Director: Jonathan Ford
Writer: Jonathan Ford (Screenplay)
Starring: Russell Floyd, Lisa Eichhorn, Fred Adenis, Timothy Morand, Angela Dixon, Etienne Fouillade
Plot: A retired couple are targeted by a cruel gang of street youths . A new breed of technological psychopath. This is the old generation vs the new.
Runtime: 1 Hour 45 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Disturbing & Unsettling
Story: Offensive starts when a retired couple Bernard (Floyd) and Helen (Eichhorn) inherit a small villa in a village in France, with the stipulation that they must live there for one year, they meet a lonely widowed neighbor Patrick (Morand) before learning quickly about the youths in the area, that cause chaos, with franks, name calling and acts of violence, film their actions for their own entertainment.
Soon both Bernard and Helen start getting targeted by the thugs, with the police doing next to nothing to help, even accusing Bernard of starting more of the trouble himself.
Thoughts on Offensive
Characters – Bernard is a retired teacher who inherits a house in France from a family friend whose father fought with his in World War II, he sees this as a start with his wife for a healthy retirement, only once he learns about the troubles and gets targeted, he is torn between trying to walk away or fight back. Helen is the wife that tries to stop him getting revenge on the thugs, she wants to walk the moral line, trying to let the police solve the problems. Jean-Baptiste is the police officer trying to keep the peace, not knowing what is right about what is going on, trying to play everything down the line. Patrick is a neighbor that welcomes the couple, he has been clashing with the thugs, with what happens to him being the catalyst for Bernard to react.
Performances – Russell Floyd in the leading role is great, because he is playing somebody that is trying not to fight back and somebody that looks like he could be an easier target for the thugs. Lisa Eichhorn does well, though her character seems to be more about the moral decision behind everything going on. The young actors playing the thugs are disturbingly great to watch because you want them to get what is coming to them.
Story – The story follows a retired couple that find themselves being targeted by the villages group of thugs, which soon sees thing starting to get out of hand. Bought to us in the same kind of tone as ‘Eden Lake’ this shows us how the youth of today could start getting out of hand to new extremes, with violence being used in numbers, with the idea that technology lets them replay the footage again and again, this does make us get some horrible characters that you are wishing to be wiped of this Earth. This is all great to watch, when we start getting into the moral decisions going on, this just gets bogged down, nobody in their right mind would defend any of the actions done to these thugs it isn’t even worth a talk. For a revenge like horror this is one you can get behind what is happening, feeling complete sympathy for the retired couple and nothing for the thugs.
Horror – The horror here comes from the actions the couple must first live through and then proceed to get revenge for, the wounds we see suffered are brutal and feel like it is real, you may need to look away at times.
Settings – The film is set in a small French village, it shows the divide between the youth and the older generation, with just how they act towards them.
Scene of the Movie – The first fight back.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The talk about moral right thing.
Final Thoughts – This is a brutal horror that plays into the revenge like mentality, it has the same tone as Eden Lake, with us only caring about the retired couple.
Overall: Brutally Disturbing Horror.
