Hidden in the Woods (2014)
An English language remake of the Chilean film of the same name by that films' director Patricio Valladares. This US remake co-produced and starring Michael Biehn is an intensely brutal affair. It tells the story of two sisters raised in isolation by their father (Biehn) and subjected to abuse throughout their short lives. When he's finally put in jail the girls end up having to answer to their uncle (William Forsythe) a local drug kingpin who is looking for his stash of merchandise which went missing when Biehn was arrested.
I'm not entirely sure if Asda knew exactly what they were selling for £3 in the case of
Hidden in the Woods, although BBFC approved it's tough going. Utterly downbeat, it's a depiction of graphic rape, incest, murder, and sex from the off. It feels realistic thanks to it being digitally shot and using natural light in the majority of scenes. Both Biehn and Forsythe are utterly unlikable but the girls - Jeannine Kaspar and Electra Avellan - have our sympathies for the torrent of abuse they suffer throughout.
In no way could the film be classed as fun or even entertaining, but it is grimy, gritty, and disturbingly repulsive.
I know some steer clear of films with sexual violence which this film has in spades so here is what the BBFC has to say. It's uncut by the way.
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There is strong violence throughout, including several scenes of sexual violence in which young female characters are raped. An abusive father rapes both his daughters, one of whom subsequently gives birth to a child with a developmental disability. During other scenes of violence there is a strong emphasis on bloody injury detail. A character kills two people with a chainsaw and another character has his ear shot off.
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I'll definitely be getting the even more gruesome Chilean original in the next few weeks.