Horror Movie Reviews
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Title: H6 - Diary of a Serial Killer (2006) |
Review of H6 - Diary of a Serial Killer
- Antonio Frau, a convicted killer recently freed, inherits an old motel. Taking this as a sign to "cleanse" the women who inhabit the surrounding streets, he bestows his own brand of purification behind the locked doors of Room 6. The diary he keeps of every date, name, and unspeakable act details a journey into the hostile mind of a delusional psychopath.
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Comments for H6 - Diary of a Serial Killer
- Posted on 2008-07-09
Lord take me now
My god this is horrible. Totally misleading and just plain horrible. The reviews were just as bad in being misleading. There was no torture and no rape scenes in the entire movie. Killings were off screen. Isnt there one movie out there that actually delivers what they advertise.
Score: 1
- Posted on 2008-07-05
Two and a Half Stars - Deeply Disturbing, But Flawed
[MINOR SPOILERS]
The DVD artwork for this film features a blurb from a review of the movie that compares it to Eli Roth's 'Hostel,' which is likely where many of the comparisons have come from. This is a totally different film, in almost every way, shape and form. While Roth's effort suffered from an inability to decide whether it wanted to be psychologically disturbing (horror through suggestion, as well as the unsettling nature of the subject matter) or in-your-face with its gore, 'H6' knows exactly what it is from the outset: a serial killer thriller that builds slowly, keeps its gore mostly off-screen and merely suggested, but loses steam in its second half when nothing new seems to be happening.
Antonio Frau is imprisoned after violently murdering his girlfriend during an argument. Released many years later, he finds he has inherited an old brothel from his aunt. He decides it is his purpose to 'cleanse' the streets of 'unclean' citizens, by utilizing his newly inherited estate to lure in prostitutes and murder them. Inspired by a similar case, he also decides to document - in great detail - all of his exploits in a diary. He gets married so as to have someone to vouch for his innocence in case of trouble, and persuades his wife to work night shifts in a hospital, so he can deal with his victims.
Though not explicitly mentioned in any reviews on this site, other reviews have mentioned the misogynistic nature of this film. Whether or not that was the filmmaker's intent, the fact the killer only kills prostitutes is telling; surely there are just as many evil or corrupt men for him to dispatch? (In fact, he does murder the abusive pimp of one of his potential victims; still, the amount of screen time given to this death is a fraction of what is given to the torture of the women). Adding to the misogynistic nature of the narrative is the fact that Antonio is never really punished in the end for his actions.
Now, back to 'Hostel,' briefly. The reason this film drew comparisons to Eli Roth's picture is no doubt because of the torture scenes in this movie. Antonio's victims are tied to a metal table in a locked room and made to suffer before he kills them. That's where any similarities end. Unlike Eli Roth's film, the torture in 'H6' is deeply disturbing because it is entirely psychological, and will haunt you longer because of it. Antonio's victims are aware they are going to die, yet are made to wait for days as Antonio scrutinizes them for his diary, probing them with questions about just what in their pasts led them to drugs and prostitution. He feeds them nothing, and rapes them constantly as their conditions deteriorate. And then finally, when they are weak enough to accept their deaths as an inevitability he brutally kills them with a chainsaw. And when he does kill them, director Martin Garrido Baron wisely pans his camera away, aware that the extent of the psychological torture the audience has witnessed leading up to each death is far more gruesome than any make-up effect could ever hope to achieve.
The first problem with the film is that the second half drags a lot. Once Antonio begins his rampage, very little new information is presented, and his character does not seem to develop. Unfortunately, since the film is basically a character study of Antonio (his diary after all) this detracts largely from the overall experience.
The cinematography in the film is generally very strong; inventive and effective in creating an atmosphere of helplessness and despair. Yet the editing is erratic and sometimes counterproductive to the mood of the narrative. During slow scenes (there are a lot, since the film takes its time getting started, and the second half drags) it almost appears as if the editor increases the pace of each cut just to artificially add intensity, cutting to new shots when there is no new information to be gained from doing so, and then quickly cutting back. During conversations this just looks downright silly.
Overall, while 'H6' has some things working in its favor, there is ultimately too much going against it for me to give it a sincere recommendation.
Score: 2
- Posted on 2008-03-09
Psycho Rapist
"H6" is about a man who is released from prison and begins raping and killing women inside a brothel that he runs. Just so you know there are subtitles on this film due to the foreign nature. Yes, this guy is a psychopath who rapes and kills several women, but the plot kind of falls apart after that. This film wasn't what I had expected it to be. It centers all attention on him instead of his victims, which is the opposite of the movie Hostel. There is plenty of gore, but each scene tends to repeat itself with yet another victim. This film isn't bad but it could have been much better.
Score: 3
- Posted on 2007-11-30
not only poorly written, acted, shot way too dark, but the women are way too ugly and skeletal
I want my money back. My header says it all. This one sucked big time.
I guess it's back to looking at the classics all over again: (original, Fred Walton version) When a Stranger Calls, (original) TCM, Henry: Portrail of a ... Aja's Hills Have Eyes, Romuald Karmakar's The Deathmaker, Herk Harvey's Carnival Of Souls... You got the idea.
Score: 1 - Posted on 2007-07-28
Drama more than horror...
H6 basically is about a man who is convicted of killing his girlfriend in a fit of rage and after serving his time for it decides to carry out the work for which he feels he has been chosen. This of course is to be a serial killer. Despite his outwardly normal life with a woman whom he marries, but does not love him, he still maintains his maniacal ways behind her back in the locked room of the guesthouse he inherited from family after his prison release.
The movie has blood, has gore, has rape basically everything needed to make a good horror movie yet it lacks the intimidation of the murderer. He seems relatively harmless even while commiting gruesome murders. Because he feels it is more of a job than an urge it loses something. It's the "need" and "drive" that makes murderers usually so scary on screen. I found it to be nothing more than a gory drama. It was in interesting story and definitely twisted so it's worth seeing, but if you're looking for a movie that will make you jump it literally lacks all surprises in the dark.
Score: 3
