Torment (2013) User Reviews

Spoilers follow ...

[parry_na · 4/10 · 26 August 2016]

Corey (Robin Dunne) and his new wife Sarah (Katharine Isabelle) move into a fairly isolated house, with Corey's son Liam. Sadly, little Liam (Peter DaCunha) resents Sarah because he misses his mother, which is understandable. However, as is so very often the case, scenes with a minor acting in a brattish and petulant fashion immediately causes audience rankles to rise. Corey's endeavours to 'understand' the child make me wish he'd just wallop the little sod and cause me to become irritated by his ineffectuality ("Promise me you'll give her a chance, boss," he implores more than once). From the very beginnings of 'Torment' I find this a big hurdle to overcome.

One night, after hearing some noises around the house, they find Liam is missing. Instead of celebrating, they call the police. Thus begins another in the sub-genre known as 'home invasion', where the calm and comfort of home is forcibly interrupted by some nightmarish killer or other. As a sub-genre, its immediate limitations mean any film to fall under this category is virtually guaranteed to be surprise-free.

This doesn't mean such projects cannot succeed as horror films if they are well done. And thankfully when the often silent invaders strike, dressed in tatty animal head-pieces things liven up. For even though their features are masked, they are more interesting than the remaining two bastions of 'family'.

As the opening quote indicates ("When one has not had a good father, one must create one" – Nietzsche), it is the concept of 'family' that tries to propel this story. Just as Sarah is given the thrilling prospect of adding further children to Corey's litter, the barely-glimpsed mutants are looking for their own 'new' mothers and fathers to add to their clan. That such a perfunctory thriller results from this, should we then be heart-warmed when, (spoiler) after Corey has been killed and Sarah has been repeatedly beaten, munchkin Liam finally 'forgives' his new mother and decides she isn't so bad after all? Personally, I would have been more satisfied if the little twerp had somehow been behind the horrific events.

Not terrible, but lacks purpose and clarity.

[rushknight · 6/10 · 9 August 2014]

The other reviewers give this movie some pretty low scores. Realistically it's no worse than a variety of other horror films out there. To say that it has no redeeming qualities is outright false. It's filmed well, the acting is reasonable (where it counts), and it has a certain creepiness right off.

Also, it has Katherine Isabelle in it, which is the reason I watched it to begin with. OK, I confessed. Back to the review.

Unfortunately, like most horror movies, the scare/creepy factor lessens considerably toward the middle of the film as things start to emerge from the dark to the light. The villains, who are clearly insane, make very little sense to begin with, and the writers should have left it at that. You can't explain insanity, and you shouldn't try.

But instead the writers keep hinting that there is a method to the madness, and that the villains are up to something very specific. Crazy, yes, but specific. But there are simply too many unanswered questions, and the motivations behind the characters' actions are just convoluted at best.

Essentially, every element of a reasonably good film is here except that the bad guys don't really make sense, which just kills it for me.

Not Awful

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 23 October 2014]

Newlyweds Cory and Sarah Morgan take Cory's 7-year old son Liam up to the country for some much needed family time. When it appears as if Liam has run away, psychological suspense becomes straight-out horror, as Sarah and Cory must now confront a sadistic cult-like family who have been hiding in the house all along and have taken Liam for themselves.

Some horror fans will watch anything and give this a try. Some are more discriminating and might give it a chance because it stars Katharine Isabelle. That latter reason is a good one, and bumps this film up from bad to alright.

There are some cheesy lines about the kid who will not accept his new stepmother. In such situations, these conversations probably happen and they probably sound stupid trying to reason with a kid, but they sound out of place here...

There are some good things: there is nice coloration on the cinematography, giving it a sort of sepia-influenced creepiness. And you cannot deny the interesting villains; the animal mask theme seems to be in vogue for the 2010s... these are some of the better masks out there, probably better than the ones from "You're Next".

Just plain bad...

[calumuk93 · 2/10 · 1 March 2015]

Torment is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the dullest films I have ever seen, and I have seen some rubbish in my time.

The plot follows a young family as they go on holiday to their house in the middle of the woods and then get tormented by some creepy rednecks. Not the most original plot ever devised, but that is the least of this film's problems.

The most egregious problem is that, for a horror film, it completely fails to be scary in any shape or form (which is kind of missing the point somewhat). But there is more, aside from the usual obvious flaws in logic that befalls poorly made horror films. It is a Herculean task to find anything likable in most of the main characters; the person playing Cory has little to no charisma, and the child is some spoilt a*****e. There is no rhyme or reason for the creepy rednecks torturing the yuppie heroes, apart from just being mentally ill, and any attempt to give them some kind of motive makes no sense. The ending is rather stupid, and one can easily see it coming. I could write a better plot than the people who wrote this abomination.

There is one reason why I am giving this film 2 stars rather than a rock bottom 1 star, and that is Katharine Isabelle. She is the only decent actor in this mess, but even so, she is still nothing spectacular (to be fair though, it would be impossible for Marlon Brando, Peter O'Toole or Laurence Olivier to look good in Torment). There was another thing I found rather worrying about Isabelle's performance. I do think that she is talented; films like Ginger Snaps and American Mary clearly show this. However, she does seem to be wasting her time and efforts starring in rubbish like this. Katharine Isabelle is in serious danger of having a career similar to Nicolas Cage, in that for every one great film you have about 5 or 6 god- awful ones.

All in all, Torment is a terrible horror film that is conspicuously lacking in horror, and I suggest that you stay away from this like the plague.

Bleh!

[davannacarter · 1/10 · 21 June 2014]

It seems like horror movies these days fall into 3 categories: good or excellent (less than 5% of all horror movies per year); "I've seen worse" (30% of all horror movies per year); and utter garbage (the remaining 60-plus% per year). This is one of those "I've seen worse".

The entire movie is a mishmash of different horror movie elements you've seen in plenty of horror movies before:

1. deranged redneck family. 2. unsuspecting yuppies are stuck in a rural area with no cell phone reception. 3. decent actors wasted on a terrible script and poorly developed characters (although the kid was annoying). 4. long torture scenes where the victims are bound and gagged. 5. "BOOM!" jump scares whenever we see a shadow. 6. the heroine is pinned down by the villain but then finds a conveniently placed weapon nearby to defend herself with. 7. despite the fact that she's been through a physically trying ordeal through mud, blood, and grime, the heroine's hair, makeup, and nails are great. 8. the victims will knock the killer out but never make sure the killer is dead.

I was just shaking my head throughout the entire movie, constantly saying, "Wow...this is reeeeaaally generic...at best...". It's never a good sign when I start fiddling with my phone out of boredom. But I was doing that throughout the movie. Before I knew it, the movie was virtually over and everything seemed to be okay. Then the lame twist ending came around and I thought, "Well, unnecessary and mediocre twist endings are the norm these days. So why am I not shocked by this." I think the only interesting thing were the villains' masks. Why were they wearing them? I understand they wanted to keep their I.D.s a secret, but they could have chosen better masks. The masks are stuffy and hard to see through. In real life, any killer wearing those masks would have ripped them off in frustration.

All in all, this is a forgettable movie for someone looking to kill time. After watching it you'll think, "Well, I didn't hate the movie. But I have no desire whatsoever to watch it again."

Mediocre but passable (barely) for what it is.

[sstetsko · 3/10 · 17 June 2014]

The best thing about this film is that it has good, creepy costumes, but other than that there really is nothing very good about it. The operative word is cliché, it pushes no boundaries and creates nothing new. The twist at the end caused me to say, "oh, that's mildly interesting", but it really had no capacity to really surprise or even any relevance. The adult leads play their parts well enough, and the motivation for the assault is plausible enough although not very likely. The leads are not as incompetent as in many such movies, but nor are they particularly compelling or innovative.

Watch it if you have nothing better to do but don't make an event out of it by inviting over a bunch of friends and expecting a scare fest, because it does not deliver much on any front.

Lame Story

[claudio_carvalho · 3/10 · 8 November 2015]

After the death of his beloved wife, the widower Cory Morgan (Robin Dunne) marries Sarah Morgan (Katharine Isabelle) and they travel on vacation to an isolated house with his son Liam Morgan (Peter DaCunha). Cory expects that the resented Liam, who misses his mother, gets close Sarah along the next days. On the arrival, they discover that intruders have lived in the house and they summon the local Sheriff Hawkings (Stephen McHattie) calms them down telling that the strangers that have broken in have gone. During the night, Liam disappears and soon they witness Hawkings tied up to the steering wheel of his car. When the car explodes, they realize that they are under attack of sadistic killers and they need to fight back to survive.

"Torment" is a stupid slasher with a lame story, excessive use of clichés and poor development of the characters. The motive for the killing of the insane family is shallow and senseless. The brain washing in the teenager Mary Bronson (Amy Forsyth) is unexplainable and hard to believe. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Faces do Medo: Bem Vindo a Família" ("Faces of the Fear: Welcome to the Family")

This film is so bad I created an account to warn others

[tmgoogol · 1/10 · 30 July 2014]

Long story short this is hands down one of the worst films I've ever watched. This is one of those films i wonder how did this get made. Who would finance something so bad and if this can be made into a movie then anyone can make a movie. The story made absolutely no sense. The characters were boring and unbelievable. I've read the other reviews the acting was terrible!!! Great acting draws you in and makes the film seem real. This film failed to do that it didn't stir any emotions during and only one after - ANGER!!! Im not mad about the small fee I paid to rent the movie, I'm more upset I'll never get back that 1 and 35 minutes wasted on this film! I could have had more fun watching paint dry or being stung by hornets! Please take my warning and pass on this movie.

Give it a rest. This was pretty good.

[jamiedecourley · 7/10 · 18 September 2014]

This movie is definitely not terrible. It's not as classy as The Strangers or as fun as some other recent home invasion flix but, I honestly thought it was good enough to watch twice. Katharine Isabelle always demands my attention and this time I think the film worked for her. At the very least the film adds positively to her standing as one of our favorite new age scream queens.. The film is shot well, the acting's not terrible, there's some genuine suspense here and a fairly scary bad guy with a little twist or two along the way. As an avid horror fan who wades through piles of crappy movie weekly looking for the hidden gems, I'd say this film will please most genre fans. I don't know just good a sequel would be though. Might have to steer clear of that one...lol.

LITTLE BROTHER IS NOW PART OF OUR FAMILY

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 23 June 2019]

Cabin in the woods, cue spinner, and we get stuffed animals. Father (Robin Dunne) son (Peter DaCunha) and step mom (Katharine Isabelle) get away to a rural home. Here they meet Mr. Mouse, Mrs. Pig, and Ms. Monkey who don't play well. Family must fight for their life, blah, blah, blah.

The only thing new here in this home invasion film are the masks, and even that is not too original. Creep factor seemed low . I really didn't care for the kid either. Bored for most of the film.

Parental Guide: No f-bombs, no nudity. Brief dimly lit sex scene.

Katharine Isabelle never disappoints

[RobbiejBurn · 9/10 · 10 November 2022]

Okay so Where do I start with Torment first of all I will say it was definitely worthy of the runtime and I genuinely enjoyed this movie it had everything you want in a horror it had suspense it had jump scares and lots of tension that builds up, Robin Dunne was great as the father and Katharine Isabelle as the step mother she really nailed the part Katharine alone was enough to draw me in to watch the movie a worthy scream queen for sure and im pleased I did thoroughly enjoyed it which is why its undeserving of such a low score on here, the acting was absolutely spot on and it was filmed on a decent enough budget which shows.

Fair

[devils_neighbor_667 · 7/10 · 19 September 2019]

A decent movie that makes you wonder if locking your doors actually means you're safe! Kept my attention

Ok but frustrating at times

[LaverneandShirleysucks · 5/10 · 19 March 2021]

This is yet another horror flick where you have the victims making the most unrealistic, dumb decisions that no one in their right mind would make when being terrorized by killers. Stupid woman escapes house where killers are and runs to her car without keys---then has the mindless stupidity to GO BACK INSIDE for them where the killer is lol. WHY?! For one, surely that car is not working if they thought to kill the phone lines inside, and two---when you escape from psycho killers, you keep running AWAY from the attackers---not back towards them! Later on, idiot woman breaks free and runs into the dark woods where there's a mighty good chance of escape under the cover of the night---but what does idiot woman do? She shoots bright flares constantly into the sky alerting killers where she is. It's just so frustrating to watch such idiocy on display. Dad was no better either. He finally reaches kidnapped son but instead of getting the hell out of there with him quickly, he kneels down to have a heart to heart talk with him...what the hell?! And worse...once he gets him safely away from the killers into the now daylight woods---he LEAVES HIS SON to go back for his idiot wife who's STILL fending off these psychos after a full night of cat and mouse with them because she was too dumb to get free. I won't reveal spoilers, but you never, ever leave your kid like the Dad did---at least I couldn't. And to be honest, the wife was too dumb to live anyway so just make a clean getaway with your kid and date a smarter woman afterwards. Oh, then there's the stupid woman cop who had a rock hit her window while she's transporting am apparent victim--and she stops her squad car right smack in the middle of the road to scratch her head in wonderment like an idiot lol. You can guess what fate has in store for this bright bulb next. And the kicker of all is that we never learn WHY these psychos with a penchant for stuffed animal heads are doing all this in the first place. We never even get to see their faces either, but the victims do---so why not the audience?! I see there's a sequel called "Tormented" that i'm going to torment myself to watch next just to see if it gets any better, or if we learn anything of substance about these psycho bunny head killers, but i'm not holding my breath though. To be fair, this WAS good in some parts and it kept me watching until the end so i'll recommend it with 5 stars. Just keep your expectations low with this one and don't expect smart victims to be found anywhere.

Only reason to watch it

[samhill5215 · 4/10 · 29 July 2018]

And it's not for the plot, special effects, terror, surprises and most of the actors. The father was just plain bad and his kid even worse. Another reviewer wrote he wished the kid was behind it all and I confess I wish that were so. He was so annoying he spoiled what would have been a passable film. So why bother? The headliner, Katharine Isabelle. I suspect the producers and director had her in mind when they decided to waste funds on this little yarn that's been done so many times before you pretty much know what's coming next. She is becoming my favorite modern scream queen. If not for her talent I frankly wouldn't have bothered but with her in it I might just give it another try and skip the scenes with the father and his kid. And to top it all off she kicks ass. A survivor through and through. Anyway you've been warned.

A Pretty Lame Home Invasion Movie

[dfa120374 · 4/10 · 19 January 2015]

After the death of his mother, young Liam Morgan is finding it hard to accept that his father, Cory, has remarried and shows resentment towards his new stepmother, Sarah. They make the decision go and spend some time away at their summer home in the hope that the time together will help Liam come to terms with the new situation, and for him and Sarah to become closer. However, what was planned as a hopeful family vacation turns into a nightmare when they are stalked by a crazed family and find out that Liam has gone missing. When Cory finds out that the group intends to take Liam as one of their own, he resorts to anything he can to take back his family.

Torment was a bit of a mixed bag in all honesty, unfortunately most of it pretty boring and not all that good. The film has actually got a Strangers/You're Next kind of feel to it as well....just not as good though. The film starts off pretty well, building up what seemed to be quite a decent story, but it kind of fell away when it got to a certain point. From there on in, it got a bit silly and quite nonsensical in the decisions that Cory or Sarah started to make. I know you don't really watch a film like this for realism, but still some of the decisions were a bit ridiculous i.e. firing a flare gun when trying to avoid detection from the "bad guys".

Another unfortunate thing was the decision for the masks that the intruders wore. You look at the picture for the film cover and think "maybe it has a different effect in the film", but nope....it's actually still amusing to see a 6ft 3 man wearing a mouse mask like that. In fact, judging by what we see of the main intruders face, he probably would have been scarier to keep the mask off. Tie that off with some poor acting and there is really not that much you can find that is all that good about this movie.

Not a movie to avoid at all costs, but definitely not a classic by any stretch of the imagination.

This ain't The Strangers

[Zebb67 · 1/10 · 27 July 2014]

The Strangers is one of my favorite horror films -- unrelenting tension after the first 15 minutes or so. This film has no tension whatsoever. Just a dysfunctional family being stalked by, well, strangers. I should have gone by the low IMDb user rating and saved my money. Strictly amateur night as far as the filmmaking and way too much time is devoted to how much the kid dislikes his stepmother. A few cuts and this could have actually been a Lifetime Channel movie. Seriously. It barely earns it R rating as most of the horror scenes take place off camera. And the masked strangers are not the least bit frightening whereas they were horrifying and very mysterious in The Strangers. The creeps here wear bunny rabbit costumes, for goodness sake! Bugs Bunny cartoons deliver more thrills than this crap. Plus, you never fear the family is in any real danger from the bunnies. Avoid this one like the plague.

Boring

[jrhbulldog · 3/10 · 22 September 2014]

This movie was not good. Boring. Uneventful. The main girl really bothered me. She never kept a weapon and always ran into rooms without looking around in them. The ending was lame. I'm so glad I didn't buy this. Okay. I need more filler in this review. I think they introduced unnecessary plot elements when it came to the killers. And why introduce those little elements at the very end? Hoping for a sequel. I'm certainly not. Oh and this movie didn't even have any good death scenes. So uninspired. Oh, yes, it also was dumb that the kid believed that his dad didn't love him and was going to join a new family. I know he's a kid and kids are dumb. But I have a hard time believing that kid would think his dad didn't love him and would actually back away from his dad when he comes to rescue the him.

Bad acting / could of been really good

[kmls-36782 · 4/10 · 1 September 2021]

This movie could've been really good...This could've had a lot of potential had they had better actors... And a better story line... It's a good storyline but it needs lots of improvements.

Worth a Watch

[ArmedForcesBear · 6/10 · 13 August 2014]

I have seen a lot of negative reviews about this movie. I will say this, take it upon yourself to actually watch the film and take it all in.

I will say this. This movie IS YOUR TYPICAL HOME INVASION MOVIE. Nothing special about it that stands out. EXCEPT FOR THE KILLERS, and i'll get to that.

It starts out with trying to get you to enjoy the characters and try to attach yourselves to them. You see a dysfunctional family trying to make it work. You grow to think the son is a little "A" hole. Which is the directors intention. As the saying goes: "If you dislike a character because of their role and how they act with the intentions of being that person, then the actor did his job". The acting was nothing less of great. Katherine Isabelle did a fantastic job. Her role was believable. Believable to the extent of, people can do the dumbest things in horror movies. And not to mention in real life. Usually the first thing that comes to mind when people are watching horror movies: "Why didn't you do that. Oh my god you are so stupid". I am an active duty soldier that has been through "stress training". When you are stressed, it is not easy at all to think and act normal.Back to my point. She did a fantastic job and shows that she cares for her step son no matter what.

Now on to the killers. The killers were very creepy. The masks did not make them creepy. It was their movements. Especially the pig. The pig seemed like the old Michael Myers in Halloween. The creepy walk. The slow walk that no matter how slow he walked, he would get to you no matter what. Its the "Run as fast as you want walk. I'll take my time and enjoy the moment". The pig also had the head tilt down as well. Kind of like it was "admiring" its work. Proud to be a serial killer and look what i just did. Anybody can carry a gun and run. It seems to be much scarier to run as fast as you want and the killer is still behind you walking slow like you are not going to be able to run away.

There are some down falls to this movie. Don't expect a twist at the end. Well its a very small one, but if you pay attention to all of the movie 60% of people will be able to guess it.

The movie leaves you with questions unanswered and it can be frustrating. However, it is worth a watch. Just don't expect it to be a very good horror movie. Its okay and could have been executed a bit differently.

Just not worth your time

[dfranzen70 · 5/10 · 23 March 2015]

I don't want to suggest that Torment is an awful movie, but it comes close. It's not for a lack of trying, so to speak, but the overarching problem is that the movie is essentially a carbon copy of all the slasher/home invasion movies in the world and contributes very little of note. I suppose the killers' masks, taken from the heads of giant stuffed animals, is the extent of the film's originality.

Cory Morgan (Robin Dunne) and his new bride Sarah (Katharine Isabelle) arrive at Cory's summer home (secluded, of course), with Cory's son Liam (Peter DaCunha) in tow. The kid resents his stepmom a little, because she's not Mom. Mom's dead, in case you were wondering. Unfortunately, that fact has almost no bearing on the plot, which feels like a tremendous waste of opportunity. At any rate, when the Morgans arrive at the house they quickly learn that squatters have been there very recently - there's spoiled food left out and some blood on the wall. They call the cops, and good ol' Office Hawkings (Stephen McHattie) tells them that teenagers probably hung out there and had a party or something. Doesn't explain the blood too much, but the Morgans don't press him for more info. Just another kindly old officer of the law lending a homespun helping hand, is all.

During their first night in the house, Sarah awakes to a noise downstairs, which happens in most horror films anyway. When she and Cory investigate, they find nothing out of the ordinary - except that little Liam is now missing. And thus begins endless searching (for the boy) and fleeing (from the crazy cult who snatched him and is right next door) that comprises basically the balance of the movie. Run into forest, be pursued by masked lunatic, fire off every flare in your road flare gun so you can see where you're going, escape into your house, get attacked by another masked lunatic, run out of the house and into a muddy stream where you fend off the attacker, and so on.

Isabelle looks great and appears capable of being a damsel in distress. Dunne is a little more lackluster. Young DaCunha's performance felt more authentic than that of any of the adults. But what made this film particularly maddening were the little hints of backstory that are never really resolved. For example, when Cory does find Liam and confronts the kidnapping maniacs, it's strongly implied that he (Cory) knows who these people are, knows their history, knows why they've chosen poor Liam. Do we, the audience, get to discover this as well? We do not. And maybe it would have helped if we did, because a gentle, plausible twist would have been welcome over the generic, often listless storyline.

Torment is not so bad it's good. It's a mediocre entry in a field that's already very overloaded with mediocrity. There isn't even all that much blood, thereby depriving those who love a good gorefest from getting their money's worth. So, no gore, a thin plot, lousy acting, and and overwhelming sense of pointlessness all add up to a movie that's just not worth your time.

Good Movie

[politehere · 8/10 · 27 February 2020]

I have absolutely no idea why this movie has such a poor rating. Yes, it has some plot holes as to the identity of the killers and their motives, which could mean they originally intended for the movie to have a squeal. Yes, the story was cliche and we've seen it all before, but it was a very well-made movie with smart, likable characters, good acting, good cinematography, good music score and some thrills. It wasn't one of those cheap horror movies you see all the time. It could've been better, but I don't regret watching it. I've given 5 to horror movies that were not half as good as this one, so this gets a score of 8 from me and rightfully so.

I enjoyed it for what it was

[digs5446 · 6/10 · 6 June 2017]

Watched on Shudder. More than competent home invasion thriller. The lead male is by far the best actor while the female is mostly scream queen eye candy (apparently one of the leads from Ginger Snaps which I still need to see) and the kid is kind of unlikeable, but hey so are lots of people. Was cool to see one character actor I recognized and like a lot.

Very nice camera-work, good tension. Somewhat unfulfilling ending but hey those are tough to pull off. Perfect length (80 mins), not a major time investment even if you don't love it.

unTormented

[my-michelle-walsh · 3/10 · 16 September 2014]

This film received a low score from me because elements robbed me from the experience. For a thrilling home invasion film, I recommend 1997 Austrian "Funny Games" or for a confusing maze of mystery and assumption, 2007 Spanish (Spain) "Timecrimes" and for a strange and intense family in crisis, a family in conflict film, I recommend 2009 Greek film "Dogtooth". **Spoiler Alert** I'd love to be a resource for writers and directors, (like that'll ever really happen), because I see flaws in reasoning and or in filming which swoops me right out of the moment from enjoying the presentation to critiquing it, for example: 1) How is a perfectly round opening made in a cellar door, and furthermore how is it accomplished with an ax? 2) Nailing the wood boards on the underside, inside of the cellar doors is not a reasonable thing to do because it is easily pressed down since the nails are in freshly milled lumber and would readily slip out of weathered wood, and logistically will loosen the existing door material before it will be successfully installed, thus standing in the open door, nailing into the outside of damaged door would be more practical, and still allow the woman to later silently push the boards outward to escape. 3) Vocalization summons the enemy, the enemy leaves and yet woman continues with vocalization! Surprisingly, the enemy doesn't return. 4) Breathing inside a loose plastic bag: after several erratic breaths, the bag shifts, enough material sucks into the mouth, and can easily be scizered off because even an itty bitty amount of plastic bitten off in the front teeth is plenty to breathe through. 5) Once a weapon is used to subdue an enemy to the point of assumed death, why would a victim put the rock down on the dock? Wouldn't it stay in the hand? Wouldn't fear and adrenaline cause us to carry it with us to be used again as needed? … annoying, but I kept hoping it would get better since we all make mistake, and was teased into believing it might get better by nice elements such as covering her mouth to keep quiet. The "dad" character was a fun surprise.

Buccolic getaway for bonding.

[michaelRokeefe · 4/10 · 8 March 2015]

Suspense becomes horror. Cory Morgan(Robin Dunne)takes the family to the Morgan country home for a peaceful vacation and a chance for his 7 year old son Liam(Peter DaCunha) to bond with his new step-mom Sarah(Katharine Isabelle). The isolated and idyllic location will quickly become a home to store nightmares. The family realizes that someone has been using the house. As they ponder this situation, the unthinkable happens. Liam has disappeared into the woods. Get ready for the holiday from hell! The unwanted house guests reveals themselves as sadistic heathens and the Morgan's will have to fight for their sanity and their lives.

Sadistic terror, graphic violence and some sexual situations will more than earn an R rating. Also in the cast of this Canadian fright flick: Stephen McHattie, Amy Forsyth, Noah Danby, Bill Colgate, Inessa Frantowski and Adrienne Wilson.

Bland, Bad, But Not Disappointing

[campbell-sproul95 · 1/10 · 30 November 2015]

I didn't know anything about Torment going into the movie. Like with most movies this bad I found it while dumpster diving in the hopes of finding a good horror movie. Like in most cases of dumpster diving all I found was garbage.

At first I had some emotional engagement with the movie, my mother died when I was a teenager, and the thought of my father remarrying always bothered me, so despite my better judgment I empathized with Liam (the young boy in the movie) dealing with that difficult situation. However, as the movie went on, I lost all engagement with the movie. The acting is mediocre at best, the story makes little to no sense at all (no explanation is given for why the psycho family is assaulting and torturing the Morgans), and the "twist" ending is boring and pointless.

I'm all in favor of dumpster diving for horror movies, a lot of the better ones I've seen (with the exceptions of classics like The Omen, The Exorcist, Blair Witch Project, etc.) have come through this process. However, this time, as it happens so often, I just ended up with a big load of trash.