The Butcher (2009)
Review by Jude Felton
Korean cinema has given some great flicks over recent years, movies like the Vengeance trilogy and A Tale of Two Sisters amongst others have impressed me no end with their beauty amidst the violence. Welcome now to the world of The Butcher, here is a movie that for 75 minutes will batter you around the head without even flinching, and you’ll get no apologies for it. This isn’t a movie that will seduce you with its rich plot and deep characterization. No, it is purely an assault, nothing more, nothing less.
The plot, and there really isn’t much of one, is that a group of filmmakers are in the snuff movie business, and held hostage in an old warehouse are their next cast members. Chained up, utterly bewildered as to where they are, the hostages are forced to sit and listen to the film crew as they ready themselves for the next shoot. A shoot that won’t be too long in coming. You’ll probably have a rough idea of where the flick is heading, as yes, it does then head down the boulevard of extreme violence by way of the avenue of excruciating pain.
The Butcher comes across as the bastard hybrid of the August Underground flicks and the more graphic of the Guinea Pig series, being as it is shot entirely from the point of view of cameras attached to the victims’ heads, and the those of the film crews. This makes for a claustrophobic viewing experience that throws you smack bang in the center of the carnage. So, those that have tired of the Blair Witch / Cannibal Holocaust style of filmmaking probably won’t get anything from this. In fact if you aren’t a fan of extreme cinema in general this will no doubt be a real turn off.
Personally speaking I thought it was cleverly made, switching as it does from camera to camera in real time, so that everything happens almost seamlessly. Of course there is plenty of clever editing involved here, but it does make for a harrowing experience. This is the sort of movie that is more of a technical achievement rather than anything else, even though the acting is pretty good. The victims do an excellent job of playing the helpless, terrified characters that they are supposed to be playing.
That being said, The Butcher really doesn’t offer up anything new that hasn’t been seen before in this style of movie making. There’s no real tension until the latter stages, which without giving anything away, does make for some exciting and nerve wracking viewing. Fortunately the movie is kept to a short and tight running time, although even at 75 minutes it slightly outstayed its welcome.
Overall, The Butcher is a harsh viewing experience that will only appeal to select fanbase. So if movies like Penance, Red Room or Devil’s Experiment sit proudly in your collection you may well want to check this out. If not, then it may well be lost on you.
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Popularity: 2% [?]
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