's standing on, most of you must have some really long necks to get so much ass kissing in.

"The average victim of violent acts is a male attacked by another male (Ringel, 1997)."

I'm sure you weren't aware of this. So the next time a movie comes out showing graphic male on male violence, I'll expect the same type of scathing review.

I'd like to respond to a lot more things on here, but I'm at work. I couldn't let this pass, though.

Comish,
There is a crucial difference between torture and murder of men in films and of the same of women, which is the sexualization. Torture porn is used to give sexual pleasure to men who enjoy watching women being brutally tortured or sexually assaulted. These films aren't marketed towards people who see women as weak things to be protected OR towards people who see them as equals, but towards people who consider them objects deserving of pain. This is NOT to say that I like gratuitous violence of any kind - I despise torture films in general, as well as all films that involve such unnecessary and sadistic violence.

Secondly, there is more at stake for women here than one girl's right to make cheap bucks off exploiting this sick fantasy. The impulse of disgust I feel is because women are PORTRAYED as weak people who need protection to survive - and who are valued only when they are not protected, when they are brutally tortured and exploited. It reinforces the stereotypical image of women as weak and subject to the sexual desires of men. Furthermore, it PANDERS to and ENCOURAGES that desire. They don't make these films to raise awareness of sexual crime, they make them to titillate some guys who think girls getting sexually and physically abused is hot and pleasurable. They're reinforcing an image of sexual pleasure that can cause direct harm to women - who are in fact the victims of most sexual violence. And that is HARMFUL.

I find this all very sad. During the commentary for "The Killing Fields," Joffe says that Haing S. Ngor (who played Dith Pran) told him that he wasn't doing justice to how horrible conditions really were (and he would know). Joffe told him he probably couldn't get away with showing that level of senseless violence, even though it had actually happened, and its inclusion could be justified by its being based on real life. Joffe chose to be subtle about the devastation.

What happened? (Don't answer this, it's rhetorical)

Thanks Dustin.

Wow, mutterhead or whatever your name is. To use the word "came" on something twice in one comment and the term "hairy-pitted feminists" really gives credence to your point. Learn how to spell masturbatory.

Mutterhals: If you hate this site so much then why are you wasting your time reading reviews and posting comments on it.

Also, the characterization of feminists as "hairy-pitted" is the same sexism that we are all railing against and if sexism exists in the art then it is reasonable (in fact, rational) to assume that it exists in the wider culture.

You truly make me afraid to have children someday.

So, kate, I guess he means that "hairy-pitted feminists" are men, right?

"I gave up on Pajiba after I saw 1408; that was the most tepid, frightless piece of shit I've ever sat through, and the reviewer practically came all over himself while talking it up."

Ok, then. Let us hairy-pitted, liberal nazi, man haters go about our business. Bu-bye.

I gave up on Pajiba after I saw 1408

Then why are you still here? Oh, that's right, because you think being an insulting dolt is amusing. Anyway, on to the actual, intelligent comments...

Comish - I think that the fundamental difference between the movies you listed (Lethal Weapon, etc), besides the fact that those are popcorn action movies, is that they are not movies ABOUT torture. And this is. It is the central plot. Without it, there is no movie. It is a torture movie. And this particular genre seems to define itself by having the victim portrayed by women. That is the big difference between, say, Die Hard, and I Spit On Your Grave.

I think the arguments you make about women as helpless victim and men as the protector are good arguments. But: And that's the second reason the argument is silly. These movies often feature women because it's more emotionally effective. I'm not sure what your point is... because it's emotionally effective, and because historically and sociologically there is a male urge to protect women, we shouldn't be offended by the movie? I don't get that.

Yes, the bulk of violence is man on man. But the way I see it is that violence against women specifically because they are women is a very real and very prevalent problem in this country, and in the world, and is distinct from other crimes. This movie seeks to make a profit on that, and in fact sensationalize it. That is where the sexism comes in.

Anyway. I'm always happy to debate, and I'm glad we're keeping it civil. Unlike some of the other jackasses around here.

Anne, as one of the posters from the "Beat your kids" segment, let me explain why my position there is no different from my position here.

It's about power and who wields it.

I support beating the crap out of a kid that kills his dog. The dog is not consciously aware that the human he trusts is about to kill it.
The family dog is in a position of powerlessness and t