Penance (2009)

A young mother decides to become a stripper to earn some fast cash, only to find her worst nightmares are about to begin.

Director:

Jake Kennedy

Writer:

Jake Kennedy

Stars:

Marieh Delfino, Jason Connery, Michael Rooker

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marieh Delfino	...	Amelia
Jason Connery	...	John
Michael Rooker	...	Mann
Graham McTavish	...	Geeves
Alice Amter	...	Eve
Valorie Hubbard	...	Kathy
Lochlyn Munro	...	Jack
Allison Lange	...	Tara
Tony Todd	...	Chauffeur
James Duval	...	Sleazy party guy
Eve Mauro	...	Suzie - Sassy
Sita Young	...	Molly
Katherine Randolph	...	Polly
Garrett Jones	...	Will
Morann Peri	...	Corridor prisoner

Storyline

A story of single mother Amelia, who turns to stripping as a means of making ends meet and winds up the unwilling subject of a grim purification ritual. When her friend, stripper Suzy takes a beating that leaves her unable to perform, she asks her to cover her latest gig. Reluctantly accepting so she can convalesce, she begins to grow uneasy when her driver takes her to a dark and remote location. Once inside, she finds herself imprisoned with a number of other unchaste women by a sadistic captor, Geeves who uses various torture methods to rid them of their impurities.

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Plot Keywords:

stripper | female nudity | misogyny | female exploitation | violence against woman | 

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Taglines:

He Made Them Pay For Their Sins

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 May 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Devil's Dungeon

Filming Locations:

Malibu, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Clever Worm Entertainment

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Graham McTavish completely shaved his head so he could play Geeves.

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Goofs

When Mann points the gun at Will it's a Beretta 92f then when Mann takes the camera and shoots Will it's a different gun and then right after the gun changes back to the Beretta 92f.

User Reviews

Torture Porn, and Not Even Good Torture Porn

Penance is an example of this decade's "torture porn" craze at its worst. Cheaply made, with largely unknown actors, the film lacks the creativity of films such as Saw, substituting shock tactics for originality.

The story is nothing new. An innocent young woman is forced to become a stripper because of financial trouble, and ends up falling into the hands of a depraved religious fanatic. (I'm a humanist, and even I think this movie gives religion a bad name.) What follows is an hour long wallow in torture and extremely graphic sequences of genital mutilation, both male and female.

What makes the movie particularly disgusting is its implicit acceptance of the moral logic of the villain. The protagonist is a victim of circumstance, not a "bad" stripper like the others, who are depicted in the most stereotypical, degrading way possible. At times, this approach pushes the film into outright misogyny.

Furthermore, Penance relies on a video taping framing device ripped off from better films like REC. The result is a cheap looking digital feature that adds nothing to the overall story.

The only good points of the film are the scenes with Michael Rooker, which unfortunately comprise only ten minutes or so. One wishes the film had been focused on his character instead.