rbrb This is an excellent black comedy horror-thriller movie.The three main male leads give outstanding performances and it is impossible to chose the best.Some creepy stuff here for sure!A young man is kidnapped and held hostage by a couple of weirdo's and he is then subjected to all sorts of horrors and transformations.Best not to say too much as that could spoil the enjoyment of the show. I hope we get a sequel!Well done to the Sundance Channel for showing this film.Highly recommended, but this picture is for adults only!8/10

suite92 The opening, thankfully short, is in hand-held camera land. Quite a few useful facts here are covered up by the bad camera work...to get the viewer to watch the ending, of course.I was sorely tempted to abandon the film during the opening sequence. It was neither of artistic value nor informative. Was I glad that I watched the rest? No.We switch to 1.78 aspect ratio and professional work with modern cameras.The second opening, also incredibly short, is about a club scene where the entitled squander money on alcohol and other drugs. The 'Young Man' from the club scene is held up as the title character. I am quite willing to see the entitled crushed into hamburger.In the third tableau, we're in a very dirty, grim, combination prison and experimentation and torture lab. The lab is located in the basement of a large real property worth somewhere in the millions USD for the gated house and grounds.The Young Man almost escapes, and sends a 911 call. He is recaptured fairly quickly, so the 911 response is only a uniform visit some days later. Meanwhile, the Victim receives more attention, that is, beatings, having his fingerprints burned off, sonic attack, and so on. The uniforms kick the case up to a Detective Janet Corwin. Dr. Volk defuses her questions with reasonable lies.Thirty minutes into the film, Young Man cannot remember his own name. How nice.A bit later, Dr. Volk has him wearing a dress, painting is fingernails, and getting his body hair removed. Dr. Volk moves on to full castration and a sex change operation. Young Man is no longer that, and his downward trajectory into unhappiness continues.Detective Corwin does some more work on Rachel Volk, Dr. Volk's daughter. She found out Rachel was reportedly murdered. She goes to Volk's house, discovers Young Man, then is killed by George. They bury the body, then send a fake text to cover the trail temporarily.Then the breast implants are executed, plus healing, plus lessons on grooming and deportment.Time marches on. Detective Corwin is missed, but not found. The faux Rachel is healed up, and into the role. After a refined dinner party, things go badly. That is, back to the hand-held nonsense at the start. The faux Rachel is to recreate with George the bad happenings that went down in the opening sequence, which was a snuff film with Rachel as the star.How does it turn out the second time? Do we finally find out what happened the first time, that was hidden (intentionally) the first time? Did Dr Volk get what he wanted? ------Scores-------Cinematography: 4/10 Useless hand-held nonsense detracts from the majority of the film.Sound: 4/10 Useless hand-held nonsense detracts from the majority of the film.Acting: 4/10 Stephen Weigand's first film; unfortunately, not his last. The rest of the performances were between ho-hum and so-what.Screenplay: 4/10 There was a bit of story in the middle that I thought was serviceable. However, the ending was unsatisfying, since nothing that was hoped to be achieved was achieved. Looking at the overarching structure, though, that was impossible from the get go. The means used made the desired end unattainable.

birdieleigh ...the content is pretty horrific, but you can't look away. I knew very little about this film going into it, and I think that's the best way to approach it. So I won't tell you too many details. It's better if you find it all out for yourself.I will tell you that I don't consider this to be a "good film" because I necessarily enjoyed watching it. In fact, it was almost painful. "Victim" is probably one of the most vicious films I've ever seen. But there's something about it, so much purpose in its cruelty, that I believe it was well worth watching.I will also tell you who this movie isn't for. First off, gore-hounds might be disappointed with it unless they're armed with the right information going in: There is definite violence, but this isn't Hostel. Although, I have to say I was surprised (impressed, actually) that a movie could be this dark and sadistic without excessive gore. So people who are into dark films in general will probably get a kick out of it. On that same note, this film is not for the faint of heart. It throws some pretty hefty stuff at you.All that being said, like I mentioned previously, this is a film that is disturbing, but effective. And I believe it is most effective if you don't know the details going in--but prepare yourself for something quite a bit out of the ordinary. My vote is: take a chance with this movie. If you don't like it, you don't have to complete it. But especially for those of us who love a good detour into the dark side of Psychology, "Victim" is a well-made (and very thought-provoking) way to spend a couple hours.

rickleo123 VICTIM Review by Mike Pickle for MoreHorror.com The poster art for Victim might fit the tone of the film and the synopsis may let you know, basically, what goes on so you may think you know what you're in for. Wrong. What you get with Victim is something inexorably different. Something more. Directors Matt Eskandari and Michael A. Pierce have achieved something rare even for the most seasoned of filmmakers. They manage to unflinchingly display stark brutality on screen while the most disturbing aspects creep up behind you and worm their way into your consciousness. These aspects are the ones that stick with you long after the end credits have rolled.The film opens in an instantly discomforting fashion with hand-held camera footage. The man holding the camera is talking to a beautiful woman and unexpectedly begins attacking her, beating her mercilessly and seemingly killing her. After the opening credits; focus is centered on a good looking young man hanging out in a bar. He starts to leave and notices that his tires have been slashed. He is attacked from behind, knocked unconscious and wakes up in a cell in what looks like a dungeon laboratory.Soon he meets his captors, the creepy and enigmatic Dr. Volt and his huge, menacing, mute assistant George. The sadistic duos proceed to subject the poor man to what seems like senseless physical and psychological torture. As the nameless "victim" is being beaten, his fingerprints burned off and made to endure sadistic operations; his only comfort comes in the form of a young girl's diary left in his cell. The voice-over of the innocent, adolescent author and parental guidance being played through speakers in the cell add layers to the experience that take you beyond the "torture porn" corner that some people might paint this film into. This man is being transformed inside and out. Dr. Volt tells him "you are no longer you" and we soon begin to realize that this is not just torture. This cruelty has a purpose and is all part of Dr. Volt's scheme.There are many questions raised through the course of this film. Many questions that, had they not been answered so profoundly satisfying, would have dampened the experience. There's a reason why the mute George is helping the demented doctor without hesitation. There's a reason why the victim is stripped of his dignity so quickly and easily before the real pain begins. There's a reason for every atrocity the victim and viewer are made to endure. There's even a reason for the side story of the female detective who is suspicious of the doctor. Yes, it takes us out of the madness, but let's face it; we need a break from scouring the depths of physical and mental torment. It also gives the viewer hope for the otherwise hopeless victim and serves as a brutal example of what the doctor is willing to do to complete his ambiguous master plan.In an attempt to piece together the puzzle of exactly why this film has such a penetrating and abysmal effect; I have to mention the score. Much like the film itself, the music is both subdued and over the top. Pitch-perfect and maddening. It's a bold soundtrack and it works. Another important piece to the puzzle is the use of special effects which are used both sparingly and abundantly depending on the scene. Some scenes bring you closer and closer to the carnage before cutting away at the precise wincing point leaving the worst to your imagination. Armed with a false sense of security and thinking the worst will be played out in the mind; the viewer is taken past the point of wincing until the gore is staring them in the face and displayed just clear enough to feel real. One scene of a throat being slit is particularly realistic and one of the most convincing effects of its kind that I have seen.Holding all these pieces together are strong performances by the three main stars. Stephen Weigand portrays the nameless victim and had a hefty role on his hands. His performance pulls you into his world of pain and confusion as well as a wide range of consuming emotions that come full circle in the shocking climax. Bob Bancroft portrays Dr. Volt with similar depth and is crucial to the potency of this film. He shows a pain of his own at times, but for the most part, is a figure of both menace and calm, cold indifference. There to provide an even stranger twist to the impact of the film is Brendan Kelly as the disconcertingly silent George. His lack of lines takes nothing away from his contribution to the film or the development of his character. His insistence on glaring at the victim while he is made to perform a particularly humiliating deed is one of the many subtly creepy moments that makes this movie so effective.Victim is tied together by one revelation, but that revelation does not make the film. Matt Eskandari and Michael A. Pierce have crafted a horror thriller that's not just another horror thriller and not just another entry in the torture sub-genre. It's a multi-layered triumph of a film whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Something special happens when a film strikes this many chords so effectively. It resonates. Just like any work of art; it's not always clean and pleasant, but it stirs a lot of emotions. It's almost impossible to be so moved by a film with such unrelenting ruthlessness, but I was both moved and disturbed and not for the obvious reasons.Distributed by IFC Films who brought us such films as Human Centipede, Dead Snow and Lars Von Trier's Antichrist; Victim had a limited theatrical and Video on Demand release, and will hopefully be released on DVD soon.