While staying in her family's summer house, Mari goes to meet her friend, Paige, in town, together they go back to a motel with Justin, a boy they just met, to smoke some weed.
Unfortunately Justin's father, Krugg, along with his brother and girlfriend (who just hijacked the police transport vehicle that was taking Krugg to prison) return to the motel earlier than expected.
The gang torture the girls, rape them and leave them for dead, then stranded by a storm in the middle of nowhere, go to the nearest house they can find to seek shelter.
Little do the gang know, the house is Mari's parent's summer house... and when they work out what has happened to their daughter, and who is responsible they do what any good parents would... they take justice into their own hands.
It seems odd that, in a spoiler-free review, I've just described almost the entire plot of a movie, but the thing is, its also the entire point of the movie; It's a revenge movie.
Sure, it takes an hour for the revenge part of the movie to begin; but everything that happens before it is set-up.
You might be forgiven for thinking a film that is 2 parts set-up to one part payoff is badly paced but the opposite is true.
We need to spend time getting to know the girls, and we need to see the attack. We even need the attack to be brutal and horrific... and it is.
The rape is painful to watch; but this is how it should be - if you're watching a rape and don't feel sick, then it is NOT a good portrayal of rape!
We need those things so that we can understand the nature of the crime, and we need them so that when good people (the Girl's parents) do horrific things, we can understand it.
Without the first 2 thirds of this movie, Mari's parents would be the bad guys in this movie, and that is not what the movie is about.
It is about how good people can be driven to do bad things.
The acting is superb, especially Garret Dillahunt's subtle, and utterly believable Krugg, from a tecnical standpoint its hard to fault the film.
But pleasant viewing, it is not.
My only issue with the film i it's final moment, which a) Wouldn't work anyway, and b) Seems to have been added to give the film a "punch the air" finale - and it is SO not that kind of film.
And so, for the 3rd Time in as many days, I'm going to recommend this one... but wish it had ended about 2 mins before it did...
My more spoiler filled review of this movie, which compares it to the original can be found at VideoNastyAWeek.co.uk
Great review. Excellent movie but like you said not a pleasant watch.
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