“Female toxin”
Directed by: Hans Herbots
Writers: Mo Hayder (novel), Carl Joos
Cast: Geert Van Rampelberg, Ina Geerts, Johan van Assche
Swift shot: There are things worse than death, and parents know this all too well. I wish I hadn’t seen this film, but not because it was a bad film. The Treatment is one of the most disturbing films I have ever seen. As you watch it, you are like, oh man, please, no, just stop. But despite your feeble pleas, it gets more abhorent. Had I known the actual subject matter of this film, I am not so sure I would have watched it.
Nick Cafmeyer (Rampelberg) is a Belgian detective who was separated from his little brother, Bjorn when they were kids. Nick has been haunted for his failure to keep Bjorn safe, his entire life. The primary suspect in the abduction case Ivan Plettinckx (van Assche), was released without incident years ago. But, he sends Nick a birthday letter every year explaining all the horrible things he’s allegedly done to Bjorn. And, Jesus Christ, they are horrible! Nick has lived in the same house, despite the torture he faces yearly, in the hopes that he’ll see his brother again or discover a piece of evidence that he missed.
The people close to Nick want him to let it go, and they feel that this creepy old guy is just getting revenge on Nick for being ever having been named a suspect. There is no evidence to prove he was involved. [Swift aside: I guess they couldn’t use the letters as a confession? I am not that familiar with Belgian laws]. Regardless, if Ivan Plettinckx was the only monster in this film, it would be disturbing enough. He isn’t the only monster.
An entire family was abducted, essentially, held captive in their own home. And when the police find them, the mother is near catatonic, screeching out her son’s name over and over again, “Robin, where’s my Robin?” The little boy was kidnapped and removed from the home. Now a terrible search is joined, as the police frantically search the near wooded area trying to find the boy. They don’t.
As Nick investigates the mother and father, things don’t add up, as their stories don’t match. And Nick starts to think his brother’s abduction 25 years ago is somehow connected. His partner, Danni (Geerts) isn’t convinced and thinks Nick is on the wrong path, chasing after shadows where none exist. But, of course, the cases are connected. All the while, kids throughout the town keep mentioning some creepy troll – just to make things more interesting.
There are many nefarious people involved, and as Nick uncoils the darkness, he discovers a secret world of the most heinous people ever put on the Earth. His restraint is beyond admirable, as he faces these scumbags and gets closer to solving the case and perhaps getting closure for his brother’s abduction too.
The Treatment is akin to Seven or Prisoners, for the pure fact that it deals with the criminally insane element that is all too real in society. Films like these are a constant reminder of why I could never be a cop. I wouldn’t be able to restrain myself or separate work life from my personal life. I would just kill these people. We put down rabid dogs, and some people should be put down, immediately. I don’t think I could let the justice system have them. If you watch The Treatment, I will bet you feel the same way with some of these “people.”
Director Herbots does a tremendous job building the tension, and telling the story, all while reminding us that the back-story is intricately overlapped with the current monster. The cinematographer and set designers could work for True Detective on HBO, as there was a balance of light and dark throughout, and using the mundane setting of a typical family home as a transformed house of literal horrors was chilling. The misdirection incorporated throughout the story was noteworthy and believable, not some ridiculous fantasy . . . the real monsters live right next to you, after all.
Will you like The Treatment? God, I hope not, it isn’t a movie you “like” – it’s like a comment on Facebook where someone says something horrible and you dare not “like” it, lest you look like a sadist or creep. No, The Treatment is a film you endure, and then you tell your friends, only see this film if you want to be disturbed. But not like a good disturbed, a bad disturbed where your soul needs a shower after you’ve seen it! You can buy it here today, if you have the guts: Artsploitation Films.
