FILM GUTTER REVIEWS: VICTIM (2010)

Dir. Matthew Eskandari/Michael Pierce, USA, 90 mins

Before we get into it – there are a lot of films that share this title, even in recent years. There were separate films on top of this called Victim and The Victim in 2011 alone, and of course the first movie to appear on IMDB being the famous 1961 offering directed by Basil Dearden with a wonderful central performance from Dirk Bogarde. Just to be absolutely clear, if you want to make sure you're watching the right movie, it's this one...
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0918575/

So, with that disambiguation completed, what of Victim? This is one of those movies that I knew absolutely nothing about ahead of time – just a pure stumble-across that sounded sort of interesting from its blurb – and I'd say in conclusion that I probably got more than I bargained for. In my experience, most films that I have found extremely upsetting come with a sort of reputation that proceeds them. There may well have been more graphic and gory films I've seen, but I can't think of that many that have felt more genuinely distressing than this one. The opening credits themselves are a sort of Lucifer Valentine ‘lite’ – I'm thinking in particular of Perfect Child of Satan for the LV enthusiasts out there – and set a fairly unpleasant tone.

We then meet our unnamed lead, a young man who is established as something of a smooth operator (or at least someone who fancies himself that way) before he gets attacked and kidnapped. He awakes to find himself in a basement prison cell, trapped by a sinister surgeon by the name of Dr. Volk and his henchman Mr. George. At first it's slightly unclear of what their intentions are, but as the film wears on things grow ever more apparent – they want to break this young man, make him forget his past and his roots, and turn him into a woman against his will through surgery and psychological measures. It turns out that he's effectively going to become a proxy replacement for Volk's daughter Rachel, although as the plan nears completion the web of police and detectives closes in...

The concept of not naming – and barely establishing – the ‘Victim’ of the title is an interesting choice, and one of those things that could go either way as a viewer. You could easily argue it makes it harder to feel real empathy or sympathy or alternatively you could land on the other side and say that ‘blank slate’ makes him feel like an everyman, and that this is something that has the potential to happen to anyone.
 
Now I don't want to say the film is perfect, and in fact there were bits of this that almost – almost – broke my suspension of disbelief. There are moments of acting that feel a little off-point, but there's a definite grittiness and griminess to this movie that does demand and hold your attention. It's so bleak and unremitting it put me in mind of something like a Megan is Missing – the whole central conceit is so f***ed up it's hard for it not to hit home to some extent. I could certainly get why some people wouldn't like it, because if you don't feel able to go with that conceit then Victim is liable to pass you by. But if you accept its dark heart and immerse yourself, this movie is bound to stay with you for some time despite its flaws.

RATING 7/10. I’ve thought long and hard about what to rate this one. There was a lot I liked – or maybe ‘respected’ is a better word for such a grim feature – but there are enough flaws for me to knock it down at least a few marks. With that said, I can certainly see this one dividing opinion – something the briefest scan of IMDB reviews backs up. There are elements of this that a viewer will either go with or they won’t, and those things will most likely be what determines your own view of this movie. For me this was dark, horrible filmmaking that is bound to leave you with a could hanging over you, at least for a little while, and for all those reasons I’m landing on 7/10.
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