Whore

Director - Reinert Kiil (Fuck Norge)
Starring - Isabel Vibe (Dr. Sex), Rudy Claes (Maniac), and Kenneth Falkenberg
Release Date - 2009
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "A woman's ultimate revenge"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Norway is a country known for many things but not their horror which is sad because the ones I have seen were very impressive.  Films like Dead Snow and Trollhunter were great because they were light hearted and full of comedy.  Sadly, not all of Norway's horror films are like that.  Most try to be too extreme and lacked any real story to pull the viewer in.  Most of you know how I feel about extreme horror.  It only works if you have the right story.  Gore and depravity never works if you don't have a story that could be believable.  My most recent review focuses on one of the newest releases from Wild Eye.  The film, Whore or Hora in Norwegian, is considered the first grindhouse or exploitation film from Norway which is a big deal historically.  I had high hopes for the film.  I never watch a trailer to a film I'm going to review but I was just too curious about this one.  The trailer painted a pretty bold picture and the film's female lead, Isabel Vibe, is a knockout.  I looked her up and learned that she is actually a porn star and yes, I did watch some of her films.  Can't blame me for that!  Thanks for sending this one my way!

     The film follows author Rikke (Vibe) who decides that she needs to get away from people to focus on her new book.  She goes to a cabin in the countryside that is secluded for a little peace and quiet.  She stops for gas on the outside of town and meets some of the local men who have an eye for a nice ass.  They flirt with her a bit and then she leaves.  She gets settled in to her home to write but finds herself just relaxing around in her underwear and smoking most of the time.  Things take a dark turn when those men she met earlier, along with a simpleton cashier at the grocery store, arrive and have their way with her.  They rape and torture her repeatedly before carving hora on her forehead and leaving her for dead.  She quickly recovers and goes on a bloody rampage killing any and everyone that had something to do with her brutal rape and torture.

     I went into this one thinking it would be similar to I Spit on Your Grave which is the first film I ever watched that bothered me on an emotional and psychological level.  I was 12 when first saw that film around 1998 and it bothered me for days.  It took some time before I was able to forget that movie but I have since watched it several times and really respect the impact the film has on cinema especially considering when it was originally made.  I knew the film would be similar but I had no idea it would be a Norwegian remake with none of the style or tension the original possessed.  The acting in this one is surprisingly well done.  The film's lead, Vibe, is extremely sexy and used that to her advantage.  She relied heavily on this instead of her acting skill.  Her sex appeal was nice to look at but she was not the best actress and her scenes paid the price for that.  Even her rape scene was unconvincing.  With that being said, the rest of the film was very well acted.  Vibe's supporting cast brought some great performances.  The film's villains were on point and you really hate them after the rape scene.  The story for this one is almost a scene for scene remake of I Spit on Your Grave.  The original film was released in 1978 and left an impact on horror at the time.  Sadly, the story has been played out by 2009 resulting in films that no longer have the shock they once did.  The story was not that original nor was it that effective.  Finally, the film has several on screen kills.  These kills are bloody and brutal but nothing we haven't seen before.  They were entertaining but used very little practical effects.  This minimal approach to the effects stops the kills from reaching their full potential.  Overall, Whore is not the film I was expecting.  It is unoriginal and has no sense of atmosphere and suspense.  The kills are decent but nothing memorable.  If you want a great Wild Eye film then I suggest checking out Rags and skipping this one.