User Reviews

In 1996, in the Balkans, the population of a small town is slaughtered by a militia under the command of the inhuman Goran (Sean Pertwee) that abducts young girls for prostitution in a brothel owned by the cruel Viktor (Kevin Howarth). The deaf Angel (Rosie Day) that witnessed the execution of her mother has a weird birth mark on the face and Viktor chooses her to housework; to put makeup and drug the girls for the clients; and cleaning them up after the brutal encounters. Angel also sneaks between the walls and ventilation ducts during the night. Angel befriends the girl Vanya (Dominique Provost-Chalkley) that knows the language of the deaf. When Goran returns to the house with his men, Angel witnesses one of them raping and killing Vanya and she revenges her new friend killing the man. Now Goran and his men are hunting her down and she is trapped in the house.

"The Seasoning House" is a brutal, dark, dramatic and depressive thriller about a sad theme, the human exploitation in prostitution. Rosie Day has an amazing performance in the role of a mute teenager traumatized by the brutal war. The gloomy conclusion is scary and hopeless. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

Wow, okay… when I watched "The Seasoning House" at a modest genre festival in my home country, I anticipated quite a number of things, but I didn't anticipate this! The film was scheduled as the closing feature, which is normally a festive event in a light-headed ambiance, but surely this didn't make the audiences very happy! I admit not having read the plot synopsis in great detail in advance, but from reading it distantly it looked like a variation on the 'rape-and-revenge' sub genre, like "I Spit on your Grave", "Last House on the Left". These are seldom cheerful films, of course, given the harsh and exploitative subject matter, but "The Seasoning House" is more intense, devastating and tragic than any other thriller in its kind. It's somewhat of a feminist horror/rape-and-revenge flick, but one set against the background of the ravaging civil war in the Balkans during the mid-1990's. Not only does the menace of an inhumanly cruel and cold war feels incredibly authentic, the story also introduces young girls as defenseless victims of a depraved and heartless prostitution network. When the rest of her family is brutally massacred by soldiers, deaf-mute teenage Angel ends up in an illegal sort of brothel run by the sadist Victor in the middle of the woods. The squadron that killed her mother and sister passes by the house one day, so she sees her chance for retaliation. Through the crawlspaces and the ventilation circuit throughout the old house, Angel battles against the relentless commander Goran and his team of perverted soldiers. "The Seasoning House" truly hits you like an emotional sledgehammer, with a few cruel execution sequences, a thorough raw atmosphere and deeply depressing cinematography and music. The acting performances are extraordinary, particularly those of adolescent starlets Rosie Day and Dominique Provost-Chalkley. Also giving another superb (and very ungrateful) performance is British cult-actor Sean Pertwee as the stone-cold and heartless military commander Goran. A very strong and remarkable debut for special effects wizard Paul Hyett. Recommended, but definitely not for the faint-hearted.

"The seasoning House" is another movie that'll make you feel uncomfortably. It's definitely not for sensitive souls who are shocked easily. This movie isn't a Horror movie. The sadistic and brutal overtones marches forth throughout the movie and are brutally stopped by a devastating revenge caused by the urge to survive. There's no explicit gore that hits you like a sledgehammer, but it's the evocative atmosphere that makes you feel disgusted. It's a dilapidated hovel with timbered windows and an interior that's not looked after for years. No one comes to admire the furniture but comes there to satisfy his animal appetites and to take it out on those innocent girls.

It's situated during the Balkan war in the 90s where the army brutally conquered villages and slaughtered everyone except the younger girls. These poor girls were transported to this remote hovel as prostitutes and were abused at will for a lot of money by sadistic men. Some girls don't survive this brutal treatment and are simply wrapped in a blanket and dumped somewhere. To think that these practices actually occurred in these parts makes it worse and shocking realistic.

The girl Angel, who is a deaf mute, actually gets a preferential treatment (sounds pretty stupid, I know) and is responsible for drugging the girls and the care and cleaning after more scum has come along. There is no escape and submissively she performs these tasks. Until she actually gets an emotional bond with a new girl who is horribly abused afterwards. The moment a unit of soldiers arrives, who are also responsible for the death of Angels family, and a huge dude abuses that girl severely, Angel jumps in to help her in a rather bloody way and flees away between the floor and walls.

The first 40 minutes are quite slowly and have a claustrophobic tone, where you can see Angel browsing through the corridors and carrying out the tasks in a trance, while dodging away from grabbing perverts. Personally I thought the gore part wasn't that hard. The more the oppressive discomfort was present. I was sometimes painful to watch, and not in a physical way. The whole movie feels like a crazy ride on a roller coaster: First excruciatingly slow, then breathtaking and surprisingly fast, to end up in a slower pace.

The only criticism I could cite is that it is rather implausible that a simple girl, armed only with a kind of scalpel and a syringe with heroin , could outwit and defeat heavily armed soldiers. Most of it was also pure luck they were eliminated. The final scene will make you feel relieved and will give you a good feeling. Especially the face-to-face confrontation with Goran is a highlight. Just how could Angel crawl back in that narrow tube ? Conclusion: a tough and confrontational movie that wil jolt you a conscience with a sledgehammer. A piece of advice: don't watch this on your first date. It might give a false impression !

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This film is brutal. It was extremely hard to watch this movie because the rape of teen girls scenes were horrifying and too realistic. For me, there is nothing entertaining about rape and this movie seemed to concentrate on this horror. I read another reviewer who stated it's tough if you're not used to seeing this - NO ONE SHOULD EVER BECOME ACCUSTOMED TO SEEING THIS! I will say, the main character played by Rosie Day was a hero you could seriously cheer for. She was so sympathetic and then brave and heroic. The slashing/stabbing scenes were also realistic and quite gory. I kept thinking that knife is really sharp. What's truly scary is that places like the Seasoning House really did/do exist, unfortunately. I will say the story was fast-paced and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Can I recommend this - only to those with a strong stomach.

The aftermath of an Eastern European war is that young girls are forced into prostitution. Angel (Rosie Day) is a young mute girl who is taken to such a place. Viktor (Kevin Howarth) who runs the place has taken a liking toward her and has her in charge of shooting up the other girls. She befriends one of the girls who knows sign language.

The soldiers who come there are mean and cruel. Angel, makes Fiona Apple look obese, as she crawls through air vents like my cats do when I yell at them for changing the channel. The first half of the film is slow establishing the characters and scenario.

This is not the exploitation film one expects from the cover and title. I enjoyed the dark irony of the ending which was worth the wait.

Worth a view if you liked "The Whistleblower".

Parental Guide: F-bomb, rape, male rear nudity. No female nudity.

A story that sadly happened already in these parts trough the recent history and maybe is happening again and again in the part of central balkan KOSOVO.Even if all the killings in the war that happened there over the years the main responsible was the Serbes ,Albanians and Croats it is known that all the bordels and the main sources of drugs and weapons are held by Albanians and only Albanians .Why then writer choose these caratchters to be serbes with authentic names.I find it very offensive to the Serbian nation. The story line i find it very very good but the acting is very poor the scenes are very common and already seen in every horror movie ... Don't watch this save your time for something special.

The population of a small town is slaughtered under the command of Goran, and abducts young girls for prostitution in a brothel owned by Viktor.

A deaf girl who witnessed the execution of her mother, has to do the housework, applies makeup and drugs the girls for the clients, and clean them up after the brutal encounters.

She also sneaks between the walls and ventilation ducts during the night. She befriends a girl, Vanya, who knows sign language.

When Goran returns to the house with his men, the girl witnesses one of them killing Vanya and she takes vengeance.....

Ignore the positive reviews, and the fact that this has two very good actors in it, it's just abhorrent, vile, exploitation that would probably get Eli Roth Salivating.

This type of movie was rife during the mid noughties gorenography craze, and it feels such old hat now.

It's cheaply made, with British actors made to talk in a silly accent that wouldn't seem out of place in an early Bond movie, and it looks like it was filmed in some woods in the East Midlands.

Its depiction of violence is extreme, but not in a way that was entertaining , ala Cabin Fever or Saw, and the whole film feels cold and depressing.

It's another film that sounds average on paper, but worse on screen.

Don't waste your time.

The movie is painful and as some other people who commented before me said, it is a roller coaster: slow-fast-slow. Basically it is a story of revenge of a girl forced to prostitute herself and be the maid of a prostitution house. The effects are incredibly realistic and the acting is really good. It is really full of blood and injuries if you like that, which is OK for me, but besides that, I think that, instead of being considered a thriller movie, or horror, or blood, or whatever, the real value of the movie, is that it dares to talk about something that until few years ago: the human traffic. It happens in all the countries in all possible economy and class levels, in all kinds of education. Many women are forced to sell their bodies for some food after being kidnapped or (in this case) survived the war. And specially, if you consider the after war panorama that happens in this movie (it is not explicit in the rest of the girls, though), where, probably all of the girls locked in the house lost their families, or at least some family members, probably got raped and robbed one or many times before being kidnapped or found by the dealers, and where the main customers are soldiers or authorities, then, it is a very sad eye opener for this situation. I've seen some other movies with the same theme before, but not as crude as this one, where the injuries inflicted in the girls are really real and the violence scenes really explicit. However, since the "revenge" starts, it lost credibility for me, and became too much of a wannabe Hollywood persecution movie. And when Angel gets in the house of the wife of the soldier she killed it is becoming common place in many movies. I would have avoided that scene and jumped to the next part. However, the idea was good.

It's hard to think of a film with a more unpalatable premise: in the war-torn Balkans, a group of women are kidnapped are forced to work in a brothel by the notorious warlord Goran. Thus for the first hour the viewer is forced to endure endless rape and misogyny directed at the screaming female cast members, and it's all very unedifying and sleazy. I hate watching this sort of stuff and was tempted to fast forward on more than one occasion.

Eventually, the storyline twists into a revenge style set up, and it starts getting gory. Very gory. The explicit special effects turn out to be rather excellent in terms of their realism, and there's some undeniable satisfaction that comes from seeing the bad guys getting their comeuppance. However, the filmmaking is competent rather than good, and aside from the reliable Sean Pertwee as the villain of the piece, none of the performances really stand out. And there's way too much misogyny for it to be the kind of film you'd want to sit through again.

I have wanted to watch this movie for a very long time now. Recently released, it was far more intense then I was expecting. My God this is a tough one to watch.

Set during the Balkan wars, we open in a dusty and dirty house. There are women everywhere, crying and bruised while big men shuffle them around. We know what's going on. The frightened and vacant looks on the girls tells us exactly what this place is. These are not women, but slaves, and this dusty and dirty house is their living hell. But this house has many secrets, and a mute slave called Angel knows them all. It's only a matter of time before this mute girl can no longer stay silent...

I love revenge films. They give me a sense of satisfaction as the victim always comes out on top. But this movie was very hard to enjoy. From the very beginning, the tone is set for this to be an emotional roller coaster. Knowing this stuff happens only makes it hit home that much harder. I hate rapists! I despise anyone that would inflict such cruelty onto another. This movie does not shy away from how disgusting rape really is. Even going so far as to show a girl with a broken pelvis, it's enough to make you sick to your stomach. I have watched a lot of disturbing movies and I still struggle with content such as this. This movie takes things to a whole new level. You'll be disturbed for sure.

Not only is the content disturbing, but the special effects are too. The Fx is surprisingly graphic and explicit, you'll be cringing and startled at the sight of the blood gushing. Of course when the tables turn, it becomes a lot more satisfying to watch, but no more easier. These effects looked as real as they can be. I applaud the film makers, this is some extreme looking gore. Trust me, there will be blood. And lots of it.

The acting is phenomenal. Rosie Day as the silent Angel, makes this movie. While not uttering a single line, she conveys so much emotion it's hard not to admire her. Sean Pertwee is excellent as the villain. Seeping with anger and sadism he's a guy you love to hate. Kevin Howarth is also excellent as the owner of the forced prostitution house. I found myself unsure of his motivations throughout the movie. The man was very clever at appearing sympathetic while at the same time reeking of disgust and cruelty. Finally a shout out for Anna Walton, who played my favourite character of the movie. I won't spoil her scenes, but the things her character goes through is beyond tragic and heart breaking. What a performance!

This movie reminds me of so many other revenge movies. I Spit comes to mind, due to the relentless rape, and Thriller and Cruel Picture, due to the similar use of heroin on the sex slaves. It even seems similar to Eden Lake in a couple of ways, number one of which being the tone. This movie is dark and brutal. Intense and heart wrenching. But for a directorial debut, fantastic on so many levels. While it was hard to enjoy this movie, it was none the less a brilliant experience. Perhaps not one I'll ever watch again, but one I was grateful to have seen.

Please see this movie. It's is hard to watch and incredibly disturbing, but it's movies like these that need to be seen.

Thankyou for reading.

It is rare that I dislike a film. The description makes it seem that this abused little girl is in a sex house and she devises and executes a plan to make all of those who wronged her pay. NO!! She makes a friend and barely kills the friend's rapist AFTER watching said rape. THEN she goes on to sneak through the house killing all of the other adults. All of whom have weapons and military training, I might add. NONE of her kills have to do with her cleverness or deviousness. It's ALL dumb luck!

The two main antagonists are psychopathic screw ups with enough issues to be in the band. If they had gotten their comeuppance in some poetic or brilliant way, the film might have redeemed its self. HECK, if both had suffered the other one's death it might have meant a little better!! As is, it's decent concept done terribly.

Like I said, I like everything. I also watch EVERYTHING. But this was truly terrible. Paul Hyett, you will have to do better than that....

Set in the Balkans in 1996 during war. Goran rounds up women, keeps the few he likes for his house of prostitution, and kills the rest. Goran selected the deaf-mute Angel to serve as housekeeper of sorts in the whore house. Goran had Angel's mother shot to death before her eyes.

Viktor runs the whore house and treats Angel less savagely than he treats the involuntary prostitutes. Angel is slim enough to navigate the air vents. She uses this to do the prostitutes small favors, like giving a piece of chocolate.

When Goran returns, one of his soldiers brutally uses one of Angel's friends. He suffocates her while he reaches climax. Angel witnesses this, and stabs the rapist multiple times. She barely escapes through the air vents. The rest of the soldiers decide to find her.

Will Angel escape? Will there be any justice for the rapist military criminals?

-----Scores-----

Cinematography: 6/10 Good, though sometimes more than a bit out of focus. There was a tendency to show fog way too much. Outdoors, sure. Indoors? That is harder to believe.

Sound: 4/10 Sometimes fine. Often the conversation levels are very low, while the dramatic incidental music is off-the-charts loud.

Acting: 6/10 Sean Pertwee and Rosie Day were fine, and Kevin Howarth was not bad. The rest of the cast was poor.

Screenplay: 6/10 Slow and methodical, and fairly convincing in its description of real horror in large quantities. However, I thought it gave in too often to portraying people as caricatures rather than more rounded individuals. I liked the last scene with Angel and Goran, though I thought there was not enough retribution.