runamokprods It's always interesting when one takes a genre like horror, or horror-porn and uses it to address larger themes and social issues. It doesn't always work, but when it does, as it does here (and even better in Aleksey Balabanov's far more horrific, but also more complex "Cargo 200") it can be a potent use of cinema. A group of young Americans returning from Canada are kidnapped by a pair of ex-soldiers dressed as border guards. These men were in Iraq and at Guantanimo and want to continue the torture and 'information gathering' they were part of as soldiers. So in the name of protecting the country, they lock up and torture these kids, largely because the driver of the kids' 4x4 has an Arab name. And soon you realize, given the number of innocents it's now acknowledged were (and probably still are) locked up among the 'real bad guys' in the war against terror, that this nightmare isn't very far from real ones that real people are going through right now in the name of national security. Surprisingly well acted for the budget and genre, as well as nicely shot, this certainly has moments where it shows its roots as low budget horror. There are awkward scenes, and forced bits of exposition. Logic gets stretched (but not too absurdly) at times. But it's not really all that gory (despite the allusions to 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' on the video box), and it's most effective terror is caused by tension and fear about what might happen, rather than any blood and guts you see. Among other things, this is an interesting examination of what happens to borderline personalities who are given permission by their country to torture in the name of good. Will these people be able to let go of the monsters we willingly unleashed inside them?

Maz Murdoch (asda-man) The French have never let me down before. I've seen and loved many a French horror film, with four of them possibly being my favourite horror films of all time (Inside, Martyrs, Frontiers and The Ordeal). However, I'd never heard of Territories before. Perhaps it's because it isn't French language, but for some reason it slipped under my radar and it sounded right up my street, as I'm into the whole kidnapping, survival type horror film and I know that the French are so good at it, such as the brilliant, under-rated Caged. Unfortunately Territories is my first French horror disappointment, and I can now see why it is so unknown. It may have the premise of Frontiers, but it certainly does not have the execution.Territories isn't as bad as people have been saying. It's certainly not the worst horror film I've seen and it does have some redeeming factors. The style of the film is brilliant with its grainy and often raw hand-held direction it feels like a typically French horror film. The cinematography is also often surprisingly brilliant and I did like its brave and ambiguous ending, which many people feel strongly against. The opening 20 minutes were also fantastic, diving you straight into the action with brilliantly suspenseful dialogue and characters you can feel sympathy for. I love how the whole situation started off customary but then escalated into a complete nightmare, full of tension and suspense.The leading of the group into their cages also looked as if the film could be little unknown French gem like that unfortunately over-looked 5150 Elm's Way. However, it's from here that things begin to go downhill and the film turns into quite a mess, with nothing of any interest to say and with very little excitement to give. Now, Caged may have been unoriginal but it was thrilling and brimming with suspense. Territories looks good and feels good, but is actually quite uninteresting. With several heavy re-writes Territories could've been that fantastic gem that it promised to be in its opening, but unfortunately the screenplay is a complete mess.The film spends a lot of the time showing the group being terrorised and tormented, which is fine but then the film starts to drag on, without building on its already thin characters. I think the film could've benefited from a 10-15 minute introduction to the characters so that we get to know them and care for them, or at least build up their characters during the horror. Territories fails to show any interest in its victims at all, paying more attention to the torturers and later on the Nigel Havers detective (more on him later). I don't mind the film giving screen time to the torturers, in fact I applaud it for doing so as it's the villains who are often under-developed (Eden Lake is a great example of creating perfect balance between the two) but the villains were there so much that it ignored the victims of the story.Scenes also tended to drag and didn't bring a lot to the film such as the interrogation scene which was brilliant for 5 minutes, but then it started to drag and felt longer than it actually was. What was especially annoying was that the film completely detracted from its original plot-line and started to introduce this private detective who looked like a tramp version of Nigel Havers who'd just stepped out of the 80's! Here the film completely abandoned its characters to make way for a new one to fill up the final 25 minutes. It's as if the writers were making it up on the spot. Either make a film about victims, or make a film about a detective, don't abandon one and go for the other mid-way! Territories ultimately lacks focus. The detective should've at least ran parallel with the main narrative, instead of being shoved on at the end. He ultimately brought nothing to the film accept false hope, which I', all for, but if that's all he's going to bring, don't make him into a huge plot point!Ultimately Territories was a disappointment. It promised so much, but quickly deteriorated into a mess. I also felt that the film was trying to mask itself up as something more intelligent than it actually is, with its political references and sometimes weird philosophical questions. Now the film does have some good points such as the direction and cinematography, but the messy screenplay outweighs its good points, which brings us out of the story thanks to its lack of interest for its characters and illogical structure. Territories is no French great, and should remain unnoticed from people's radars.

sepand_pourteymour I just watched this film, and it was the worse film I have ever seen; so bad that I had to register on this site to leave the feedback.The starting 30 minutes was really good; good acting and a very interesting story plot. However, after their arrest and being kidnapped, things went down the hill really fast. There were no story, no historical, economical or any story line of any sort observed, and even by introducing a private detective things didn't improve at all. Furthermore, the ending was totally appalling; no indication to a sequel, no complete ending and not even any thoughts lead so that viewers can continue with the story as they see or prefer, in order to make the film more anticipating.I seriously recommend everyone not to see this film unless you have around 2 hours free time to do absolutely nothing, but then, watching 3 episode of friends back to back or repeatedly is much more fun.

Coventry Deranged and sadistic psychopaths kidnapping randomly unfortunate travelers in remote areas with as sole purpose to humiliate, torture and eventually massacre them. There have been SO many movies with this exact same plot outline over the past five-ten years that it has almost become a sub-genre on its own; a hybrid between hillbilly-horror and torture-porn. The only more thing directors of these films can do to distinguish their effort from the others is being as creative and extreme as possible in drawing the characters of the psychopaths. The crazier, blood-thirstier and more perverted, the better. Olivier Abbou clearly understood that message, as the villains in his film "Territories" are uncannily straight-faced and nihilistic killers who recreated their very own and private mini-version of Guantanamo Bay in a deep-hidden forestry region on the Canadian border with America. Dressed as border patrol officers, the two apprehend a car full of twenty-something Americans returning home from a wedding. Okay, they have a broken headlight and were carrying a small dose of soft drugs, but the main reason they stopped the car is because the driver of the group is called Jalil El-Haddad. The fake officers accuse Jalil of terrorism and before they properly realize, the entire group is locked up in separate cages in the middle of the woods. Although well-made and occasionally very atmospheric, "Territories" inevitably remains a derivative and forgettable effort. The first half of the film is admirably tense and contains a number of unsettling shock-moments (the interrogations with the prisoners who are weakening physically as well as mentally), but still you can't escape the impression you have all seen this a dozen of times before. Then, rather incomprehensibly, the tone swifts during the third act with the introduction of a completely new protagonist. A hired private detective is on the lookout for the missing tourists and all of a sudden the plot exclusively follows him around, even to restaurants where he seduces waitresses and his motel room where he stuffs up his veins with heroin. He confronts the kidnappers a couple of times, but the victims and their continuously deteriorating conditions suddenly don't seem all that important anymore. The acting performances are more than decent and the filming locations are very effective, but the main impression raised by "Territories" is déjà-vu.