***TRIGGER WARNING***
***SPOILERS***
This film is disturbing, but an excellent horror film. It plays on a lot of the horror genre tropes and I would classify this film as torture porn. It is an excellent use of the Australian landscape. Something about the countryside feel and bush land makes it eerie. It also plays on long tropes like Halloween and also Scream and Teeth. I love the concepts and themes around sexuality around teenagers and this film is a perfect example.
It also reminds me of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The use of food to symbolise sex is very prominent in this film. It also shows the parallels of consensual sex and the torture that goes on. It is also very creepy showing the male gaze of the father looking at his daughter in a disturbingly sexual way when she undresses into her underwear. He also gives her a pink dress and shoes as if this is actually prom night.
It reminds me a lot of the Carrie movies in the use of parental figures suppressing children when they hit puberty and become sexual. Another note is that at the start of the film he runs of the road in the car crash that kills his father and it surrounds the film with guilt.
The film beautifully uses Chekhov's guns particularly the sex scene near the beginning of the film with him and his girlfriend, the close ups on his blade necklace and his self harm scars and wounds. And the parallels of the blow job from his girlfriend to the disturbing scene where he is made to urinate into a glass and she forces him to by threatening that her father will nail his penis to the chair with a hammer and nail.
The film treats her as a child and her father calls her "Princess" and the use of colour is amazing the bright baby pink contrasting the blues and also the blood deep red.
The symbolism of penetration is significant as the torture use pain and weapons to penetrate him and also the chicken drumbstick scene symbolises a reversal of roles of him as being the pentrated one instead of the female. They also repeatedly stab his foot to the floor. And of course the iconic drilling scene.
This film definitely demonises women. Women are evil torturers but also soft and "princesses". Reminds me of Heavenly Creatures. This positions women as the Other the classic monster. And their sexual desire and sexuality is connected to violence. It is quite infuriating that female characters whether hero or villain need to use phallic objects in order to gain power in film. Such as in this film. There is also excellent use of framing positioning her from above the classic hero shot.
The film also has beautiful traditional (1980s John Carpenter) style music which suits the tempo and scenes well. Complementing to tone and framing of the scenes.
Why are films like this made? Why do we enjoy watching them? Is it some sadism streak in us? Watching fictional people suffer? Or is it that roller coaster feeling, getting an adrenaline rush of fear, but a hopeful manageable ending so when we finish watching the movie we go back to our lives content?
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