When Penance is Not Enough: A Movie Review

Penance is now available on DVD through
Cheezyflicks - from director Jake Kennedy. The film tackles the multiple real life mutilations of several hundred women in Australia. Except this time poet license is taken by Kennedy to portray gynecologist Reeves as a religious maniac, and self-castrator. Loosely based on true events Penance leaves taste behind to shock the viewer.

The film starts banally enough with protagonist Amelia (Marieh Delfino) applying for a spot on a reality show via camcorder. The shaky camera stays for the whole film, but Amelia changes from a devout mother to a stripper within ten minutes of the intro'. Her child has neurofibromatosis and Amelia needs money quick! So, stripper friend Eve (Alice Amter) comes to her rescue, or triggers her downfall, and soon Amelia is stripping for men like Greeves (Graham McTavish). Greeves is not a man you want to meet if you are female and value sexuality.

Reeves is one of the better villains in recent horror filmmaking, as he tortures, locks up, and generally confuses his many female captors (seen above). His religious fervor in changing the "soiled" to the pure is only out-matched by his obvious lunacy (Penance). Reeves hopes to be carried into heaven by the many victims he has disfigured. If there is a heaven this is probably not the best way to get there. Graham Mctavish's characterization of Reeves is rivaled by others including James Duval, Tony Todd, and Michael Rooker. However, there are more pluses to the film other than the acting.

The scenes of horror and gore are prevalent in Penance. One scene of female genital mutilation stands forefront in brutality and will arouse feelings of disgust. If that does not send you running for the washroom then another few shots of Reeves removing his own testicles might send you sprinting for the fast forward button. The bloodshed is often interspersed with scenes of nudity, so ambivalent feelings will abound. But what is Penance really like?

Sitting through Penance can often feel like a roller coaster ride, as the camera moves from character to character and the visual assault causes nausea. Yet, most horror fans will not want to get off this ride as Penance twists and turns down long dark corridors and torture chambers. Only when the cars pull up to the end will viewers realize that an hour and a half have gone by at blinding speed. A film that will have people buying tickets for more, Penance can be picked up for yourselves, as of November 17th at Cheezyflicks listed below. Not even the misspelling of anonymous, during the credits, is enough to slow this fun ride down.

Plot/story/subject material: 6.
Characters/characterizations/believability: 7.
Setting/authenticity/realism: 6.5.

Overall: 6.5 vomit bags out of 10.

Penance can be found at:

Penance at CheezyFlicks

Or at Amazon.com:




Sources:

Penance Review at DVD Review

Penance Review at HorrorYearBook

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