Very good, very, very hard to watch.
Warning: Do NOT under any circumstances let kids watch this film. It has a very violent and adult plot that simply isn’t appropriate for ANY child to see. Additionally, take care if you watch the film because it is so violent AND because the subject matter might be too traumatic for victims of sexual abuse to watch no matter what their age.
Four meth addicts are looking for a fix but they haven’t got any money. So, their supplier suggests they steal a TV and he’ll supply them with drugs. And, being desperate drug addicts, they soon locate a likely home and find a nice flat screen TV. However, in the process, one of the addicts finds another TV—one hooked up to a DVD machine. He turns it on and soon sees that there is child porn on the disc—as well as all the other discs he finds in the attic cache.
- Junction
- Written & Directed by
Tony Glazer - Cast
David Zayas, Michael O’Keefe, Anthony Rapp - Release Date
2014 - Martin’s Grade: A-
At this point, this particular meth addict flips out. It seems that he was a victim of sexual abuse and he’s not about to let these folks go free. His friends suggest he call the police and they then run—but this guy has truly flipped. He’s determined to mete out justice—and kill the guy he knows is responsible for this child porn. At first his friends try to change his mind, but soon he takes them prisoner as well! Now, it’s a house filled with prisoners and a nut who’s only seconds away from mass murder. Can the police manage to save any of them and will the pedophile receive justice?
Although the plot to Junction might seem very far-fetched, it really isn’t. In fact, I found three well-documented cases that were similar—at least as far as the setup goes. These three cases involved burglars who stole items only to either discover within the home of the victim child porn—or child porn on video cameras stolen from the homes. And, in these three cases (in Spain, Canada and the UK), the burglars contacted the police to report the pedophiles even though they themselves risked jail time for burglary. Of course, in this film, the guy does NOT contact the police—he wants to handle it all by himself!
*****
Long ago, before I became a teacher, I was a psychotherapist who, unfortunately, kept getting referrals for cases involving sex offenders. Working with the victims was tough—but rewarding. But working with the offenders just about killed me and so I can understand the psychology behind this film. With post-traumatic stress reactions, I could see an adult victim losing control and threatening to kill everyone—though this sort of thing is very, very rare. The movie definitely also gets it right when it comes to the wives—all too often they are either willfully ignorant of the sexual abuse or they are participants. Folks don’t like to think that women can be this evil—and the film really gets this part of it right. I’ve worked with some truly evil and despicable men AND women.
So is the film worth seeing? Well, yes. It’s very well made and very intelligent—which is surprising for such a lower-budgeted film. It has some very interesting and well thought out twists. The actors are not big stars and the idea is very simple…but it works well. However, at the same time, it’s so traumatic watching the film and so bloody that I wonder who would want to see this. And, if you yourself have been a victim, for goodness sake, don’t watch the film—it will be a nightmare. But, for the right audience, it is an exceptionally well made, albeit bloody, film. Just think twice before you watch.
Review by Lead Entertainment Writer & Film Critic, Martin Hafer
