Deaf and mute Angel is forced to work in a brothel that specializes in young kidnapped girls. She cleans up the girls between customers, refreshes their makeup, and drugs them. When she befriends one of the girls who is later brutally raped and killed, she decides to exact revenge on the soldiers responsible. The Seasoning House is horror movie that depicts real life horrors of murder, rape, and human trafficking. I loved seeing the person considered the weakest destroy all of her abusers and exact revenge for herself and her friend. It was definitely uncomfortable to watch and very sad at points, but I liked it. Angel isn't the usual protagonist because she can't communicate well and the actress did well conveying her feelings through other means. Parts of it were infuriating because Angel is young and a bit naive and of course it's difficult to watch young girls being repeatedly raped while the rapists walk free and someone profits from it.
2) Chained (2012)
When he was 9 years old, Tim was kidnapped by a taxi driving serial killer named Bob along with this mother. His mother was murdered, but Tim was kept to serve Bob and help him maintain his home, cook his meals, and anything else he needs. When Tim is older, Bob educates him on anatomy and grooms him to become a serial killer. Tim must decide if he will follow in Bob's footsteps or if he will escape. This is surprisingly similar to The Seasoning House. Tim is like Angel, serving his captors and biding his time to escape. Both characters have to decide if they want to stay with that captor and help them commit atrocities or escape to an uncertain freedom. Vincent D'Onofrio delivers a disturbing performance as Bob. His nonchalant violence and the ease with which he abducts women is shocking and chilling. The film moves slowly and methodically to its slightly predictable ending. Slightly because I suspected but kept second guessing.
My rating: 3/5 fishmuffins
3) Ginger Snaps II: Unleashed (2004)
* Spoilers * Definitely not as good as the others in the series, but interesting in its own way. Brigitte, who killed her werewolf sister while contracting the werewolf disease, tries to stave off the transformation for as long as possible. She passes out after an attack and gets put in a hospital for involuntary rehab. There are many of the same themes as in the original: lycanthropy as a metaphor for becoming an adult woman, viewing sexuality as monstrous, and the transformation being inevitable as it is a part of life. There were some Ginger and Brigitte conversations within Brigitte's head and I wish Ginger had been more included in the film. Brigitte is frankly not as compelling of a character and makes laughably bad decisions all around. I didn't like the look of Brigitte turning into a werewolf. Where Ginger in the first film looked oddly beautiful, Brigitte looks like a snaggle toothed junkie hobo. Ghost is one of my most hated characters. Tatiana Maslany portrays her well, but the character is morally reprehensible and disgusting. She won't hesitate to use anyone as she sees fit. Her true character was pretty obvious from the beginning, but seeing where she ended up was infuriating. I just don't think the ending made much sense because wouldn't Barbara tell people that Ghost killed her? How can Ghost make Brigitte as a wolf do what she wanted? It just doesn't add up to me and the ending pretty much sucks. The themes from the first film fit awkwardly with the rest of the plot, especially with Ghost's part.
My rating: 2/5 fishmuffins
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