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Tobin Vance (Tom Malloy) is a self-help guru who employs very drastic
methods to make his (carefully chosen and obviously unstable) patients
lose their traumata, methods that not always follow the law or are
perfectly safe, like with his latest group (Courtney Warner, Megan
Tremethick, Jamie Scott Gordon, Gordon Holliday, Craig J. Seath), on whom
he uses leeches, drugs and even poison to keep them in line, but
ultimately his "treatment" also involves violence and murder,
and he also has a mole (David Josh Lawrence) planted within the group to
make sure everything goes according to plan. It becomes clear early on
that Vance's efforts aren't entirely (or in the least bit) altruistic -
but to what end does he put all these people through the manger? Tom
Sizemore in one of his last roles can be seen as a radio DJ investigating
the goings-on within Vance's "cult". A rather
disturbing film for sure, not only because of its rather cynical attitude
but also because despite the occasional exaggeration it doesn't feel too
far-fetched and also reveals the very fine line between
"self-empowerment" and sheer brainwashing - but told as a genre
story. And a somewhat cold directorial effort makes perfect sense within
that context, while a very solid ensemble cast bring the film to life. And
despite its disturbing nature, it's also pretty good horror entertainment.
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