Well acted and beautifully shot, the twists and turns are unpredictable and the tension is extreme. Sometimes it feels like a bizarro superhero origin story.
The level of violence against the women in this movie is a bit exploitive in a way that hasn't been common in American films since the 1980's.

Definitely lived up to my expectations. The level of depravity on display is really difficult to stomach at times.

4.25/5

Ugly, brutal story conveyed in a sleazy unconventional fashion. Most of the actions committed by the characters make little rational sense, especially considering this is "based on a true story," which also makes it pretty difficult to predict the outcome as events escalate.

Made with a lot of style, but the unrealistic behavior of the characters is a huge detriment. Powerful energy but wholly unconvincing and difficult to digest. Two words describe this one: red and squishy.

Combines the pleasures of an exploitation movie and an art film seamlessly.

There are so many moments of beauty along with profound sadness and overwhelming dread. The fantastic score adds to this tremendously....many of the best moments here are really accentuated to full effect by the musical cues.

This is the first film I've seen in 2014 that achieves greatness.

Nobody is better than Jake Gyllenhaal at fully inhabiting such completely different characters from film to film. His transformation here is mind-blowing.

The unique story is compelling in itself, but the presentation being so off-putting and unpredictable makes it even better.

It is a shame that such an artistic success somehow avoided being nominated for Best Picture. The intensity here is sorely missing from the majority of films currently produced by the industry.