The Seasoning House
This review contains spoilers
The Seasoning House is basic, but it is an extremely effective movie. What is sets out to do, it more than adequately accomplishes and none of it feels unnecessary or forced for shock value. Highly recommended for extreme cinema fans.
STORY/PLOT
This one is trigger warning territory. Extremely violent and shocking.
Basic plot but extremely brutal. A young deaf-mute girl, Angel, gets stripped from her family after watching them get murdered during the Bosnian War. She is taken to a secluded, grotty brothel used to exploit abducted women. Having been taken petty on due to her condition, Angel is made a caretaker instead of being given a 'usual' position.After one of the abductees she has befriended is killed, she makes the decision to fight for her freedom.
The Seasoning House is your standard escape/revenge horror, but an extremely dark and violent one. Its portrays visceral gore and horrific violence against women, and it doesn't hold back. Even the ending, which is somewhat open to interpretation, is bleak. The implications aren't good.
It's a simple but well done plot, with effective narrative elements to make you like and despise who you are meant to. As far as the shock value goes, it passes the bill.
ACTING
Decent enough. Rosie day puts on a stellar enough performance and Angel and Dom P-C was very believable. Overall nothing major but more than adequate other than a few accents that sound a bit rough. They hit the marks they're meant to and it's all believable which is the important thing.
CHARACTERS
This isn't a film that really focuses on character depth and progression other than Angel. She is by far the most complex and she doesn't speak. More is learnt about her through flashbacks and her actions and they do a good job of making you care about the character.
While the characters aren't exactly memorable for the most part, they are very fitting making the experience believable.
CINEMATOGRAPHY/VISUAL DESIGN
This is what makes The Seasoning House a heavy hitter. This movie is grim, and that's in large part due to what you see. The camera work is dull and gritty, the set is dark and decrepit and it gives a hopeless and claustrophobic atmosphere. The violence and gore effects are believable and visceral. Top quality stuff and the shock factor hits because of it.
SOUNDTRACK/AUDIO
The music helps create the morbid, depressing atmosphere but what really stands out is the sound design, specifically in the scenes involving Angel. Due to her being deaf some of the scenes sound as if you're underwater. Vibrations and thuds are heard, not the other characters as they are seen talking. Often a dark ambient tone is also present in the background and it creates a very tense atmosphere and creates a deeper connection to Angel.
STORY/PLOT
This one is trigger warning territory. Extremely violent and shocking.
Basic plot but extremely brutal. A young deaf-mute girl, Angel, gets stripped from her family after watching them get murdered during the Bosnian War. She is taken to a secluded, grotty brothel used to exploit abducted women. Having been taken petty on due to her condition, Angel is made a caretaker instead of being given a 'usual' position.After one of the abductees she has befriended is killed, she makes the decision to fight for her freedom.
The Seasoning House is your standard escape/revenge horror, but an extremely dark and violent one. Its portrays visceral gore and horrific violence against women, and it doesn't hold back. Even the ending, which is somewhat open to interpretation, is bleak. The implications aren't good.
It's a simple but well done plot, with effective narrative elements to make you like and despise who you are meant to. As far as the shock value goes, it passes the bill.
ACTING
Decent enough. Rosie day puts on a stellar enough performance and Angel and Dom P-C was very believable. Overall nothing major but more than adequate other than a few accents that sound a bit rough. They hit the marks they're meant to and it's all believable which is the important thing.
CHARACTERS
This isn't a film that really focuses on character depth and progression other than Angel. She is by far the most complex and she doesn't speak. More is learnt about her through flashbacks and her actions and they do a good job of making you care about the character.
While the characters aren't exactly memorable for the most part, they are very fitting making the experience believable.
CINEMATOGRAPHY/VISUAL DESIGN
This is what makes The Seasoning House a heavy hitter. This movie is grim, and that's in large part due to what you see. The camera work is dull and gritty, the set is dark and decrepit and it gives a hopeless and claustrophobic atmosphere. The violence and gore effects are believable and visceral. Top quality stuff and the shock factor hits because of it.
SOUNDTRACK/AUDIO
The music helps create the morbid, depressing atmosphere but what really stands out is the sound design, specifically in the scenes involving Angel. Due to her being deaf some of the scenes sound as if you're underwater. Vibrations and thuds are heard, not the other characters as they are seen talking. Often a dark ambient tone is also present in the background and it creates a very tense atmosphere and creates a deeper connection to Angel.
Mini Review: This movie is fucked up. Extremely. If you're easily disturbed, this isn't the movie for you. But if you're not easily disturbed and extreme cinema is your thing The Seasoning House is solid. Nothing deep or clever, just a very dark and brutal revenge flick that that achieves what it set out to do.