SADIK 2 (REVIEW)
Dir. Robin Entreinger
Reviewer. Joey Keogh
Robin Entreinger’s follow-up to his well-received, feature debut, VICTIMES missed out on the larger audience it deserved at this year’s Film 4 Frightfest thanks, in large part, to its rather confusing title. If one had taken the time to read the description, it would have been immediately obvious that the ‘2’ in the title references the film within the film, Sadik, and that this is not a sequel to it, but a film about the making of the sequel to it (stay with me).
The premise treads pretty familiar territory, by placing a group of twenty-somethings, in a house in the middle of nowhere, on New Year’s Eve. Among them, there is a horror fanatic, who not only suggests they watch the infamous SyFy classic SHARKTOPUS but actually wanders around in a Ghostface mask, filming himself, à la Randy in SCREAM. The genre nods are plentiful, and most of the jokes hit, probably because Entreinger is a horror fan himself. The film feels self-referential, and tongue in cheek, instead of smug, which is a difficult balance to maintain and something which the great Joss Whedon arguably failed at, with THE CABIN IN THE WOODS.
It all falls apart, somewhat predictably, when people begin being picked off one by one, with the aforementioned horror buff the first to go, which begs the question – shouldn’t he know all the tricks and therefore be equipped to survive the longest? The twist, as it were, is that there is a film crew making the sequel to SADIK, a popular torture porn film which many have suggested involves real murders, hidden near the house. As the friends are each tortured and killed, to the delight of the rather bloodthirsty director, it quickly becomes clear that the rumours have more than a little basis in fact.
What is most striking about SADIK 2 is how seamlessly it blends horror and comedy. One moment, a witty line is being spouted, or someone is wondering if a particular character is gay because he has pictures of half-dressed men on his phone, and the next a woman’s face is being cut off in extremely graphic detail. It couldn’t possibly be labelled torture porn, because so much of the action happens off-screen (to varyingly good effect), but, when it does feature, the gore is truly impressive throughout, particularly in what seems to be a nod to the infamous JASON X, and the aforementioned face-peeling sequence. It’s bloody and intense, but not relentless, which makes the comedic elements sit much better.
In a self-deprecating nod to his own difficulties within the film industry, Entreinger starts as a camera operator who doesn’t seem to really know what he’s doing, and, following the film’s rather amusing final twist, we are treated to several, very enthusiastic to-camera audience opinions from moviegoers who have just endured the final product. It’s a knowing nod, and a fitting end to an effective, funny and very gruesome film that should be celebrated for managing to be both self-referential, and inventive in its own special ways.
If you can track it down, SADIK 2 is well worth a look – just ignore the title, all will become clear before too long.
