1BR Movie Review

The character Lester, was great. At first we thought he was the community creep, but later on he turned out to be a victim. I loved how everything fit together and made sense about his character when the truth about the community unfolded. I was so shocked when we found out that his eye was actually taken away, because he resisted the community. Learning about his background in that quick moment made the community seem so brutal. Having him pair up with Sarah as a couple too was so unexpected and upsetting. I really felt for Sarah and Lester both.

Another character that I liked was Edie. Her character was so tragic, but interesting. A washed up movie star going senile. I wondered how she got into the community. It was upsetting seeing that she was trying to be a friend to Sarah in the beginning… then finding out that she was also brainwashed. I think the worst part was her death. She was put to rest by the community, because she had nothing to offer the community anymore. This reminded me of Midsommer in a sense, which I loved. 

The torture aspect of the film was done well in my opinion. It wasn’t overly gorey, but it was brutal. The community members would be punished if they acted out. They were also given mental tortures to get them to comply and brainwash them. Kind of like Stockholm syndrome. I thought this was interesting, because the idea of breaking someone mentally sometimes is stronger than breaking them physically.

The idea of people willingly dying for a cult or community is very interesting to me. How far someone would go for something they believed in… it kind of reflects upon the subjects of religion and morality. Could dying for a cause be justified? What about killing? Or suicide? Seppuku was a brutal, but honorable death, does that mean it’s morally correct? Who am I to say that someone’s culture is right or wrong, but it brings up an interesting conversation.