BECAUSE OF THE CATS
Not bad, despite a revolting opening
Well, isn't this a sunny little production. Pretty much the first thing we get to see is a gang of six well-dressed, well-spoken young thugs rape an unlucky woman and force her husband to watch. It's like Henry's most unpleasant scene, x3, and that's how the film OPENS. So I wasn't exactly giddy with anticipation for the rest of the movie.
Thankfully, we're not "treated" to multiple scenes just like that one. BotC is a not-bad detective story about a police detective who has to jaunt out of Amsterdam (to where? Locations are a big confusion in this one, and everybody speaks with an English accent) to track down this gang of hoodlums. What he discovers is a Manson-like cult for whom gratification is just about everything, no matter what price anyone else has to pay.
Performances are very good all around, especially by the lead, Bryan Marshall, who kind of looks like Malcolm McDowell. The villains are the inevitable "cult" mix of hissable and pathetic, but you're definitely rooting for the right side here. You just know that these guys listen to Scum Of The Earth ("We're not punk rock, we're hoodlum rock. There's a very distinct difference.") (my undying love and devotion to those who can identify that one).
A Belgian/Danish production. Nothing really all that special, but there're a lot worse ways to blow 95 minutes.