Waz (2007)

Director:

Tom Shankland

Writer:

Clive Bradley (writer)

Release Date:

2007 (Ireland)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Would you kill the one you love to save yourself from death?

Plot:

A calculating killer coerces a detective to pay for his previous mistakes. |

Plot Keywords:

Moral | Moral Choice | Neo Noir | Splatter | Psychological Torture

Cast

Stellan Skarsgård	...	Eddie Argo
Melissa George	...	Helen Westcott
Ashley Walters	...	Daniel Leone
Tom Hardy	...	Pierre Jackson
Paul Kaye	...	Gelb
John Sharian	...	Jack Corelli
Selma Blair	...	Jean Lerner
Barbara Adair	...	Alice Jackson
Peter Ballance	...	Trucker (as Peter Balance)
Sally Hawkins	...	Elly Carpenter
Lauren Hood	...	Sharon Williams
'Sean' Brian Jordaan	...	Jamal Osman / Khaled Osman
Sheila Kerr	...	Alison Lerner
Michael Liebman	...	Wesley Smith
Joshua O'Gorman	...	Dominic Carpenter

MPAA:

Rated R for strong brutal violence including a rape, gruesome images and pervasive language.

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Sweden:15 | New Zealand:R18 | USA:R | Australia:R | Ireland:18

Filming Locations:

Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK

Company:

Vertigo Films

Superior to Saw and other so-called torture porn

To begin with, this movie isn't just another torture porn flick that we've seen a glut of in recent times (Saw, Hostel and the like). There's actually a decent plot regarding the murderer and their victims, something that examines humanity's darker side yet goes beyond the base sadism displayed in actual torture porn, which this isn't. The marketing campaign gave it the appearance of such a film and i was nearly put off, however my optimism got the better of me as I confess, I am a huge horror fan and there were glimpses that it could be quite good. And it is, in fact it's very good.

There's a rugged brutal efficiency in the way this film goes about delivering the goods. You've got your cops, new and old, with sketchy case files and hints of crookedness, a scientific theory of genetics being exploited by our murderer and a gang of outlaws who are being targeted. All of it is carried out with appropriate macabre and occasional wit and humour, good, edgy hand-held camera techniques, clever acting and a pacey script. I thought it was great on an intelligence level and I squirmed every time there was a 'nail' scene.

I was even more surprised to learn afterwards that this was a British production, was shot in Belfast and used a largely British cast, yet had me fooled as to it's New York setting and convincing accents. What more can i say apart from wow, i love this movie? I also realised after that Waz is Saw backwards, and a cynic may say that is opportunistic marketing, but to them i say, see the movie and tell me it doesn't at least give Saw a run for it's money, if not kick it's stupid face off. Saw's ideas were good, but their killer seemed a flimsy afterthought to me. In Waz, the killer and their motives are integral to the plot,(which surprises before a satisfactory ending)and it's hard not to find empathy for the killer, something i never got in Saw. The great script and acting add depth and character to the story, which hit me with surprises and left me feeling contemplative, which is unusual for horror today.

Verdict: Come for the torture, stay for the good movie