The complete title of this is 9 Days: Whipped, Chained and Tortured by a Psychopath. Armed with this information, many viewers will already have a pretty good idea as to whether or not they are going to like this film. For me, torture flicks are my least favorite of the horror genre but I can appreciate them for what they are when made well. The Hostel and Saw series are not movies that excite me but they are creative in terms of the use of gory effects and have some interesting ideas. They are also scary and suspenseful to a degree as they depict real people in unfortunate circumstances that theoretically could occur. Whenever a subgenre makes a comeback, the inevitable imitators are sure to follow to try to ride the coattails of proven success. This can sometimes promote creativity as they try to one-up each other but can also promote laziness as terrible movies are financed just because they feature trendy content. Not only does 9 Days provide below-average content but it was fan-financed through Kickstarter. This frustrates me to say the least.

Maura Murphy plays Danielle, a teenager who is living with a lecherous foster dad and decides to split. She hits the road and is quickly picked up by an oddball named Virgil (Chris Schleicher) who you can instantly tell is no good. It makes no sense why this chick would get in a car with this weirdo, have dinner at his house and then decide to spend the night (even after his bizarre interaction with a dead pig). Danielle has a quick shower and goes to sleep only to be awoken by Virgil in the middle of the night, chloroformed, and chained up in a basement. The next day, Virgil tells Danielle that he is going to put her through nine days of different tasks that will supposedly purify her and transform her from victim to aggressor. These tasks range from holding up buckets of wood to being branded with what look like fondue skewers to having her head held underwater to lying in a bathtub full of ice. He also implants a taser-like device in her back that gives her a small shock when he pushes a button on a remote. It is established that Virgil has done this to many other women and we see two of them during the movie. In the climax, we discover whether Danielle has achieved a successful transformation or if she manages to retain her former self.

For what this movie is trying to tackle, it is way too safe. It doesn't provide the gore than fans of this genre want nor does it manage to deliver any sort of message. The title card says that it was inspired by Dante's Inferno but this is loose at best (there is a character named Virgil and a journey is involved). This comes across as a weak and pretentious attempt to elevate this movie to something more than it is. It also completely misses the mark in terms of the violence and nudity that fans of these types of movies expect. Murphy takes a brief shower (in black and white) and has a brief bath but there is nothing in the gore department that made me take even the slightest notice. I am not a fan of the genre myself so I was glad to be spared the feeling of being disgusted but if I was looking for gratuitous torture scenes, I would have been disappointed and felt ripped off. The whole thing is just a big boring mess made by people who don't seem to understand what they are trying to make or why. If you are embarrassed by what you are trying to do and are afraid to get your hands dirty, don't do it at all, people. Especially at the expense of the horror fans who funded your project.

The only saving grace is the performance of Murphy who is in almost every scene and somehow manages to keep things grounded even when up against the Schleicher's take on Virgil (which becomes tiresome). Writer/director/editor/producer Samuel M. Johnson manages to get a movie made but there is really no way I could recommend this. If this is the type of product that comes out of Kickstarter funding, this window of opportunity will not be open for very long. They say right on the project page that most of the people involved have not made a feature before and I still don't understand who would pay for this (especially after watching Johnson's video on the page). I get that it is a thrill to see your name on the movie screen but at least make sure that you are giving money to filmmakers who have proven that they are truly dedicated to what they are doing. If you want to see a low budget "torture porn" involving two people in a basement, check out Eric Stanze's Scrapbook for a much more disturbing experience. (Josh Pasnak, 6/23/13)

Directed By: Samuel M. Johnson.
Written By: Samuel M. Johnson.

Starring: Maura Murphy, Chris Schleicher, David Alan Graf, Alison Sieke.