Crushed (2009)

One of my all time favorites.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

I'm not quite sure why some love to jump on a film like this. Maybe, the clever use of internet promotion backfires, maybe people are upset by the movie and get their own back, maybe because there are no big name stars, maybe just because they can. Anyway, I reckon, this little film that surely achieves everything it sets out to do, has been very unfairly dismissed. It is stylishly shot, with imaginative soundtrack and a furious pace that never lets up. The violence is believable and horrendous and once the thing starts to roll, (that is right at the beginning!) there is nothing to stop it. Well, and here's my only gripe, the lead guy should have tried a little harder to nip this in the bud. There were a couple of opportunities when as a viewer you feel like screaming at him for being so 'understanding', when, of course, he seems not to understand at all. In fairness to the film he is set up to be this type of guy, taking it from his girlfriend and boss but it would have been absolutely perfect if he'd shown a bit more muscle. This is not, however, to take away from this very powerful and effective thriller.

"She's Crushed" is a very low budget and amateuristic movie, made to cash in on the still growing success of horror movies. In the area of sequels, remakes and excellent original horror films, there are also poor efforts which are really not worth a look at all.The story is like an uninspired and unbalanced mixture of "Fatal Attraction" and "Saw" (concerning the torture scenes, that is..) Everything is just plain bad here: the camera work, the lightning, the story, the actors.. o God, the actors: the acting and wooden characters are extremely bad and unconvincing.So there is some blood and torture, but it is cheaply done without any thrills or tension. I am a huge fan of horror, slashers and the recent "Saw" movies but I almost fell asleep during this one. Enough said...

Okay, let me just start off by saying if you liked movies like Audition (Ôdishon, 1999) or May (2002), then you are most definitely going to love this one.Yes, this is not a major Hollywood production with millions of dollars in the production, but wow! This movie was thrilling from start till end. It is one of the most disturbing movies I have seen.The way the movie is shot is phenomenal, the images and the camera angles. The images go from being serene and pure to being disturbing and downright diabolic.Crushed (or "She's Crushed") will keep you nailed - almost literally - to your chair throughout the entire length. The movie is one big roller-coaster ride, building up suspense and tipping over with great thrills, and often toe-curling scenes.The characters in the movie are vividly brought to life by an amazing cast. None of which I can recall having seen before. The cast really did a great acting job in this movie. And the set was good as well, very believable. Natalie Dickinson (Tara) and Henrik Norlén (Ray) were perfect in the lead roles.The gore effects were good, but some quite obviously fake. But that didn't matter, because the whole movie is so well put together that you will look past some fake effects. It has enough blood to keep even gorehounds glued to the screen.This is one of those movies that will stay with you for a long time. The images are compellingly haunting, bizarre and beautiful at the same time. And the characters are believable and real. A shame that it haven't gotten more attention than it did, because this is most definitely a movie worth watching - a gem in an otherwise flooded genre of thrillers.Not only is the movie great entertainment, but it also leaves you with some questions. Could this happen for real? Should we trust strangers who come into our lives?I felt like I had my teeth pulled out and still I was begging for more! Watch this one! You will not be disappointed!

This movie wasn't too bad for a low-budget thriller/horror movie. There were buckets of blood/gore, tons of maiming and a lot of sick sadistic acts perpetrated by the main psychotic freak. What really killed the movie the most for me, though, is how much of a weak pathetic loser the guy is portrayed as. He has many opportunities to take the chick out in the movie, but since he's such a pathetic wuss you'll find yourself yelling at him to grow a pair and do something besides being a tool. They should have picked an actor more congruent to the role, the actor here is a pretty decent size guy and yet he can't take out a little 115 lb psychotic chick when he has the chance (and he has many!). GROW A SET OF TESTICLES MAN!Anyway, as I said there is a ton of gore, the story is quite intense and for the most part the actors do a good job; the problem for me is the absurdity of the guys situation and how he handles it... or in this case, fails to handle it.Would I recommend it? Yes, it's a good ride and has decent shock value. The story is decent enough to keep you there, if only to see what she'll do/get away with next. Another thing I'd like to know is how when she's cutting people up she only gets blood on her face and nowhere else...