Feels like a kick in the gut-ouch! We cried. While the movie should not be banned, I think it should come with a strong warning on the DVD box as some people not familiar with writers like Jack Ketchum, Edward Lee, and Charlee Jacob, might not know what they are in for, as these are some of the most hardcore writers getting published today, they are known for writing very explicit, visceral horror that makes Stephen King look like a pussycat in comparison, (no offense, Mr. King, we love your work!)
I've enjoyed reading the comments for this movie, and I see from reading these that the movie affected other viewers much as it affected my wife and I. Wow, this is really a nasty, vicious story and hard to watch. Unlike some horror movies where you might laugh at the killer, i.e. Freddy Krueger or even root for him, like the lovable killer Christian Slater played in Heathers or the girl in American Psycho 2, or perhaps the charismatic Hannibal Lector, this is really a grueling torture movie where the victim is particularly helpless and as many reviewers have pointed out, children are taught to torture and to enjoy it, which makes it very subversive (and realistic), indeed. I think it relates to current events as well, and addresses the questions of the morality of torture in an excellent fashion. While humans are not the only species that tortures(ever seen a cat play with a mouse)we are the ones who should know better. The way this builds in a slow fashion leaves us almost like the frog in the water which is slowly heated on the stove. Before we know it, we're boiled.