Territories

source: Territories

The suspense level of the movie is really high. On the other hand I can see why people wouldn't really rate the movie high. It is a tough sell. It's also something that is very close to Americans (and might offend quite a few). Of course this is not representative and while it is only a movie it does give a view of too much anxiety and fear and what that might lead to. It is shot on a low budget, but Karim Hussain, who also has worked as a director, has a good eye and his camera work is without fault. The acting while driven by high emotions never fails. And although you may say, that the movie does not really evolve into something bigger (there is not a big bang or anything else), it still may give you reasons to think ...

Deranged and sadistic psychopaths kidnapping randomly unfortunate travelers in remote areas with as sole purpose to humiliate, torture and eventually massacre them. There have been SO many movies with this exact same plot outline over the past five-ten years that it has almost become a sub-genre on its own; a hybrid between hillbilly-horror and torture-*. The only more thing directors of these films can do to distinguish their effort from the others is being as creative and extreme as possible in drawing the characters of the psychopaths. The crazier, blood-thirstier and more perverted, the better. Olivier Abbou clearly understood that message, as the villains in his film "Territories" are uncannily straight-faced and nihilistic killers who recreated their very own and private mini-version of Guantanamo Bay in a deep-hidden forestry region on the Canadian border with America. Dressed as border patrol officers, the two apprehend a car full of twenty-something Americans returning home from a wedding. Okay, they have a broken headlight and were carrying a small dose of soft drugs, but the main reason they stopped the car is because the driver of the group is called Jalil El-Haddad. The fake officers accuse Jalil of terrorism and before they properly realize, the entire group is locked up in separate cages in the middle of the woods. Although well-made and occasionally very atmospheric, "Territories" inevitably remains a derivative and forgettable effort. The first half of the film is admirably tense and contains a number of unsettling shock-moments (the interrogations with the prisoners who are weakening physically as well as mentally), but still you can't escape the impression you have all seen this a dozen of times before. Then, rather incomprehensibly, the tone swifts during the third act with the introduction of a completely new protagonist. A hired private detective is on the lookout for the missing tourists and all of a sudden the plot exclusively follows him around, even to restaurants where he seduces waitresses and his motel room where he stuffs up his veins with heroin. He confronts the kidnappers a couple of times, but the victims and their continuously deteriorating conditions suddenly don't seem all that important anymore. The acting performances are more than decent and the filming locations are very effective, but the main impression raised by "Territories" is déjà-vu.

I just watched this film, and it was the worse film I have ever seen; so bad that I had to register on this site to leave the feedback. The starting 30 minutes was really good; good acting and a very interesting story plot. However, after their arrest and being kidnapped, things went down the hill really fast. There were no story, no historical, economical or any story line of any sort observed, and even by introducing a private detective things didn't improve at all. Furthermore, the ending was totally appalling; no indication to a sequel, no complete ending and not even any thoughts lead so that viewers can continue with the story as they see or prefer, in order to make the film more anticipating. I seriously recommend everyone not to see this film unless you have around 2 hours free time to do absolutely nothing, but then, watching 3 episode of friends back to back or repeatedly is much more fun.

Oddly enough, the bad reviews on this site were what enticed me to actually watch the film. Besides the first review by Coventry, which had some constructive criticism and actually compared this film with others within its genre, the reviews all took issue with the episodic quality of the films plot. It seems that they haven't been introduced to the concept of art cinema - a mode of film practice which subverts and breaks from classical filmic conventions like continuity editing, and strict causal relations between narrative events, instead focusing on the psychological depth of its characters and the "everyday" realism of disjointed, unrelated events. This film definitely shows various qualities of the art cinema, especially its episodic structure and focus on character psychology. I found the plot intriguing and despite what some of the other reviewers said, I think that the introduction of the private detective was not arbitrary but actually contributed to the creation of the expectation that the tortured would be rescued. By building this character who can sympathize with the families of the missing, as he has ostensibly lost his own daughter, the director effectively takes the audience out of the roll of victim-by-proxy and into rescuer-by-proxy. This is clever because by the time this plot line is introduced, the viewer has become frustrated with the course of events (as trapped in them as the tortured) and the detective becomes the voice for the audience, while also giving them a view onto the other side of the tragedy of kidnapping/forcible confinement. As for the ending ... I cannot believe that one of the previous reviewers complained about the fact that the ending did not gesture to a sequel. I'm sorry bud, but sequels did not exist before the late 80s early 90s and the dawn of the multiplex theater. I also disagree with the suggestion that the film doesn't allow the audience to interpret the final events in any way that they wish - because that is exactly what the ambiguous ending does. The lack of closure makes it the viewers responsibility to interpret the ending in whatever way that they can. Overall, the film was esthetically pleasing and definitely generated the reactions thrillers are supposed to. Maybe for Coventry the film is just another in a long line of psychopath/kidnapping/torture stories, but I have seen few which are as dedicated to the art of film and not very tangibly grasping at demographics in hopes of being successful. Also I would say that Territories fell well within the range of the independent film mode, and far from that of the B-film - despite its low budget and virtually unknown cast. Definitely a film worth watching - at least for those who can appreciate films which reveal their artifice by making the viewer think.

The opening soundtrack sounds a bit different, having that weird combination of being both grindhouse and French. Unfortunately the movie doesn't maintain a heavy sound track. 5 people come back from Canada to the US and confront an odd out of the way border customs, which was really a road block and not a former customs station. Michael Mando plays Jalii Adel Kahlid one of the passengers. (Remind me never to travel across borders with a guy that has an Arab sounding name.) The border guard (Roc LaFortune) is unlikeable, but plays his part well. When a small bag of pot is found in their luggage, the movie digresses into interesting if not unwarranted cavity searches. Nicole Leroux first. As things digress, 4 of surviving five are forced to dress in Guantanamo orange jumpsuits with non-matching head sacks that these border guards just happen to possess. The movie jerks the camera around as a mechanism to generate "fear" but it was more annoying than anything. Alex Weiner plays an asthmatic mute (which he does well). He is the brother of Nicole Leroux. It was his pot that got them in trouble. The main part of the film is these four people locked away being tortured and interrogated in various stages of clothing. Stephen Shellen plays a private detective. He gives us some grindhouse philosophy, "Life is about learning to die" then he screws up the ending. The movie, while having a grindhouse plot and nudity, it fails to use an effective soundtrack. Also the movie end abruptly, it seemed to have been cut short due to budget considerations. It was a 4 star grindhouse up to that point. F-bomb, brief torture, nudity (Nicole Leroux, Michael Mando)

The film tells the story of five friends who are stopped by two border guards. Typical border questions turns into humiliation. They are then kidnapped, held in cages and tortured. Turns out they are ex-soldiers and they think the innocent friends are terrorists. The first 50 mins or so of the film is a decent horror film. But then it turns into a moral story about Guantanamo Bay and torture and the film loses the plot. I lost interest and have no idea what the private detective had to do with the plot. I also flicked to the end and have no idea what happened to the friends. Its a shame as the film does start out as a decent horror torture film but it feels like they changed direction and tried to justify the film. I think this ruined it as it was very well acted and had good suspension and effects.

I stopped after 10 minutes. Stereotypical characters, harassed by evil cop suspecting them of being terrorists. And try to confuse the « main target », because of his name and origins, with stupid questions. Like anyone could even see the difference, between a doe and a roe deer at night... There's no surprise, the director just wants you to hate one and pity the other. So what was more to expect from this premise? Seeing the characters being tortured, and abused by said evil cop and his partner, to make you hate them even more and wish they were dead? Maybe that's your thing, but not mine. You need more to get my attention, than this bad after school special.

When I read the synopsis of this movie I was so excited to see it. The concept just seemed so interesting and original. It starts off with a kick, within minutes I was feeling the uneasiness that this movie is meant to inflict. Most of the actors are phenomenal, it's when I see movies like this that I don't understand how Hollywood can't cast better actors 90% of the time. The movie keeps a good steady pace, I wasn't bored at any point. Which is a feat considering my minuscule attention span. It was such a great movie until there was about 20 minutes left in the film. It takes a strange turn. I can't say much without giving it away. But when you see it you'll understand what I mean. I completely suggest it because other than that it's great. And who knows? You may like the ending more than me.