Anthony DiBlasi (Last Shift [2014] and Most Likely to Die [2015]) takes on controversial topic of extreme haunts, those that push the envelope of acceptable behaviors of scaring someone for the minor jolt and laughs. These places exist, and people (adults) pay for them and freely sign release waivers, by no means do the businesses exist or operate as a haunted house, think fear factor without any morals. Often referred to as a sick mentality these locations perform psychological torture, simulated waterboarding and humiliation. Most horror and Halloween (holiday) fans know these places and locations, which each have a variation on the theme, some require complete nudity and others indulge in sadistic measures. A question, is this a horror film or something else, it is a horror movie, the story concept shows that, but I’ll keep this review spoiler free, it earned distribution through Dread Central Presents and Epic Pictures Group. The overall conceptual design leans towards the arena of ‘torture porn’ while using a script from David Bond (who just finished work on Boogeyman: Reincarnation) and Rebecca Swan.
The film starts with a series of images of real life large cockroaches crawling over someone’s face, and the other disturbing moments showing what the extreme haunts are capable of and causes to willing subjects. The actors or tortures take your pick of the proper title for those you work at these places, work on hierarchy status and always try to break the spirit of the willing visitors. This place in the film is called Perdition the appearance from the outside an abandoned building, and within a decrepit neglected place centers on two individuals strangers to each other, Allison (Dana Christina) and Zachary (Dylan Sloane), shortly there’s an icky moment and the movie gets started, with humiliation, screaming and a large passage of talking involving discussion of secrets and fears. It appears clearly that this haunt works on a custom tailored torture path, from their research to learn of the visitors’ failures, (and documentation from medical personnel) however failures lead to problems, without them there’s no horror movie. In one of the many flashbacks we met Allison’s Dr. Sylvia Nichols (Chantal Perron (Scar [2007]) who condemns her fascination with horror, relating it to pornography and smut. Oh, before one forgets the character Phil (portrayed by rising horror icon J. LaRose, known for Abattoir [2016]) does a solid performance, any more on that definitely presents a spoiler. The entire operation is headed by Bob, the Red Skull (Chad Rook (Killer Bash [2005])), showing the downside of his own agonies, yet seems to know much more than he lets on and presents on the screen. The movie also incorporates a bit of Japanese Horror, with the two Japanese camera personnel who likely there to promote the location, to the international audience, but it never translates well enough to fit into overall scope, except to tear down more illusions and expose secrets.
Perdition, a word found in Christian theology, the state of eternal punishment for which the unrepentant person exists with loss of soul, this place and the film never ventures down the path of religious humiliation or anything dealing on that level, a shame. If one thought of Hostel (2005) as an extreme haunt, it might find a better footing to entertain, a downside comes from the lack of a cohesive script, faltering with the movie focusing primarily on one person, it quickly dissolves the illusions and subjects the viewer to repeated flashbacks. One again, one or two times fine, but not the constant avenue, clearly early on the audience understands her background, and not required the continuous whacking over the head about hidden incestuous hate-ship with her father. As for the gore factor it comes more often in the last act of the movie, but prior to that mainly creepy and some erotic imagery.
Extremity never drives to far into the realm of the operators backstories, and understanding what compels them, it dwells more on a form of therapy than a straight-up horror, relying on shock value and focusing on one character, a bad business model (the character even notes this). It does provide a thrill ride ending in some splatter, off screen killing and one shocking good gore effects shot.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6664700/
IMDb Rating: 4.4/10
Baron’s Rating: 4.0/10