Just perfect...

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

This is bad even for torture porn. It starts out promisingly enough, with Jesse Metcalfe understandably freaking out about the abduction of his small son, but once Erika Christensen shows up, she promptly drains any semblance of liveliness that this outing may have had (which, admittedly, wasn't much). Christensen is, with rare exceptions, simply a lousy actress. And she's uncommonly awful here. Neither she nor Metcalfe -- who isn't bad, just bland -- is even slightly believable as parents so vengeful that they'd kidnap and torture the man (they think) murdered their son. Oh yeah, that parenthetical means that at the end there's a shocking twist. Not. As others have noted, you see it coming from a mile away: the boy's parents may have seized the wrong guy, because there were TWO prisoners on the transport van they are able to hijack with idiotic ease (a fact they apparently weren't aware of -- yeah, right), and somehow we're supposed to think they might mistake the guy they abduct with the man they saw for months on end during his trial.Matters aren't helped by a truly stupid script and mostly lifeless direction. Of course, people aren't going to watch something like this for the script, acting or direction: they want to see a revenge fantasy played out, which the movie doesn't even deliver due to the aforementioned "twist." The movie swiftly becomes quite boring, and yes, I am including the torture scenes in that assessment. This is not guilty-pleasure bad. It's just bad.

This movie is just plain silly. The premise is so simple and the "surprise ending" so predicable. And actions of the characters implausible. It offers nothing.The plot: Just in case you're still curious about seeing this film. Yuppie doctors have their young son kidnapped and murdered by a child serial killer. The killer pleads insanity and gets a light sentence. This in and of itself could at least made an interesting Lifetime network movie but instead it's just rushed into the first 15 minutes of the film. We feel absolutely no emotions for this couple or their son since we really don't know anything about them. Their loss is merely the set up for the premise.The vengeful couple plan to hijack the killer's prison transport and take him back their house to torture him. Since they're doctors they know how to keep him alive.The hijack results in a crash but the couple succeeds in their plan and bring the already seriously injured killer back to their basement.Here's where the movie also misses out on an easy opportunity. Movie serial killers are generally interesting. They have a gimmick, 'Manhunter,' 'Seven,' 'Saw,' 'The Crimson Rivers.' Serial killers are interesting. But not this one. The injured killer is unable to speak and we learn absolutely nothing about him. Not a thing other than fact that he's murdered several children.After 60 minutes of boring R rated torture scenes. Yes, R is boring. True horror fans have already seen the Ilsa trilogy, 'Riki Oh' and 'Cannibal Holocaust.' Anything with a mere R rating is boring by our standards.Predictably the killer escapes, but only to hang himself there on the spot leaving a suicide note begging the couple's forgiveness. If he's so injured, how did he manage to hang himself to death? Spoiler warning!!! And now the predictable twist. The tortured man wasn't actually the killer. The couple later sees on the news that the prisoner transport was actually carrying two prisoners. The serial killer and a tax evader. They've been torturing the tax evader. We see in flashbacks that the real killer actually followed the couple back to their house and was hanging around their home the whole time stealing their food. He hanged the man and wrote the suicide note to frame him.Wait a minute! That doesn't make any freaking sense! Why was the serial killer hanging around the house at all? He could have simply killed the couple and hid out from the police in their house! Or he simply could have run like hell and escaped to Canada! Why was the killer even sticking around? It only increased his chances of being caught! Why was he reduced to stealing food when he could just kill for it? He's a serial killer! So what happens now? What does the couple do? They simply go on the lamb to evade the police! There's NO scene where the couple realizes in horror that they've been torturing an innocent man and feels any guilt. Or any guilt that they freed their son's killer! Aren't they the least bit concerned that the serial killer is still on the loose? I guess not since the killer was living in the bushes outside their house for a whole month and never even harmed them once! So that's the disaster which is 'The Tormented.' I can think of no redeeming value in this film what so ever. It's not even fun to riff or make of or base a drinking game around.Just in case you're still curious about the production quality and acting in this film... it's torture.

The movie grabbed my attention and for that, it at least gets a 5 out of 10. But is it really that good? For fans that love a nice little torture flick, this one does just that. The story flows really well from beginning to end.So the bad guy kidnaps a couples child and tortures him to death. The grieving couple in return kidnaps the bad guy and tortures him in return. Both the wife and husband agree to do this by the way willingly.What exactly does this accomplish by the way? I understand you feel a lot of pain grieving for your lost child, but to become a monster yourself and go through the same procedure as what the kidnapper did.....well, you are no better off than the kidnapper. I'm sorry to say.For pain and torture and for those that enjoy movies like this, you won't be disappointed.

My summary title has nothing to do about how I feel about the movie. I actually enjoyed it. The premise is as follows.(cut and paste)In Rutland Country, the six year-old Benjamin Michael Landry is kidnapped by a psychopath in the lawn of his house. His father Craig Landry unsuccessfully runs after the truck but the abductor escapes. Sooner the police discovers that John Kozlowski had abducted and killed Benjamin. When the criminal is sentenced to 25 years in prison only, Benjamin's mother Elise Landry presses her husband to kidnap John and torture him. Craig is a doctor and knows exactly how to inflict pain to the psychopath. They succeed to kidnap John from the prison transport, but Craig has an accident and John is hurt. The couple tortures the man until they find the truth about their victim.I actually enjoyed this film; as I viewed it entirely from the parents point of view. I have no sentiments for murdered and Bill Mosley plays one of his most diabolical and sinister yet. I would have loved to have see more of his performance, but I guess it would break away from the actual plot. I was thinking if he played one of the parents doing the torturing, but that would probably make the parent look to maniac-ish.I didn't find many flaws. Both Jessie Metcalfe and Erika Christensen play solid roles as a young couple who have been tortured by the premature murder of their only child. One flaw I did find was how brainless the jury could have been to only give Bill Mosley's character 20 to life. Excuse me? Didn't the prosecutors present pictures in this case or did the defendant's lawyer go the "They entered his house without a warrant" plea. Either way, it shows how "Broken" the judicial system really is.I have both love and hate for the story's ending as well. I love the twist, but I feel the last scene itself was weak as ever. I wanted to know what happened when the couple went home and turned on the news. What went on through their heads knowing that 20 to life isn't that long and someday.... To me the ending was inconclusive and could have been much better.I give it a seven, because I love all kinds of horror and suspense...and would someone please torture those who still use the term "Torture Porn". That's a nasty word dreamed up by haters of the horror genre and should never be used by an actual fan.