source: Artik

I think people are being overly kind to this movie because it's shot relatively competently but there's pretty much no real story going on to the point I don't know if you can really call it a "movie". Once you take out the time the opening and closing credits take up this movie is only about an hour long, and most of that is filled with Artik mumbling and bumbling about and extremely boring and poorly acted scenes that occur in the nearby town. There's only two real scenes of violence/gore to show that he's a serial killer and they're pretty tame, and I watched the supposed uncut version which means the normal version must have somehow been even shorter and tamer. It's nonsense and even with such a short run time was pretty boring and uneventful. I read other reviews about how the ending sequence was action packed and full of gore...no it's not. This is a nothing movie where no one shows any acting skills, the script is non-existent, and while I didn't hate it or anything I simply didn't care once it ended. Pretty pointless ultimately.

Was recommended this film and really enjoyed how well and professionally it was done. The plot kept me engaged and anxious to find out what the world / story would reveal and where the trip would lead. Really solid work. I recommend to check it out. The director did a great job with tension and the gore and violence are shot really well.

Great trailer mediocre movie at best. The main character Artik was pretty gnarly in this film. Reminded me of Bane and Leatherface. I just feel this movie missed it's mark. Didn't see what the connection was with the XXX guy and the boy. The only reason I finished this movie was too see if Artik gets killed in the end. Movie could of been a lot better..

I intend sick to mean that, not cool or "awesome" as is the popular perversion of the day, If, like "jester222" you think this wasn't gruesome, you're sick! This was difficult to watch, and if this wasn't playing because it was next, and I wasn't busy doing things, I'd have turned it off. Also, unlike how the so-called "story-line" describes it, it isn't abut a mental case teaching a boy how to get away with murder, (what idiot thought of that?), It's about a psychopath who thinks some truth will become apparent to himself and his son, at the moment of death after torturing someone to death. As I stated, sick. Though, begs the question of the state of mind of the movie maker. and perhaps the viewer?

"Artik" is a tragically emotive and cruel opus. It is dark, heavy, and often beautiful. I mean, as beautiful as a film about serial killer, his damaged wife, damaged life and psychologically chained children can be. The characters are emotionally scarred, painstakingly built persons that are heartbreaking, anxiety bait. The characters are rich, often disconnected creatures that seem at a crossroads, filled with conflict. And yet they feel real, almost organic, in a distopic view of their own lives. Even the antagonist is almost torn eternally between his art and his "dark passenger". But only to a degree. As impressive a creation he may be, his is by no means likeable. The acting in "Artik" is stellar. There is no distance between their talent and these characters. They bring this chilling and compelling nightmare to life vividly. Tom Botchii creates a strong story here, one that permeates a sense of unease which is only enhanced by a beautiful shot visual story. Seriously, the cinematography is a horror element in and of itself. Speaking of the horror, "Artik" starts out strong. The kill sequences are blunt, cruel moments of shock and unapologetic graphic gory scenes. And they show as realistic as any in the industry- save the "snuff film" stuff. Honestly the only thing I didn't like about the film was that there wasn't more gore. Not that this film is really lacking. It is it! Overall "Artik" is a solid movie. It has a fully formed and well written story with strong, emotive characters. It stays dark and foreboding. The horror is visceral splatter film elements done brilliantly. I was captivated, disturbed, excited and stunned from the first scenes till the bitter end. I highly recommend "Artik" to all horror fans.

Hmmmm. This movie is hard on me because it has everything I love in an indie horror film but I can also see why some wouldn't care for it. From the violence to the setting to the music to the actors. I love it all. This is the unique flavor of true indie horror/thriller. With that being said, there are a few flaws but so does almost every indie horror film. This movie has a great storyline going for it with a nice "coming of age" feel but the director seemed to have trouble presenting things clearly and in an orderly fashion. Most of the movie is like this and 25 minutes in I still wasn't able to fall under the film's spell. However, by the third act I was fully invested in the film. I really like Chase Williamson and it was great to see him in the role of a "real cool" good guy. The trailer teases by implying max violence when really the violence is A-typical and almost all of it is shown off screen. Still, for me, it was satisfying enough. I love the casting. Jerry G. Angelo shines as Artik and Chase Williamson is also very good as Holton. It's a tense good vs evil story and the showdown is exhilarating to watch. Another thing this movie does well is keep the viewer on their toes with a loud and impending score that punches ur eardrum with sounds of tension and terror. The actual film stands firm at a 69 minute run time but that's a perfect runtime for this film as it's punchy and to the point..nice work Tom Botchii. 7/10

Artik (Jerry G. Angelo) likes to draw, raise sunflowers, and serial kill. He keeps a group of children in the barn to work the fields. His son Boy Adam (Gavin White) is free to roam and practice his graffiti. He befriends Holton (Chase Williamson) a man admittedly attracted to chaos and attends a group because he can. As it turns out, Artik is not the best guy to invite to the group. The film lacks a decent character build up. Kar (Matt Mercer ) spouts a bunch of nonsense at group, I had no idea what the whole group thing was about. It would have helped with Holton's character. The blood and gore were mid-level. Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.

I read some reviews before watching Artik so I had my hopes up for a good serial killer horror movie but in the end it wasn't that special at all. It all looks like it's been done before, no element of surprise here. The sound gave it a good creepy atmosphere, gave it some suspense, and suspense it needed because the story itself wasn't that great. Overall the acting was okay, not great but not bad either. I'm kind of done with brutal torturing scenes, it was creepy when it was new, now it's all been done before, and better.

Living in a dysfunctional family, a teen obsessed with comic books being raised with a family of other psychos finds a connection in a stranger who arrives in town looking for help with his addiction problems, and that friendship soon puts them all in danger from the killer. Overall, there wasn't a whole lot to like here. About the only really interesting segment here is the finale where it builds up some interesting moments featuring the final resolution of the payoff. With all the build-up featured here for the first hour, the final half features plenty of fun as the race to get the friend out of his shackles and trying to overcome the father and wife which is exceptionally fun. The brawling around the farmhouse to get him loose, the big battle where the kids come to his aid and help the son get the friend free and the big encounters around the farm that gets brutal, bloody and quite frantic manage to really help this one a lot as the practical effects work in these scenes and the brutal activity combine together to really knock this out at this point in the film which is what's needed following all the bland build-up beforehand. That said, there are quite a few flaws to this one. The biggest issue of the film's numerous problems is that the film is entirely too cliched and predictable in its setup and overall execution. There's nothing special about the relationship between the stranger and the young kid at the center of the film where he tries to be a good influence on a person unable to change themselves for the better due to the environment he's raised in. None of this is interesting or enjoyable and results in a bland and stereotyped fight for his conscious that is uninteresting to watch and just features nothing horrific or frightening at all. The idea of what he's doing to the kid is creepy in its concept that it's all about the abuse he's been leveling on him but to think that this is attempting to exploit making for an underwhelming time. The other real problem with this one is the lack of any real purpose for what happens here. The idea of the kid being raised by a serial killer in the same town without any police investigating the incidents, no one checking in on the missing kids or what they were doing with them in the first place all just scream out as unanswered questions throughout here. All it does is simply show him being raised in an abusive environment and then bringing the friend into the situation without any reason why he's there which just makes this one that much weaker in the original story with no explanations for anything that happens. On top of the film shying away from the kill scene during each of the murders which don't show anything at all on-screen, these issues here all make this one rather underwhelming any uninteresting. Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Graphic Violence.