Penance

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Audience Member On the one hand, it does take two separate horror sub-genres (Torture Porn & Found Footage) and mesh them together in a fairly unique way. But on the other hand, in practice all that means is it takes the worst parts of two already shitty devices and does them both. We get the nothing-plot and unnecessary brutality of the former coupled with the low quality and nonsense of the latter. If it's literally meant to be "found footage", why is there a musical score for the jump scares? Why is this woman who is clearly in her 30's telling the camera she is 24? And nobody could have saved how bad a lot of this script is, but the actors that they chose couldn't have pulled off a brilliant one. All the actors that is, except for Michael Rooker and Graham McTavish. Which brings me to Penance's one (kind of) redeeming feature: McTavish's Geeves. The villain of the piece is disgustingly horrific, and feels completely at odds with the lack of realism in the film surrounding him. He is a believable (and terrifying because of it) antagonist, and though it does not save the film at all, I cannot ignore the staying power of that character. There's that, some decent gore effects, and some girls get their kit off. But it doesn't come close to making up for the rest of what Penance put me through. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member penance is very bad thriller its about a mom trying to getting extra money but taking to be tortured by evil doctor. pretty low budget trash. D Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member It's no secret that I have a resistance to "lost footage" films and so these types of movies really need to compensate with a trade off. 'Penance' is set in an abandoned mental hospital where a deranged religious fanatic poses as a military-like surgeon determine to cleanse strippers of their sins. The story focuses on a mother who desperately needs money for her daughter's medical bills and accepts a one-off offer to strip for $3000. Naturally she winds up in the hands of this maniac and his demented staff. I really liked the story and think it would have been even more effective if told in a traditional way. The hand-held style was distracting from what was an otherwise well made and insane premise. The performances are good, particularly Graham McTavish (The Hobbit trilogy) in the role of the religious psycho and the script is well written. Michael Rooker appears in a strange hoodlum role and Tony Todd appears in a randomly fleeting cameo as a chauffeur. I guess each of them contribute a legacy that provides an added appeal factor but they're both unnecessary... McTavish carries the film enough to make up for names like theirs. I went into Penance prepared for something mediocre but I came away surprised to have enjoyed it as much as I did. I will no doubt sit through it again sometime soon. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Disturbing and even more disturbing is it's a true story. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member disturbing and scary. Not original Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Eh... Not terrible, but not great. I gave it extra points since it was based on actual events... Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Penance

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