Wow. That's my first reaction to this film. I was a big fan of Simon Rumley's film The Living and the Dead, and now with this, he has really put himself as a director to watch. The story here takes it's time to develop as we follow Erica, a promiscuous girl sleeping her way through every man she meets. We are then introduced to Nate, expertly played by Noah Taylor, who seems to be the only guy to treat her with any kind of respect. Next up is is Franki, who is actually the only week link in the film performance wise. He seems to struggle with some of the dialogue in a key scene with Erica. He is in a band who could be about to hit it big, he is also in turmoil as his mother has cancer and ends up killing herself. He has sex with Erica and finds out she has given him HIV. When he finds her to tell confront her is when the story really kicks off. He ends up killing her and his friends help him try and cover it up. Nate finds out and comes after them all in some of the most horrendous forms of revenge you will find on screen. There is a scene where he has a family all tied up and stabs the little girl in order to get answers from the father. The tension is unbearable and then he turns to the little girl and asks her if she wants to live the rest of her life with out her parents or die today with them. She eventually is made to answer and chooses to die. This scene hit me like a ton of bricks. It's truly harrowing. The final scene sees Nate catching up to Franki and he ends up basically skinning him alive.
It doesn't sound it but there is a lot more to this film than the visceral visuals. Every character is well rounded and I love the way that while certainly not innocent, every single character is a victim in some way too. It's really a fantastic piece of work and one everyone should check out.