morrison-dylan-fan Since reading about them making the first ever Israeli Horror Rabies after seeing Julie Estelle living Comic-Book role as "Hammer Girl" in Gareth Evans Neo-Noir epic The Raid 2,I've been meaning to check the work of writers/directing duo Aharon Keshales & Navot Papushado.Getting the honour of being the host for an event held on IMDb's Film Festival,I was excited to find that Papushado and Keshales latest had been chosen for the fest,which led to me crying wolf.The plot:After the kidnapping of a number of schoolgirls (who are found murdered) police officer Micki believes that school teacher Dror is the killer. Grabbing Dror,Micki starts torturing him for info.Failing to get any info,Micki receives an anonymous call over the location of the latest victim,whose head has been taken. Unknown to Micki,someone has recorded his beating,which leads to him getting sacked. Blaming himself for his daughters death, Gidi learns that Dror is the main suspect.As Micki vows to go rogue and get a confession, Gidi starts getting set to make Dror afraid of the big bad wolf.View on the film:Backed by an excellent roaring score from Haim Frank Ilfman,writers/directors Aharon Keshales/Navot Papushado and cinematographer Giora Bejach cast an atmosphere of Neo-Noir dread,set alight by the kids being caught in the darkness via stylish slow motion,and wide crane shots capturing the isolated Noir world the duo now inhabit. Locking the guys up in one room,the directors deliver the violence with a blunt-force,that is burnt with a gallows edge to the torture,which gives it an under the skin seedy edge.Before the wolves cross paths,the screenplay by Keshales and Papushado take inspiration from Nordic Noir,as Micki's claws of high-level corruption shine as the police find themselves in the wilderness over identifying the killer. Locking them in a basement with strips of jet-black Comedy,the writers cross the paths of Micki,Gidi and Dror (played by the excellent trio Tzahi Grad, Lior Ashkenazi and Rotem Keinan) and get the tools to drill rough Horror with crisp Neo-Noir discoveries.Whilst the comedic shots give the torture a jet-black snap,the writers become unwilling to cut into the inner horrors of the trio,which leads to the characters remaining still and failing to slice into the power-play Noir offering that is at hand,as the wolves blow the house down.

gogoschka-1 This film tackles some very serious topics; pedophilia, torture, murder - but the way it does that is highly unusual. I really liked the film, and it is certainly never boring, but it was a slightly confusing experience for a number of reasons. For example, the music and the cinematography in this film are fantastic, but they convey a sense of intensity and drama which somehow doesn't really fit with light tone and the dry, sardonic performances of some of the actors. And there is a twist which is rather well constructed, but it failed to leave an impact on me because its bleakness clashes too badly with the black comedy that preceded it.So my verdict: This is a very entertaining movie - IF you can stomach the subject matter - with some truly excellent moments, but the tonal shifts seem a bit uneven. Maybe this story would have worked better for me if it had been played straight: a tense thriller with some darkly comic moments instead of a tense black comedy with some thrilling moments. Still - absolutely worth checking out: 7 out of 10.Favorite films: http://www.IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/Lesser-Known Masterpieces: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070242495/Favorite Low-Budget and B-Movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054808375/

Ed-Shullivan BBW deserves a 7 out of 10 and I would have rated it higher if the screen writer would have made a somewhat greater effort to avoid what I considered a disappointing ending to the film that just came out flat. There is some very good acting between the three main characters as well as by the supporting cast. Continual suspense is maintained and the film is sprinkled throughout with a bit of dark humour to allow the audience not to take the film too seriously. The film does not rely on extensive blood and gore neither by the serial killer Dror, or by his own captors and tormentors, Gidi and Micki. I was quite impressed with how the suspense was maintained all the way through the film as well as a few slick twists and turns such as when Gidi's father arrives at the cottage and discovers what his son Gidi has been up to.The trick I believe to delivering a great film is to have the audience feeling good about how the film ends such that we would like to see a sequel, or leaving us with the desire to view the film a second time. In this case, I found the films closing scenes were a big let down mainly because the rest of the film was so suspenseful and entertaining. Upon leaving the film what a screen writer really does not want to hear is the audience saying "well that was a dumb ending wasn't it?"This is a high rising film which came up flat at the end. I rated the film a 7 out of 10.

donwc1996 This film is not for everyone. It takes one of the most disgusting subjects imaginable and turns it into a twisted comedy. You're laughing your head off while castigating yourself for ignoring the dark subject matter which reeks of absolute depravity. But it is funny and you can't help yourself. And so you laugh. But the film keeps you at the edge of your seat gnawing on your knuckles. The male lead is one of my very favorite actors in film today and once I discovered him which was not that long ago I decided to get every film he made and this one came up in my research. No matter how unpalatable the subject matter of this film this actor shines like the star he is. You just cannot take your eyes off him. And that is true star power.