Basically a snuff movie.

Rating: 1/10 (16 April 2006)

The film is not a profound study of the effects of torture on human beings; it's not a sharp insight into hidden recesses of the human psyche; it's not a fascinating portrait of Americans abroad; it's not even an entertaining horror movie. It's a snuff movie. And it's not just the gore that had me reaching for the proverbial sick-bag.
Although the acting is generally very realistic (esp. Derek Richardson and Jan Vlasak), it works against the film: on the one hand, to go for verisimilitude with the actors' performances, and on the other to go for laughs with slapstick (e.g. the German guy with the chainsaw), doesn't balance well at all. At the cinema, people were laughing because they felt they had to, in a vain attempt to alleviate their feelings of revulsion and awkwardness.
The denouement is terribly contrived and the desultory nature of the film's narrative would've been given far greater credence had it all been some drunken dream-turned-nightmare; and the fact that such an uninspired twist would salvage the film speaks volumes.
Not only was this film bad in the sense that it made me want to vomit, it was also deeply immoral (I can forgive a violent film or book if there is some underlying morality). I think directors have to be very careful when dealing with a theme as dark as torture: if you're going for pure entertainment, then you don't want realistic performances, and if you're going for morality, profound hidden messages, etc., then pass on the puerile jokes.
The worst film I have ever seen at the cinema: avoid!