A taunt revenge thriller that didn't go at all like I expected, not wasting anytime showing us the torture or sexual assualt of the female victim, the film refreshingly skips straight to her escape and shows her turning the tables on her former captor.
The film follows the story of Eve (Tina Ivlev), shown via flashbacks on a home video recording on a day out with her boyfriend to be a normal, fun-loving 21 year old. As we cut to the present day, Eve is now being held captive in the basement of a sexual predator (Richard Tyson). When he returns to check on her, Eve brains him with a loose brick and attempts to flee before realising that the house is in the middle of nowhere. While searching the house for a set of van keys she discovers photos of various other girls being held and abused. Determined to save the girls she revives her captor but he vows if the police become involved the girls will die where they lie, he promises to take Eve to each location and so begins a deadly game of cat and mouse, full of some genuinely surprising twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat.
Eve, comes across as a bit too eager to save the girls herself but as more and more of her story is revealed via the home video flashbacks we begin to see understand why she is desperate for redemption.. The director also does a great job of building the tension from each location they visit as we are never sure what's going to be behind the door, is there an abused girl, chained and waiting to be saved of is Eve walking into a trap set by her manipulative abductor. It becomes apparent that there is a whole network of sexual predators at work and as the danger escalate's so does the bodycount, with the film not skimping on the gore and brutality.
Tina Ivlev is a magnetic presence in the leading role, not an actress I'd ever heard of before this film but one I'll be keeping an eye out for in the future, she manages to strike the perfect balance between emotionally fragile and the cold hearted, avenging angel, she really is a force of nature. Richard Tyson also excels as the manipulative Phil, a scumbag of the highest order who will do whatever it takes to get out of his fraught situation.
Overall, this is a compelling film that hooks you in and doesn't let go until the credits roll, it can be disturbing and brutal but it's also smart and emotional and features a pay-off that doesn't make you feel cheated, the kind of film that deserves to be seen by more people, highly recommended.