X - The eXploited

Whenever I select a random movie to invest my time, I focus on two aspects— the poster and the short review left by the viewers at the downloading site. So far, they have helped me land on good movies, fairly good movies— but deciding to watch a movie based on the poster and reviews (they can be biased and bought) is surely gambling with the little time you have spared to entertain yourself. And you got to trust your guts as they usually don’t lie.

Okay, Hungarian movies are something I don’t usually watch. Not because I don’t like them, but they are rare on the torrent site from where I download movies, as I don’t have any streaming subscriptions.

Talking about the movie, it was worth my time— I can draw the conclusion in just a single sentence. But I feel like I should explain a bit of it to raise your interest— after all, we all adore good movies here.

The name of the movie, as in the title of the post, indicates a punk-styled adoption of unnecessary violence. Usually, I don’t pick a movie with such a name that clearly ends up being violent and mostly, illogical. Dig up the history of movies you have watched, and I am sure most of them with such a bizarre title are shallow-plotted, fast-paced, and hate-crime-focused— exceptions available, though. So, I was skeptical about the worthiness of the movie in the beginning, but the reviews convinced me to click on the play button.

The Cinematography

It is truly brilliant. Head twisting too, literally. Some aerial shots with upside-down framing and slowly approaching the cityscape in a melancholic vibe are enough to give your head a spin. The artists behind the scene have shown their mastery in highlighting the suspenseful texture of the story and I am moved by the disorienting reality of what’s seen and what’s hidden under horrific masks of pretension. The movie deserves huge applause for its ingenious cinematographic representation.

The Story

Fast-paced, not-too-deep, and sometimes predictable— the story could be well-organised. For a crime thriller, revealing the culprit right when the movie could take a deep dive into mystery is a disappointment. But overall, the plot is not too-shallow to digest or get bored with. Although it has ended in an unpleasant way, the development of the story, in the beginning, gives the viewers a sigh of relief.

The Acting

The characters seem to be drained out of their energy, and in most cases, the protagonist acts as if she is about to collapse. While this sounds negative, the traumatic background and the socio-financial aspects justify the way the lead actress represented herself. But her daughter is too straight to create any suspense throughout the movie, and she is totally unnecessary for the story, given that she has no influence in the development of the story except for the reason the protagonist hides the truth in the ending scene.

Miscellaneous

Although the movie is gorgeously framed, characters are brilliantly portrayed, and the sound effect matches the genre, including the supernatural ability to reconstruct the accidents in imagination is a bit off-track. This trait is often found in horror genres, i.e. The Conjuring. To me, it’s a redundant orientation of the underrated protagonist. But the story needed that, I assume, and I don’t find it too eww.

Premiered in 2018, watching this movie after long years proved to be a good investment of time, and I am glad I discovered it.

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