Starring - Chiara Pavoni (Violent Shit: The Movie, XXX Dark Web), Emanuele Delia, and Karen Lynn (A Taste of Phobia, Scarecrowd)
Release Date - 2017
Genre - Horror
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)
Rating (out of 5):
Over the last few years I've been lucky enough to review a few films from Italian director Domiziano Cristopharo. Several years ago Unearthed Films sent over his film Red Krokodil and most recently I was lucky enough to check out his Confessions of a Necrophile Girl. His films are not for everyone but I have enjoyed most of his films that I've seen. When Unearthed announced the release of his 2017 horror flick Xpiation on blu I was looking forward to it. I quickly made my way to my email so I could request a review copy from my friends over at MVD. I had been sitting on this one for a couple weeks and after watching Firestarter starring Zac Efron I needed some indie horror to recharge my batteries. Like always, I want to thank MVD and Unearthed for sending this one over.
The film follows a woman with her handheld camcorder who films a man torturing another nude man who is bound to a chair. The woman sometimes records the abuse or at other times she allows torturer to breastfeed on her. However, the only thing clear is that the man in the chair is there for their amusement and will not be leaving alive.
Confessions of a Necrophile girl and Red Krokodil are vile and disgusting films with great practical effects and stories that keep the viewer glued to the screen. Sadly, Xpiation was one of Cristopharo's films that I did not like. Most of you know my opinions on the "torture porn" sub-genre and this film was a textbook example of what it means to be a torture porn flick. It might be something some of you extreme horror fans will love but it was extremely boring to me. The acting in this one is surprisingly well done for the most part. IMDB doesn't do a great job listing the cast and characters, which is typical for a Cristopharo film, but it does make my job a little difficult. Chiara Pavoni is the star of the film for me. She's gorgeous and carries the film on her shoulders. The lack of story is ALMOST made up for with her performance and how she carries the scenes. I loved her here and my new collecting goal is to obtain the horror titles that she has appeared in. I also believe that the man that is bound to the chair does a decent enough job considering that his only task in his role is to be bound and tortured. With that being said, the man that is doing the torturing did make me laugh which I can only assume was unintentional. He didn't really fit the film and was very out of place. If the film was meant to be comical I would have enjoyed it a little more but the dark and gritty style of the film only clashed with this character. The story for this one is straight forward and stretched extremely thin. The film runs for around 70 minutes but 50 or so minutes of the film follows the man as he is tortured and the woman watches. Sometimes the torture is split up with scenes of the women pleasuring herself, breast feeding the man doing the torturing, among other things. The movie could have been more effective if it was cut much shorter. However, at 70 minutes it is stretched too thin and the torture is like beating a dead horse. Finally, the film has some blood and light make up effects but this is nowhere near as gruesome as some of Cristopharo's other films. Those looking for carnage will be a little disappointed. Overall, Xpiation may be one of Unearthed Film's weakest titles. I respect the hell out of Unearthed Films and director Cristopharo but this movie just wasn't for me. It was extremely dull and boring. This is one I would skip. I would suggest checking out some other Unearthed releases instead of this one.
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