Search - Tortured on DVD

A decent thriller that flew under the radar...

Steve Kuehl | Ben Lomond, CA | 09/16/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This title had received no advertising and very little coverage in the ordering publications so I carried few since the cast seemed solid. I was pleasantly surprised.

Cole Hauser leads the film as our undercover FBI agent infiltrating one of the oldest and largest crime syndicates still in operation. James Cromwell plays the FBI Director/dad of our main character, and Lawrence Fishburne plays the tortured victim/hostage of the bad guys. Emmanuelle Chriqui, Robert LaSardo and Jon Cryer round out a recognizable supporting cast who all perform with adequate prose for their shorter roles. The story follows the agent as he has to torture this prisoner to gain the trust of the syndicate. The film leap frogs between time periods of the agent's mission, with graphic depictions of disgusting torture in between.

This movie earns the R rating many times over for violence, and the inevitable B movie feel filters through once in awhile. But Cole (who I liked in Dirty) carries the film nicely as Fishburne and Cromwell play their usual characters from many other films without a problem. I swear LaSardo gets 20 more tattoos between each film - cannot see his skin anymore, good art though. Customers keep asking for a good thriller with any surprising twists (instead of predictable and dumb), and I think this title can keep the masses happy this week."

Great twist, but some parts are tough to watch

Jared Broach | 12/24/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I watched this movie with no expectations, mainly because I had never heard about it. However, as soon as the movie starts, it gets very intriguing. The movie is not hard to watch because it is boring, but because of some torture methods that appear to hurt very much. The movie does jump around between time periods a bit, but they piece the movie together very well if you pay attention. The ending is built up very well and I enjoyed the twist. I would highly reccomend watching or buying this."

Tortured

Arnita D. Brown | USA | 03/11/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Jimmy, a business-like young man, enters a room where a man, the accountant for a shadowy drug lord, is shackled. Over the next week, Jimmy systematically tortures the accountant, demanding information about missing funds. The accountant denies any knowledge. In flashbacks to six months before, we see Jimmy's joining a group of the drug lord's enforcers, surviving brutal hazing, getting his first assignment, and keeping his cool. We also learn that Jimmy has another identity, friends in high places, and a girlfriend unhappy about both his work and his changing personality. Good casting, good acting, intriguing characters, very good pacing all make this an entertaining movie to watch. Although the twists and turns keep things interesting, the major direction becomes increasingly predictable and unfortunately increasingly implausible. It wasn't enough to ruin the movie."