02/26/2026 Mort's Forren Film Report: The Third Week

For the month of February, our own Mort Stone will be taking on a slew of Foreign Films and reporting on them. I will be sharing the reviews daily on FB and will also share them in a weekly compilation here on the blog on Saturday evenings.

If you miss any posted on social media, just come back here on Saturday to catch next week's compilation!

Enjoy!

Day 15:

KIDNAPPED (2010)

Countries: Spain, France

Language: Spanish

Genre: Horror-Thriller

Let me start off by saying, if you are looking for this one, the date is important, as it won’t be one of the first options to pop up.

I have a few people I follow who review movies and I’m very surprised that only one of them mentioned this one. This one, if you are into extremely dark cinema, is a true hidden gem.

A family moves into a new home and there is a home invasion by three masked men that night. The father gets taken away to withdraw money for the criminals while two men remain with the mother and daughter. But they decide to fight back.

This one truly went to a place I didn’t expect. It leaves you feeling utterly disgusted. The scariest thing is that everything is realistic and possible. And when that ending hits you…man, I can’t say anything without spoiling it.

If you can handle this kind of heavy darkness, you need to watch this. My rating is based on how surprised I was about what I saw.

9.5/10

Day 16:

THE SKIN I LIVE IN (2011)

Country: Spain

Language: Spanish

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Antonio Banderas is probably the most famous actor of all the movies I am reviewing this month,

and as usual he does a stellar job.

However, it is the twist that makes this movie appear on a lot of lists.

A plastic surgeon has become obsessed with developing new skin to save burn victims after his wife is horribly burned in a car accident. This makes more tragedy befall his family and it becomes his life work to create something to not only guard the body but is also still sensitive to touch.

And he has a beautiful woman who is his unwilling guinea pig.

The twist…I’m still not sure how I feel about it. Is it plausible? I don’t know. Does it fit the story

perfectly? Absolutely. Will you see it coming? No fucking way.

9/10

Day 17:

THE TREATMENT (2014)

Country: Belgium

Languages: Flemish, Dutch

Genre: Police Procedural, Mystery

A policeman whose brother was abducted when they were still children gets assigned a disturbing

case of a missing child, and he becomes obsessed.

I’m going to start by saying that the movie goes to dark places, something that can be expected if

you know who the author of the original book is. Mo Hayder was an interesting woman who lived an interesting life – and I discovered her through the acknowledgements in Karin Slaughter books. THE TREATMENT happened to be the first book I read by her and made me an instant fan of her work.

Some of the reviews who criticize this film complains about the darkness and ugliness, but that is

exactly the point of this story. To give you a frame of reference from the movies I have seen, I think

GONE, BABY, GONE has a similar vibe.

In my opinion, I would put this up against any American police procedural I have seen – it stands up and delivers. And I am a huge fan of the ending.

When I ask myself where I could have improved the story if I had written it and I can’t come up with an answer, I have to rate the movie –

10/10

Day 18:

TRAIN TO BUSAN (2016)

Country: South Korea

Language: Korean

Genre: Horror

It has been a while since I’ve seen and enjoyed a zombie movie, and I can see exactly why this one has such a good reputation. In fact, I would call this one on par with WORLD WAR Z, for my personal taste.

An overworked father takes her daughter on her birthday to see her mother, but during the train

ride a zombie outbreak creates chaos. And the undead are fast! Trapped in a closed environment, it will just be a matter of time, unless they can find a way to escape the carnage.

At times it feels claustrophobic and many times it feels hopeless, but the tension remains high

throughout. This film is a rush, but also a great exploration of (multiple) relationships.

I can’t fault this one on anything. I am not saying that it is perfect, but the amount of adrenaline and

pure entertainment value hid the flaws well enough that I also consider this one;

10/10

Day 19:

THE WAILING (2016)

Country: France

Languages: French

Genre: Horror

Kids, don’t do drugs.

Also, don’t pick your nose with the same hand you wipe with. It’s not in the movie, but that’s just

good hygiene.

I’m not sure if this movie is as divisive as I might have thought (from the little I heard about it), but I

can understand that some might not have liked it.

I am not going to give you a synopsis – please, please, please go into this one as blind as possible.

Personally, I think this movie is a Masterpiece. And it is unlike anything I have seen before

because…this is legitimately a single take movie. Can you imagine 90 minutes, one camera,

numerous people and tons of movement, never a time to cut?

What they have achieved here is nothing short of miraculous – from the actors to everyone behind

the scenes, to make this work is sheer perfection. A choreography that just came together as the

starts aligned to make this what it is.

I went in totally blind and I was mesmerized from about minute 4 – I loved this film. Forget the

genre, this is an achievement, and I think it is tragically underrated or unknown.

10/10

Day 20:

GROTESQUE (2009)

Country: Japan

Language: Japanese

Genre: Horror, Drama

I heard a lot about this movie, in the sense that it is mentioned on so many lists as one of the most

shocking movies ever made.

The Synopsis:

A doctor kidnaps a young couple and forces them into a game of torment that slowly extinguishes

their hopes for survival.

I’m not going to sugarcoat it – this short movie (73 minutes) is meant to be torture porn. The closest

comparison I can make is probably something like HOSTEL. And gruesome it is.

But the ending.

Oh…sigh. The ending would have been perfect for a slapstick comedy. It is beyond ridiculous.

For my taste, the ending ruined what might have been a decent story.

2/10

Day 21:

INSIDE (2007)

Country: France

Language: French

Genre: Horror

I thought I knew too much going in, but it was much more brutal than I expected.

The Synopsis:

A woman must protect her unborn child from the scissor-wielding maniac tormenting her after the

death of her husband.

Not going to lie – there are times when you need to suspend reality to get through this. But if you go along for the journey, this story is so much harsher and more extreme than I expected.

This is more than just a home invasion film – there is actually a broader story here. It will gross you

the fuck out at times and it will give you that adrenaline spike you are looking for.

I was not crazy about the way it concluded, or else it might have been an 8.5 out of 10.

For me, this is a solid French Extremity entry otherwise.

7.5/10